In short, independents and minor parties combined got more vote than a major party (the LNP coalition). I think this is actually great news, it shows how well ranked choice and proportional voting work to empower smaller parties and diversify them.
In short, independents and minor parties combined got more vote than a major party (the LNP coalition). I think this is actually great news, it shows how well ranked choice and proportional voting work to empower smaller parties and diversify them.
Yes, but that’s the point. Having a general set of the population spread across the country wins nothing. Having a local issue or locally popular one issue candidate can get elected, but they will be ineffective. It allows Labor to have a majority with only a small amount extra votes than the libs.
Sure it’s all down to the preference flows in each seat but perhaps we shouldn’t be doing winner takes all seats. I know in Germany they apportion seats based on percent vote, similar to how we do the senate. In Ireland they group districts and the top 3 candidates in a larger district get elected, after all preference flows. So you might get a lib, a lab and a grn rather than 2 libs and a lab, as it is with our divisions.
No system is perfect but we seem to be concentrating power in the hands of the two larger parties with the intention of stability without any evidence it is actually more stable.