Parties in a fix over radical voting reforms

Government MPs push to allow voters to preference one candidate, abolish by-elections.

Liberal senator James McGrath. Picture: AAP

A political fight over Australia’s electoral system has been sparked by a radical plan from government MPs to allow voters to preference only one candidate, consider abolishing by-elections, and give governments extended, unfixed four-year terms.

The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters recommended a rewrite of the Australian Electoral Act on Thursday including restrictions on non-party activists at election sites, a new “electoral violence” offence for people who lash out at polling booths, and a requirement that voters show ID when they lodge their ballots.

Labor has reacted furiously to many of the proposed changes and labelled the report – authored by JSCEM chairman and Queensland Liberal senator James McGrath and other government MPs – an authoritarian attack on democracy.

But there are possible breakthroughs in bipartisan electoral reform, with both major parties looking to kickstart talks on how to expand the size of the House of Representatives.

Senator McGrath said his proposed electoral reforms would make the electoral system fairer and safer.

“As our society changes, so our electoral system should be fine tuned,” he told parliament. “Now is the time for immediate action. We sleep safely from the banality of evil because we decide who governs. These reforms are about empowering the will of the voter.”

Under the JSCEM recommendations, parliament would consider if by-elections in the House when an MP quits or dies should be replaced by someone picked by the party who won the last election – as in the Senate – instead of holding expensive and compulsory polls.

The reforms would also seek to punish party turncoats by ousting MPs and senators who abandon the parties they were elected under and making their seats vacant. The optional preferential system – where voters only need to put a “1” next to their candidate of choice and do not need to give preferences – is used in the senate and in NSW state elections.

The JSCEM report argues this reform will free voters of the need to preference parties they fundamentally oppose, but Labor says optional preferential votes are wasted.

Senator McGrath’s plan for parliamentary terms would mean the lifespan of parliament increasing from three to four years but – unlike in most state parliaments – the prime minister would continue to have the power to call elections early and not have to adhere to a fixed date.

The JSCEM report says all Australians should provide some sort of ID before they vote and non-party activists – such as trade unionists or GetUp members – should stand farther away from polling booths than they are currently required to.

Opposition special minister of state Don Farrell said the proposed changes were undemocratic and sought to silence government opponents.

“The Morrison government has launched an outrageous authoritarian-style assault on Australian democracy in a report into the 2019 federal election,” he said.

“Using its control of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, the government is proposing drastic measures designed to silence its critics, suppress the vote and stop workers and grassroots campaigners from participating in our democracy.”

Labor and the government do agree on pushing forward discussions on growing the size of the House – which has not increased substantially since 1984 – and breaking the nexus which forces the Senate to grow whenever the lower chamber does.

Longstanding ALP strategist Bruce Hawker told The Australian optional preferential voting did have its merits, but four-year terms should be fixed.

Former Victorian Liberal president Michael Kroger backed optional preferential voting and four-year terms.