Tony Abbott calls for Senate review after complicated preference deal hands seats to minor parties

Herald Sun (Melbourne) ^ | 10th September 2013 | Stephen Drill, Phillip Hudson, Matt Johnston and Rebekah Cavanagh

[naturalman1975]

A SENATE-bound candidate who picked up fewer than 12,000 votes admits he is shocked by his meteoric rise that has sparked moves to overhaul the Senate.

Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party hopeful Ricky Muir has admitted making jokes about September 11 and posing for online videos while throwing kangaroo droppings but refuses to discuss mainstream policies.

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A parliamentary inquiry into the election will be called by the Abbott Government to specifically look at making sure Senate voting rules reflect the ``honest wishes'' of voters after Saturday's election threw up candidates who could be elected with as little as 0.2 per cent of the vote.

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Mr Muir, from Gippsland, was one of 97 candidates on the giant Victorian Senate ballot paper vying for six seats. Despite a primary vote of 0.5 per cent he could beat a Liberal with 10 per cent support and take up the $195,130 a year, six-year term.

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Senator Abetz said there was a degree of confusion about the allocation of preferences and he believed people who voted for the Climate Sceptics would be surprised to find their preferences went to Labor who introduced the carbon tax.

He also said people had accidentally voted for the Liberal Democrats, who look to be on track to win a NSW seat, because they mistakenly thought they were voting Liberal. Another reform option is to prevent parties with similar names.

[naturalman1975]

I like Australia's preferential voting system for our House of Representatives - but the huge number of candidates who run for our Senate and the compromise this has lead to (where people do not have to set their own preferences, but can instead choose to accept whatever preference deal the party they vote for has made) has lead to a very odd situation this time around.

[naturalman1975]

This years Ballot Paper for the Senate in New South Wales. They had to introduce magnifying sheets in two states (NSW and Victoria) so people could read the things.

[naturalman1975]

Found a better image.

[Navy Patriot]

Sounds like the illiterate American system where ya choose the Jackass or the Elephant.