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Poll closed Poll
Question: Do you think that compulsory voting
*** This poll has now closed ***


makes the system more democratic    
  6 (30.0%)
makes the system less democratic    
  8 (40.0%)
has no effect on democracy    
  6 (30.0%)




Total votes: 20
« Created by: muso on: Jan 5th, 2013 at 3:45pm »

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Campbell Newman to scrap compulsory voting in QLD (Read 90054 times)
freediver
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Re: Campbell Newman to scrap compulsory voting in QLD
Reply #375 - Jan 12th, 2013 at 11:20am
 
Reading the discussion paper now. Some notes:

Claims legislation passed in 1992 and 2011 were designed to benefit political parties.

The Bligh government introduced 'additional administrative funding' in 2011 which has already been abolished by the new government. 

Criticises administrative burden of 2011 legislation.

The first half is about political donations that are intended for use during the campaign period. No caps or reporting requirements apply for other donations.


Draft feedback:

Part A:

Political donations:

I support option C - we should copy NSW's ban on donations by corporations and organisations (ie donations from individual people on the state electoral roll only).

I support option G - The law should focus more on continuous disclosure rather than limiting or capping donations.

Reporting requirements should be extended to cover all donations, not just those intended for use during campaign periods.

It is not too onerous to expect parties to maintain state campaign accounts.

I do not support the UK model that allows donations from unions provided there are internal voting systems, unless voting is a compulsory part of membership.

Public funding:

I support option A.

All additional funding introduced in 2011 should be scrapped. An amount of approximately $1.7 per first preference vote is reasonable. The expenses included should be broadened beyond campaign funding. Proof of expenditure requirements should be scrapped if these are unlikely to make any difference to the amount spent or the amount claimed (ie, if profiteering is unlikely). If profiteering is likely, this is evidence that the per vote funding amount is too high.

The method of calculating reimbursements (fractions of percents) is absurd. As far as I can tell it is equivalent to a fixed percentage of total expenditure.

The party or parties that gain office should have their reimbursement reduced by 20%, to account for the additional exposure they obtain with office.

Election Expenditure:

I support options A, C, D, E with the qualifications below. I oppose option F.

I am in favour of caps on expenditure as a means of leveling the playing field for parties that do not get as many private donations. Given the lower population and lower advertising costs, these limits should be lower than those in NSW (as they currently are).

I support the aggregation of affiliated entities with parties, under the narrow definition used in QLD as well as the NSW definition (entities that play a role within the party). These definitions should not be broadened.

I would also support aggregation of expenditure by other organisations based on the purpose of the advertising, rather than the nature of the organisation and the formality of links to the parties involved.

I support the proposed amendments regarding the exclusion of 'non-partisan' polling as expenditure.

I oppose the suggested change to the definition of volunteer labor. The cap on expenditure should focus on advertising reach rather than 'behind the scenes' effort.
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Re: Campbell Newman to scrap compulsory voting in QLD
Reply #376 - Jan 13th, 2013 at 1:42pm
 
Some changes and additions:

Draft feedback:

Part A:

A1) Political donations:

I support option C - we should copy NSW's ban on donations by corporations and organisations (ie donations from individual people on the state electoral roll only).

I support option G - The law should focus more on continuous disclosure rather than limiting or capping donations.

Reporting requirements should be extended to cover all donations, not just those intended for use during campaign periods.

It is not too onerous to expect parties to maintain state campaign accounts.

I do not support the UK model that allows donations from unions provided there are internal voting systems, unless voting is a compulsory part of membership.

A2) Public funding:

I support option A.

All additional funding introduced in 2011 should be scrapped. An amount of approximately $1.7 per first preference vote is reasonable. The expenses included should be broadened beyond campaign funding. Proof of expenditure requirements should be scrapped if these are unlikely to make any difference to the amount spent or the amount claimed (ie, if profiteering is unlikely). If profiteering is likely, this is evidence that the per vote funding amount is too high.

The method of calculating reimbursements (fractions of percents) is absurd. As far as I can tell it is equivalent to a fixed percentage of total expenditure.

The party or parties that gain office should have their reimbursement reduced by 20%, to account for the additional exposure they obtain with office.

A3) Election Expenditure:

I support options A and E, and may support options C and D with the qualifications below. I oppose option F.

I am in favour of caps on expenditure as a means of leveling the playing field for parties that do not get as many private donations. Given the lower population and lower advertising costs, these limits should be lower than those in NSW (as they currently are).

I am concerned that attempts to aggregate affiliated entities may create bias. Defining an affiliated entity by the formality of the links with the party is too arbitrary. I would oppose a definition of affiliated entitties that included unions, but excluded industry lobby groups, for example the groups that campaigned against the carbon and minin taxes.

