QUOTA NOTES
Newsletter
of the Proportional
Representation
Society of Australia -
NSW
Branch
Number 31
September
1983
Starting with
this issue, Quota Notes
becomes the national newsletter of
the Proportional Representation
Society of Australia, following a
decision made at the National
Conference in Melbourne in April.
The intention is to issue it in
September, December, March and June.
Office-Bearers
Only
one nomination was received for each
of the four positions to be filled
for the two-year period starting on
1 January 1984. Those nominated, and
declared
elected unopposed, are
President
Mr Jack
Wright, New South Wales
Vice-President
Mr
Geoffrey Goode, Victoria
Secretary
Mr Peter
Paterson, New South Wales
Treasurer
Dr Peter Fleming,
Victoria
Electoral
‘Reform’
On
Tuesday 13 September, the report of
the Joint Select Committee on
Electoral Reform was tabled in both
Houses of the Federal Parliament,
with dissenting reports by Senator
The Hon. Sir John Carrick, Mr R.
Steele Hall, Hon. Ralph Hunt and
Senator Michael Macklin. The report
includes 132 recommendations,
including a substantial number of
proposals for desirable changes. For
example, the exact procedure for the
transfer of surplus votes of elected
Senate candidates, as proposed by
the Society, is recommended, as are
changes to improve procedures for
the maintenance of rolls and
recording of votes.
Although the Committee has noted
that 'PR may result in the party
composition of the House reflecting
more closely the pattern of party
support in the State', it has chosen
to do nothing likely to reduce the
distortions of representation that
have occurred regularly with the
present system. It has dismissed our
contention that large numbers of
voters are inevitably left without
effective representation by saying
that 'a successful candidate is no
less a representative of an elector
in the House simply because the
elector did not direct a vote to
that candidate'. In response to the
contention that a member cannot
effectively represent people with
political views opposed to his own,
the Committee suggests that 'a
constituent may seek access to a
Senate representative', failing, of
course, to record that it is only
because of PR that both government
and opposition Senators are
accessible to all voters.
Senator Macklin's dissenting report
putting a strong case for the use of
a quota-preferential system for the
House has had very little attention
so far, the media having dealt
mostly with the proposed increase in
the number of members. The
government is proposing to introduce
legislation to implement most of the
recommendations of the Committee in
October, with the intention of
having it passed in the present
session of Parliament. Those
interested in genuine electoral
reform must do everything possible
to convince the politicians that the
recommendations of the Committee are
not good enough. Letters to
Ministers and members of Parliament
and to the press, contributions to
talk-back programs, and, where
possible, personal contact with
members could help to prevent the
voters being fobbed off with trivial
changes in the name of electoral
reform, while the basic defects of
the electoral system remain
unchanged.
Finance
The ballot on branch contributions
to national funds, following the
decision at the April Conference,
resulted in a clear majority for a
contribution of 40% of branch
subscription income each year.
Our Image
At
the National Conference, it was
decided that members should be
invited to submit ideas for a 'logo'
and a slogan for the Society. The
Concise Oxford says that a logo is a
'non-heraldic device chosen as a
badge . . . on notepaper etc.' Send
your ideas to the Secretary. A
sub-committee, consisting of Mr Don
Powell and Mr
Ted Goode, was set up by the
Conference to evaluate and develop
ideas submitted.
After
the Federal Election
The
final figures for the House of
Representatives election, held on 5
March, show that 3,764,091 people,
43.3% of all who voted formally,
recorded votes which had no effect
at all on the outcome. With a
practicable arrangement of
multi-member districts, the parties
would probably have won seats as
follows (seats actually won in
brackets):
ALP 67 (75), Liberal 46 (33),
National 12 (17).
Electoral
Reform, WA Style
A Bill introduced in Western
Australia in August provides
for a Legislative Council of 22
members, with 11 elected at a time
from the whole State by a
quota-preferential method similar to
that used for the Senate and the NSW
and SA Legislative Councils.
Although the Minister for Transport
missed a vital division, leaving the
government short of a
'constitutional majority', the
decision was rescinded and the Bill
is likely to be passed by the
Legislative Assembly.
Briefly
An
analysis of the November 1982 South
Australian election is available
from Deane Crabb, Secretary of the Electoral
Reform Society of South Australia.
During a visit to the UK in May,
Deane had discussions
with Seamus Burke, Enid Lakeman and
others at the Electoral
Reform Society, London.
The Queensland Branch is planning to
work on the new parliament after the
State election next month, with the
aim of getting some progress towards
the real electoral reform needed so
badly in Queensland.
NSW member, Mr Bernie Donohue, has
prepared an interesting paper on the
basic needs for democracy, including
sound electoral methods. Contact him
at 12 Paisley Road, Croydon, NSW
2132 for a copy.
The orderly election to the
Tasmanian House of Assembly of Dr
Bob Brown after re-examination of
the ballot papers in the quota that
had elected Dr Norm Sanders
contrasts with events elsewhere,
with many Victorian by-elections,
loss of local representation in NSW
while the party machine sorts out
some problems, and Federally,
government distracted by Lowe,
Flinders, Bruce and Moreton
sideshows.
© 1983
Proportional Representation
Society of Australia
President
J.F.H. Wright, 30 Kooloona Crescent,
West Pymble, NSW 2073
Secretary
Mrs N. Yeates, 75 Wilson Street,
Brighton, Victoria 3186
Telephone
02 498 5559 03 592 7705
Registered
by Australia
Post
–
Publication No
NBH 4671
ISSN 0729-9699
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