Sytem of Election

In Australia, the election period is three years. That time can be extended by up to 6 months. Having said that, an election can be called for at any time in that three year period. This is a distinct advantage for the party who is actually in Government, because they can call the election at a time that best suits them, when opinion is in their favour. The Prime Minister is the one who actually calls the election, and it is usually something worked out in the Party room by those members who make up the Government side of politics. In the main, there is usually a short period for the campaign, in the main averaging out to around 4 to 7 weeks. In this case the campaign will be of five weeks duration.

Today, two variants of preferential voting and two variants of proportional representation are used for all Australian parliamentary elections. Preferential voting is a majority system which attempts to ensure that a candidate secures an absolute majority of votes. Proportional representation systems are designed to allocate parliamentary seats to parties in proportion to their overall vote.

The supreme law-making institution in Australia—the federal Parliament—has two houses: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Members of the House of Representatives seek re-election each time there is a federal election. The House of Representatives currently has 150 members elected by preferential voting. Proportional representation is used in the Senate.

Compulsory

Voting is compulsory both at federal elections and at elections for the state and territory legislatures. In some states, voting at municipal elections is also compulsory. On average about 5 per cent of enrolled voters fail to vote but prosecutions are rare and the fine, $20, is modest. In recent federal elections, with a voter turnout of approximately 95 per cent, informal voting—blank or not properly completed ballots—has accounted for about 5 per cent of all the votes cast.

Preferential voting

Preferential voting has become the accepted system in the federal and state parliaments of Australia and is used in municipal elections, political party elections, trade union elections, church elections, elections to company boards, voluntary bodies and sports clubs. Under this system, voters number the candidates on the ballot paper in the order of their preference.

In Australia there are two variants of this system: ‘full’ preferential voting, used for the House of Representatives at the federal level and the lower houses in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory; and ‘optional’ preferential voting, used for the lower houses in New South Wales and Queensland. A partial ‘optional’ preferential voting system is used for Tasmania’s Legislative Council. 

Proportional representation (single transferable vote)

Proportional representation systems were devised to produce ‘proportional’ election results—parties should win parliamentary seats roughly in proportion to the size of their vote. Ideally, 50 per cent of the vote should win about 50 per cent of the seats. Proportional representation is not a single method of election, for there are a number of variations in use, including the single transferable vote, which is a preferential voting system designed to ensure that votes are for individual candidates rather than for party lists. The two variants of this used in Australia: the ‘Senate’ model and the Hare-Clark system.

The ‘Senate’ model elections increases the chances of minor parties and independents winning seats compared to the single member constituency system used for the House of Representatives. It produces closer results in the struggle between the major parties and makes it difficult for a major party to gain control of the Senate and in the upper houses of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia where it is used.

The Hare-Clark version of proportional representation is used for elections for the Tasmanian House of Assembly and the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. This system ensures that no seat is safe, creates an electoral system where party members fight each other as much as their external opponents and operates in such a way that minority governments are more common than when preferential voting is used.