I would also support aggregation of expenditure by other organisations based on the purpose of the advertising, rather than the nature of the organisation and the formality of links to the parties involved.

I support the proposed amendments regarding the exclusion of 'non-partisan' polling as expenditure.

I oppose the suggested change to the definition of volunteer labor. The cap on expenditure should focus on advertising reach rather than 'behind the scenes' effort.

Part B:

B1) Truth in Advertising:

I oppose the introduction of truth in political advertising legislation, for the reasons outlined in the discussion paper.

B2) How to vote cards:

I support option A, oppose option B, C and D.

I support the measures introduced in Victoria for greater transparency in how to vote cards (ie they should be published on the ECQ website). I think the requirement for lodgement 7 days prior to election day is excessive. I think it should be allowable to submit on the day prior to polling, pending administrative issues.

I oppose any penalty for misleading statements on how to vote cards or any requirement for review of how to vote cards. I think that transparency alone is sufficient.

I oppose bans on how to vote cards, except based on distance from the polling booth. Six meters is an apporpriate distance. One exception to this is under Optional preferential voting. Under this scheme how to vote cards should be banned as they encourage voters to disenfranchise themselves.

I do not see a need to regulat the behaviour of people who hand out how to vote cards.

B3) Proof of identity

I oppose requirements for proof of identity to be provided.

B4) Enrollment on polling day:

I support enrollment on polling day, provided appropriate measures such as quarantining are taken.

B5) Electronic Voting:

I support electronic voting for all voters, including over the internet, provided security issues can be resolved.

B6) Postal voting.

I support all options proposed. Postal voting should be open to all voters and made as convenient as possible. I think deadlines should be brought forward and there should be a requirement that postal votes are recieved by the ECQ prior to the close of polls. A separate class of postal votes could be introduced for this purpose, that allow people who need a postal vote by the cuirrent restricted criteria to submit later.

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Re: Campbell Newman to scrap compulsory voting in QLD
Reply #377 - Jan 13th, 2013 at 1:42pm
 
B7) Compulsory voting:

I support compulsory voting for the reasons given, plus more, as outlined below:

Democracy refers to the will of the majority. Allowing a minorty to dictate the election outcome is undemocratic. The discussion paper is highly misleading in suggesting that it is undemocratic to force people to vote. This does not make sense and indicates lack of awareness of the meaning of democracy. Also, the relevance of the reference to other countries is questionable and certainly does not support the claim that compulsory voting is undemocratic.

An increase in the number of informal votes is not a valid argument against compulsory voting. The discussion paper made the opposite argument in claiming that secret ballot provisions mean people are not forced to vote for anyone.

An increase in the number of safe electorates is also not a valid argument against compulsory voting. If those electorates are safe because the majority support one party, it is entirely approrpiate and democratic. It is undemocratic to make them unsafe by introducing a provision that would allow a minority to potentially dictate the outcome.

The joint standing committee on electoral matters was correct to remove the reference to the maturity of a democracy in its reports after 1996. It is absurd to claim that one position is more mature than the other, and points to a lack of a rational argument in facour of optional voting.

B8) Voting System

I oppose optional preferential voting and support full preferential voting, for the reasons outlined here:

http://www.ozpolitic.com/electoral-reform/optional-preferential-voting.html

The discussion paper suggests that OPV allows people to express their 'true' intentions. This is meaningless spin, unless the 'true intentions' are self disenfranchisement.

The discussion paper claims that OPV captures only those preferences that people actually hold, but fails to mention that preferences not actually held are unlikely to be expressed because the preferences will not be distributed beyond the major parties. Not ranking candidates under OPV is an expression of preference, as unranked candidates are assumed by the system to be below ranked candidates.

Saving voters' time, easier scrutineering etc are hardly strong arguments in favour of OPV.

I support the 'savings provisions' recommended by the joint standing committee, which allow ballots with numbering errors to be counted up to where the error began.

B9) Other matters:

QLD should introduce a 20 member senate based on voting by delegable proxy, for the reasons outlined here:

http://www.ozpolitic.com/electoral-reform/voting-by-delegable-proxy.html
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Re: Campbell Newman to scrap compulsory voting in QLD
Reply #378 - Jan 13th, 2013 at 11:01pm
 
that was really excellent Freediver... 

I didn't read it all, but, I scanned it and I find myself in agreement with your overall assessment.

I think QLD should a 2nd House..... that's the only way to reduce the chance of corruption at the highest levels.

Bring back the Senate.!!
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