PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION ANALYSIS:
1996 POLLS FOR 53RD LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF VICTORIA
Copyright 1999 Proportional Representation Society of Australia: 18 Anita Street Beaumaris 3193 ggd@netspace.net.au
Tel (03) 9589 1802 Fax 9589 1680          www.cs.mu.oz.au/~lee/prsa       Data from www.vec.vic.gov.au August 1999
SEATS
ALP OTHERS NAT LIB TOTAL
Hare-Clark PR Multi-member Districts 42 1 6 39 88
Present 'Winner-take-all' Single-member Districts 29 1 9 49 88
First Preference Votes 1,189,475 170,740 184,419 1,212,933 2,757,567
           
PERCENTAGES
ALP OTHERS NAT LIB TOTAL
Hare-Clark PR Multi-member Districts 47.7% 1.1% 6.8% 44.3% 100.0%
Present 'Winner-take-all' Single-member Districts 33.0% 1.1% 10.2% 55.7% 100.0%
First Preference Votes 43.1% 6.2% 6.7% 44.0% 100.0%
           
SUMMARY:
Under a Hare-Clark electoral system, with the grouping of seats suggested, the Coalition parties would have gained 51.1% of the Assembly seats with 50.7% of the first preference votes State-wide, instead of the 65.9% of seats they gained under the present 'Winner-take-all' single-member district system.

That one-seat absolute majority for the Coalition would not have been jeopardized as a result of seats becoming vacant, which is a major weakness of the existing single-member district system, as Hare-Clark vacancies are filled not by a by-election poll, but by a re-examination, by the Electoral Commission, of the ballots cast at the last General Election. 

That method of filling casual vacancies ensures that the replacement MLA represents the same quota of voters that elected the vacating candidate, at the same general election, and the replacement MLA can thus be reasonably expected to have a broad political view similar to that of the vacating candidate.