Our support for any electoral system for the Legislative Council is conditional on four basic principles that ensure a democratic House that is responsive to the voters of Victoria:
These principles, outlined in more detail below, are essential conditions for an excellent electoral system. A system that violates any of the principles is defective, and we would not support its adoption, even if it is somewhat less defective than the current system. If Victoria is to spend the time, money and effort to change the electoral system for the Legislative Council, as we believe it should, then surely an excellent system should be adopted. Later we argue that any change should be dependent on being passed at a referendum, and this makes it even more important that an excellent system be an option for Victorian voters. Anything less increases the likelihood of the whole exercise being a huge waste of time and money. Australia has had a long history of excellence in electoral reform and this is an opportunity for Victoria to continue this tradition, in which it participated so splendidly by being the first jurisdiction in the world to legislate for the secret ballot, in 1856.