By Jason Dowling
Published October 2nd 2005 in The Age
Minor parties such as Family First and the Greens could have much greater influence on Victorian politics after the release on Thursday of the new boundaries for the upper house of Victoria's Parliament.
The boundaries, expected to be similar to the draft boundaries released in July, look promising for the Greens, who should pick up their first seat in the Victorian Parliament and possibly two.
Family First's chances are more difficult to gauge, but given the surprise election of Steve Fielding to the Senate last year, cannot be ruled out.
The changes are part of the biggest shake-up of the Legislative Council in 150 years, with a reduction in MPs from 44 to 40 and the introduction of proportional representation.
This will mean that a candidate will need only 16.7 per cent of the vote in one of the state's eight regions to have a member elected, instead of the 50.1 per cent required under the old system.
The Labor and Liberal parties believe 36 seats of the new Council are likely to fall to Labor, Liberals and Nationals, but the remaining four are up for grabs.
This could lead to parties such as the Greens or Family First holding the balance of power. The newly formed Country Alliance is another dark horse.
The Nationals look like being the hardest hit and have protested about the draft boundaries. They could have their members halved from four to two, which could cost them party status. But party leader Peter Ryan said the Nationals had examined past results and believed they could hold all four seats under the new voting system.
There will be eight new regions in the Council, three country and five metropolitan, each returning five members.
Voters will be given a second option for choosing their preferences by voting for one candidate above the line or numbering one to five below the line, in a system similar to Senate voting.
In one significant difference, voters can still number all the candidates below the line, but will need only to number one to five for their vote to count.
THE NEW UPPER HOUSE:
�¡ Down from 44 to 40 members
�¡ Eight regions with five members instead of 22 provinces with two members
�¡ Proportional instead of preferential voting
�¡ To be elected, members need 16.7 per cent of the vote instead of the previous 50.1 per cent
�¡ Can vote above the line or number one to five below the line
�¡ Fixed four-year terms
Election Day '09 was a roller-coaster for election reformers. Instant runoff voting had a great night in Minnesota, where St. Paul voters chose to implement IRV for its city elections, and Minneapolis voters used IRV for the first time—with local media touting it as a big success. As the Star-Tribune noted in endorsing IRV for St. Paul, Tuesday’s elections give the Twin Cities a chance to show the whole state of Minnesota the benefits of adopting IRV. There were disappointments in Lowell and Pierce County too, but high-profile multi-candidate races in New Jersey and New York keep policymakers focused on ways to reform elections; the Baltimore Sun and Miami Herald were among many newspapers publishing commentary from FairVote board member and former presidential candidate John Anderson on how IRV can mitigate the problems of plurality elections.