Compulsory preferential voting to be scrapped if LNP takes power

Compulsory preferential voting would be scrapped under an LNP government, Opposition Leader David Crisafulli promised on Saturday – nine weeks out from the Queensland state election.

The minority Palaszczuk government reintroduced CPV in 2016 in a last-minute political manoeuvre, attaching amendments to an opposition bill to increase the number of electorates in Queensland.

Optional preferential voting had been in place since 1992, when the Electoral and Administrative Review Commission recommended its reintroduction – CPV had been in place since 1962.

David Crisafulli has pledged to scrap compulsory preferential voting in Queensland.Credit: Glenn Campbell

On Saturday, Crisafulli pledged to undo Labor’s 2016 reform and, once again, make preferences optional.

“I commit to every Queenslander that if government changes in October, that’ll be the last time you have to vote for people who you don’t want to vote for,” he said.

“If you want to vote just one, you can, and if … we were to win and the electoral laws would change, you would have the ability to vote just one, or one and two, or one through to seven.

“But you shouldn’t be forced to have to vote for someone who you fundamentally do not believe is a fit and proper person.”

In 2001, then-Labor premier Peter Beattie used optional preferential voting to his advantage, urging voters to “just vote one” at a time the conservative vote was split between the Liberal and National parties. Further to the right, One Nation was at its zenith in Queensland.

The “just vote one” strategy prevented some voters’ preferences flowing between those three parties.

Peter Beattie casting his vote in 2001.Credit: Paul Harris

Since then, however, the Liberals and Nationals have merged into a single party and, on the left, the Greens have emerged as a serious political force.

Queensland University of Technology political analyst John Mickel, who was a member of the Beattie government, said he disagreed with Palaszczuk’s changes mainly on process grounds.

“What I was critical of the Palaszczuk government on, is it should have been subjected to an independent process,” he said.

Mickel said Crisafulli should commit to an independent process, rather than follow Palaszczuk’s lead in pushing through change in parliament.

As for which side of politics would most benefit from optional preferential voting, Mickel said it would vary from seat to seat.

Crisafulli said the only reason CPV endured was because “the only way [Labor] will survive is with Greens preferences”.

The Greens have been bullish about claiming McConnel, Cooper, Miller and Greenslopes from the government. Labor Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath said removing Labor MPs would only help Crisafulli form government.

“All due respect to the Greens, they will never form government,” she said.

“They will never be able to implement the reforms that we have implemented, and we will continue to implement.

“So our message is clear – you need to put a Labor ahead, you need to put them number one on that ballot paper to ensure that you do not end up with David Crisafulli as our next premier.”

In 2019, the state government abandoned a push to introduce CPV at Queensland council elections.