Is Parliament in Australia Working Effectively, and to the COMMON Good?

by Omaxa bin News-Chop, at
OpenSourceGovernmentPolicy.om
28/02/10.

What if, at every election, Federal, State and Local Council, over the next three years, voters could place either of three votes;

a, “1” their preferred candidate (as usual)

b, “1” Government is NOT working, and “2” their preferred candidate,

c, “1” Government is NOT working.

The “donkey vote” or the “informal vote” is large enough, even at 10%, to mean that they HAVE TO BE COUNTED or considered.

Compulsory voting makes people go to the polling booth, and the DIV (“donkey informal vote”) indicates that that percentage who place a DIV are not happy with the electoral and or governmental system.

The DIV is their law-abiding way at election time of expressing their dissatisfaction.

Therefore, they should not be ignored and should be given credit by the system for at least attending the polling booth and casting a vote.

That they do not choose a candidate does not mean they are unworthy of being heard.

Indeed, today, with the constant recognition by an increasing number of voters, that our system is broken, perhaps the DIV voter should be given MORE opportunities to have their say?

I recall that sometimes the DIV has been as high as 30% of the vote.

This must mean that if enough voters are NOT HAPPY with the system, to that high extent, then they and their vote have to be recognised.

It also means that there is something seriously wrong with the current system, if up to 30% have no faith in any candidate?

And it means that if the DIV are ignored by the “authorities”, the “authorities” are corrupt, and look not to the Proper functioning of the electoral and governmental system.

But, perhaps “Informalists” would be less inclined to vote DIV if we had the improved system of “Proportional Representation”?

Aum.