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Proportional Representation
Society of Australia |
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Tel +61429176725 |
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Anglican Synods’ Electoral Systems Click on a
blue hyperlink of interest. |
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The Synod of the Diocese of Melbourne
is the only Australian Synod that elects its
Committees – including its Diocesan Council – using
proportional
representation with the single transferable vote
(PR-STV) to count the votes, akin to Tasmania’s Hare-Clark system. The
General Synod
of the Church of England in Britain has
counted its elections by the single transferable
vote form of proportional representation (PR-STV) - which
is specified in Clause
133(3) of its Standing Orders - since 1920. In
stark contrast, the Constitution of the General
Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia still uses
- in Clause 10 of its Rule
III in Part 3 - the crude and unsound first-past-the-post
system, for its elections, and uses
it in its multiple
form, for filling a group of positions. Quite
undemocratically, that system ensures that the
largest single minority bloc of voters can succeed
in having all
positions filled by the candidates it supports, even
if an absolute majority of voters oppose them. The
synods of the 22
other dioceses of the Anglican Church
of Australia also still use, although
plumping is
allowed, that crude and unsound multiple first-past-the-post electoral
system, which was abandoned for
Senate elections in 1917, because of the defects
described at that hyperlink. The
Proportional Representation Society of Australia
assisted the Melbourne Synod deliberations on
adopting proportional representation, as is stated
in the articles below in the PRSA newsletter, Quota Notes. |
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December 1989 |
Melbourne
Synod Reviews its “Points System”
in response
to concerns over its fairness |
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December 1989 |
Diocese of Melbourne’s Regulation of
Elections Act 1980, including
its old “Points” electoral system, as at 1989 |
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June 1991 |
Melbourne
Synod Initiates PR Bill to
replace its “Points System” |
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September 1991 |
Assistance of
Mr Colin Ball, former Chief Electoral Officer
for Tasmania, re method of filling
casual vacancies |
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December 1991 |
Melbourne
Synod Adopts a PR Electoral System
to replace its “Points System” |
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October 1992 |
Diocese of Melbourne’s Regulation of
Elections Act 1980, including
its new PR electoral system, as at 1992 |
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December 2003 |
Synod’s
Annual Review Led to Review of PR Law: The
Annual Review required by Section 33 of the Regulation of
Elections Act 1980 found PR
should continue, as a 2010
ballot-paper shows. See Act on diocesan
website. |
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See other past assistance
that the PRSA has given the Melbourne Synod with
its elections. * * * * * * * |