David Leyonhjelm (NSW, Liberal Democratic Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to indicate that I cannot support this amendment either. I appreciate the arguments of Senator Muir and I respect the diligent thinking that he has applied to them, but in my view preferences are a matter for parties and for those voters who trust their parties. Order of candidates is also a matter for parties to decide, not for anybody else. It may be appropriate to think about a Robson rotation in the context of a House of Reps ticket, where there is just one candidate per party, but not when there are multiple candidates for a party.

The kind of scenario that Senator Muir sketched out, in which candidates from the same party essentially compete for individual votes, is precisely the kind of circumstance that has led to the election of Senator Xenophon in South Australia. I must say that I do not think that his approach to politics is something that I would like to encourage. Very likely we will find how unconstructive that approach is after the next election, when I anticipate he will have the balance of power in the Senate.