Minor, Indie Preferences Propel Labor’s Landslide Win
Read the full analysis here.
Labor’s landslide federal election victory in May, both in seats and two-party preferred terms, was underpinned by a greater number of preferences than ever from voters who didn’t put it first on the ballot paper.
“One of the great Australian innovations is the full preferential voting system, which guarantees that every vote matters and you cannot waste your vote,” said Bill Browne, Democracy & Accountability Director at the Australia Institute.
“Even as more Australians than ever vote for minor parties and independents, their votes help decide races where it is Labor and the Coalition in contention, just as Labor and Coalition voters help decide races where independents and minor parties end up in the final two.
“But the winner-takes-all system in the House of Representatives means a growing share of Australians are not represented by their most preferred candidate. Proportional representation, like they use in the Tasmanian lower house, would be more representative of the will of the people and the diversity of Australian views.”
https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/minor-party-and-independent-preferences-behind-labors-landslide-victory/