Our voting system seems to be preferencing hung parliament

I believe the combination of preferential and compulsory voting explains the steady descent towards a hung parliament.

Forcing voters to number all candidates in order is downgrading their first choices by the unknown effect of rolling many-sided dice.

Compulsory voting is even worse. It adds more disparity by including large numbers of first choice votes that are essentially blind guesses from people who really don’t want to make a decision.

Is it any wonder that vote numbers for major parties and independents are getting closer to each other? The current system is one that moves towards entropy (complete randomness).

Dave Kirkham, Frenchs Forest, NSW

The allocation of Labor prefer­ences shows it is prepared for minority government with reliance on Greens preferences (“Labor’s just the ticket for Bandt and co”, 25/4).

It shows the Greens that Labor has supported their candidates as second or third preferences in most seats, and consequently the Greens should support Labor.

This leads to the scary possibility of Labor minority government dictated by the extreme policies of the Greens, including support for anti-Semitic rhetoric.

It encompass massively expensive electricity costs that will flow from Greens’ climate change policies. It also means the price of renting homes will skyrocket as the Greens’ negative gearing and tax on unrealised capital gains will take a toll and property owners sell home rental stocks. A sad outcome for property renters who have been conned by the Greens.

This is a crossroads for Australian voters.

Lee Smith, Kenmore, Qld

Practically every psephologist in the country agrees that the likeliest outcome of the May federal election is a minority ALP government. Such a government, in thrall to the Greens or a coterie of smug, self-indulgent teals, would be a disaster.

For the ALP and the Coalition to have made common cause against the Greens by preferencing them last was the ultimate no-brainer but, predictably, there was neither the wit nor the political courage to commit to such a strategy. And there was strong precedent. In 1998, in the federal seat of Blair, all major parties put Pauline Hanson last on their tickets.

Compared with the Greens’ blend of economic illiteracy, anti-Semitism and half-baked Marxism, Hanson’s brand of strident nationalism is benign, is it not?

Terry Birchley, Bundaberg, Qld

My memory may be failing me but I vaguely remember that, long ago, in the dim mists of the past, party leaders used to give a definitive policy speech at the beginning of a campaign, setting out in detail the policies and promises of the coming election. The next few weeks were spent selling and defending these commitments.

In more recent times there has been a change to drip-feeding promises over several weeks, even to the farcical point where announcements are being made even after early voting has started.

It is depressing when politicians treat voters as though they are fools.

It’s even more depressing to suspect that maybe we are.

David Morrison, Springwood, NSW

The Australian voting system is replete with hypocrisy. Voting before polling day is allowed with a valid excuse, but there is no check on the excuse. It is common knowledge that most people lie.

Then there is the hypocrisy of so-called compulsory voting. In practice, voting is not compulsory. Getting you name crossed off is. Whether you vote or not is up to you. If the proponents of compulsory voting were serious, they would ensure that voters actually voted by having them stood over while they did so.

Trevor Sauer, Mapleton, Qld

Why do we keep going with the policy of having an election day when more and more people are voting early?

Twenty years ago, when I needed to vote early as I knew I would be overseas on the day, the polling officer quizzed me very precisely about the date I was travelling and even suggested I could vote in the overseas country I was going to. Voting early wasn’t easily accepted.

Now, everyone says “I won’t be here on May 3”, and in they go. So let’s just say from now on, you must vote “on or before the nominated day”.

John Clark, Moss Vale, NSW