Conclusion

The Victorian people should be given the opportunity to replace the existing undemocratic electoral system of the Legislative Council with the Hare-Clark system, which embodies the the world's best practice in representative democracy: quota-preferential proportional representation with moderate numbers of vacancies per electorate, Robson Rotation for ballot papers and countback for filling casual vacancies. The Hare-Clark package

• is a system of direct election,
• ensures that proportional representation is achieved and only a small percentage of voters are unable to help elect a representative,
• avoids costly and destabilising by-election polls,
• gives voters a reasonably wide choice of candidates without making voting too arduous,
• ensures a level playing field for candidates by eliminating unfair bias on ballot papers
• maximises the power of the voters rather than parties, factions within parties, pre-selection panels, and other relatively small groups,
• is a well established system which has operated effectively in both Tasmania and the ACT, and
• is popular with voters who have experienced it.

Hare-Clark achieves a degree of responsiveness to voters unequalled by any other electoral system. If adopted, it is a system all Victorians could be proud of.