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

The government will not be supporting these amendments. One of the key elements of this bill, and one of the main recommendations of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, is the abolition of individual and group-voting tickets. The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters concluded that most voters are unlikely to understand where their preferences flow when they vote above the line. Indeed, on occasion they can flow in three different directions, as political parties are able to register three different group-voting tickets. The abolition of group-voting tickets will improve the transparency of the Senate voting system by removing the complex and opaque system that is currently in place to distribute voter preferences.

The measures in this bill introduce partial optional preferential voting above the line. It will give voters greater control over their preferences and confidence that their vote is going to their preferred candidates. Advice on the ballot paper will direct voters to number at least six boxes from 1 to 6 in order of their preference, if they choose to vote above the line, which will minimise the effect of vote exhaustion. Appropriate vote-saving provisions are also in place to ensure that there is no reduction in vote formality as a result of this measure.