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PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA |
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Tel +613
9589 1802 |
Tel +61429176725 |
18 Anita Street |
BEAUMARIS VIC 3193 |
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22nd September 2008 |
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The Four Failed
Attempts at Establishing Party List Systems for Legislatures of
Australian States and Territories (The requirements in
Sections 7 and 24 of the
Australian Constitution, and in the Western Australian Constitution,
that MPs “shall be directly chosen by the
people”
have fortunately protected voters
for those parliaments from party list systems.) |
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1915 |
A Parliamentary Committee
rejected an ALP proposal to replace Tasmania’s Hare-Clark quota-preferential PR system with a
Party List system. See
“Quota-preferential PR versus
Party List.” The
Secretary of what is now the Electoral Reform Society
in the
British Isles travelled to Tasmania to give persuasive
evidence on why a Party List system should not be substituted for Hare-Clark. |
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1973 |
The Dunstan
ALP Government’s reform of South Australia’s Legislative Council introduced a
Party List system, but a subsequent Liberal Government replaced it with a
quota-preferential PR system in 1985, with Australian Democrats support in the Upper House. |
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1978 |
The Wran ALP Government’s first bill for popular elections
for the New South Wales Legislative Council proposed a Party List system, but
the Opposition Leader, Sir Eric Willis, said the referendum needed would be
opposed unless a quota-preferential PR
system was substituted for it, so that change was made, and the referendum was carried.
The PRSA(NSW) pressed for quota-preferential PR and
not a Party List. |
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1989 |
The Hawke ALP
Federal Government introduced a “Modified d’Hondt”
Party List system for the 1989 and 1992 elections for the Legislative
Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory, but public dissatisfaction led
to a plebiscite to choose whether its replacement should be a Hare-Clark
quota-preferential PR system or a system of single-member districts. The Hare-Clark PR
system was chosen by 65% of voters, and was thus introduced. A subsequent referendum in 1995
entrenched it, with 65% of voters favouring that
entrenchment. The PRSA(ACT) campaigned for
Hare-Clark in both those successful polls. |