Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Hansard source

It will not surprise Senator Leyonhjelm that the opposition will not support this amendment which proposes voluntary voting, as per the earlier discussion about where this deal takes us in relation to people being required to indicate a vote with respect to the total number of candidates. I have already indicated to Senator Cormann that I look forward to reviewing the Hansard of the earlier philosophical discussion about whether people should have a right not to have to vote for particular microparties if they do not want to, which, as I argued at the time, seems to be taking us down that path.

Australians live in a great democracy. As Winston Churchill reminded us, democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others. Democracy grants citizens many privileges, but those privileges—and this was my innate response to Senator Leyonhjelm before—are balanced with important civic responsibilities. In Australia you are expected to get up and go to work, get the kids off to school, pay your taxes and meet your responsibilities to the community. Perhaps the greatest of these responsibilities is to play a role in our democracy by turning up to hold the government to account on election day. In a democracy, the people act as the bulwark against maladministration, corruption and even tyranny.

Compulsory voting plays a vital role in our democracy by reminding the Australian people that, in exchange for the many privileges that come with living in our country, you are expected to meet your constitutional duties as a citizen. Compulsory voting also grounds Australian politics in the sensible centre and has helped us to avoid some of the distasteful hyperpartisanship politics that we have seen in some other countries. The Australian Labor Party strongly supports compulsory voting, as I have previously indicated, and therefore we cannot support Senator Leyonhjelm's amendments.