Illustration: Matt Golding.
Victoria's voting laws could be overhauled to stem the tide of micro parties who get elected to parliament with only a tiny proportion of the vote.
Five months after the state election in which several micro parties won coveted spots in the upper house Liberals and Labor insiders are considering voting reforms to force candidates to meet a higher threshold of first preference votes before they are elected.
The proposal was one of several motions passed at Liberal state council last week, with proponents arguing that the results of November's poll produced "distorted outcomes", just as it did in the federal Senate, where Motoring Enthusiast Ricky Muir was elected with only 0.51 per cent of first preferences.
"Loose rules for the registration of political parties, voting above the line, and preference harvesting by micro parties have resulted in micro party candidates being elected to the Legislative Council on very low first preference votes," said one resolution, put forward by the Liberals' Sydenham electorate council. "The results of the 2014 Victorian state election can not be said to reflect the will of the people."
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A shake-up of Victoria's voting laws was raised ahead of the election last year, when then premier Denis Napthine approached Daniel Andrews with the idea that candidates could be elected only if they secured at least 5 per cent of the vote.
Mr Andrews rejected the proposal at the time, and the government says changing the system is not a priority at present. However, Labor sources have told The Sunday Age that some within party ranks have started talking about the need for reform, and it was likely that an approach could be made to the Liberals at some point before the 2018 state election in a bid to gain bipartisan support.
Asked if he would support such a shift, Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said:"As the Opposition, we will consider any draft legislation that the Andrews government puts forward."
In Victoria's upper house, there are five micro-party MPs sitting on the crossbench: the Sex Party's Fiona Patten (who was elected with 2.63 per cent of first preferences); the DLP's Rachel Carling-Jenkins (2.32 per cent); Jeff Bourman and Daniel Young from the Shooter's and Fisher's Party (1.65 per cent) and James Purcell from Vote 1 Local Jobs (0.21 per cent).
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State Liberals and Labor contemplate voting reform in Victorian upper house