Bob Day (SA, Family First Party) Share this | Hansard source

This is Third World stuff—wiping out Independents is what they do in Third World countries. Voters will continue to find other ways of having their voices heard. You need in this place independent people who do not toe a party line. Independents play a vital role here. I accept that, on my own, I am a nobody in this place. However, I am one of 79 minor parties and Independents who ran at the last election, and we will not take this lying down.

I do accept that some people are concerned about above-the-line group voting tickets. The solution is simple: make it easier for people to vote below the line by letting them just number from one to six below the line—which was the original JSCEM recommendation.