Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

As I have already indicated to Senator Wong, we of course considered the initial recommendation of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, which was that we should require voters voting below the line to vote for at least the number of candidates required to fill the number of available vacancies. In a half-Senate election that would be six, in a double dissolution election it would be 12 and in a territory Senate election it would be two. That was the recommendation which was put forward by the original Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters interim report, back in May 2014. Indeed, that was the position that was then very strongly advocated by people like Mr Gary Gray, the then shadow special minister of state, and the former Labor Special Minister of State, then Senator John Faulkner.

The government consulted on the number that was recommended by that committee in relation to voting below the line and the position that was put to us was that to just ask people to vote for the number of vacancies would not allow for an adequate distribution of preferences and that this would actually end up inappropriately disadvantaging minor parties. So we have taken that on board. We also considered the relevant submissions that were made to the JSCEM inquiry into this bill a couple of weeks ago, and, of course, JSCEM then made the recommendation that the government should consider further amendment to our reform proposal to provide for a form of optional preferential voting below the line which involves providing guidance to voters that, to vote below the line, they need to number at least 12 boxes in order of their preference from 1 to 12.

I am aware of Mr Gittins's piece; I read it at the time. He is entitled to his opinion; I disagree with him. I do not agree with any of the propositions that he put forward in that piece, but that is okay. We live in a democracy and he is entitled to his opinion.