Stevens wants voting change
ONE of the Gold Coast’s most experienced politicians has called for the end of compulsory voting after a record poor turnout of voters at last year’s State election.
Mermaid Beach MP Ray Stevens told Parliament yesterday that Queenslanders should not be dictated to on whether they should vote.
A search of electoral results for the Coast shows that in some major booths, the informal vote peaked at more than 10 per cent.
Almost 6000 Coast voters lodged an informal vote at the November 25 poll, according to a check of booths.
“I believe it is time for Queenslanders to have a conversation about compulsory voting in Queensland’s state elections,” Mr Stevens said.
He said the Labor Government had changed the longheld practice of optional preferential voting, making it compulsory for voters to put a number beside all candidates on the ballot paper.
“It delivered an undesirable outcome in the Mermaid Beach electorate of a seven per cent informal vote. Whether that was due to confusion, laziness in filling out ballot papers, or just a plain rejection of this new, time-consuming exercise, we will never know. This unacceptably high number of informal votes reinforces my opinion that it is time to adopt a true democratic process and let the people decide whether they want to vote.”
Mr Stevens said the right to vote was an undeniable right but Queenslanders should be able to exercise it at their own discretion. The penalty for failing to have a valid reason for voting is $126.
“When one stands at a polling booth one cannot help but feel embarrassed for those voters who turn up without any idea of who to vote for, any idea of what the candidates ... represent and are only there to avoid a fine. That does not deliver a worthwhile vote, a meaningful outcome or, indeed, represent the views or direction of the electorate at large.”
Mr Stevens estimated 87 per cent of developed countries enjoyed non-compulsory voting and the changes could be introduced in Queensland to start with a four-year term of parliament in 2020.
When later asked how this would work, he said it was up to the Labor Government “to take up the cudgel”. “The Government currently has the numbers to say yes or no to removing penalties for not voting. I will have the conversation with colleagues before the next election to see if we can make it an election policy in 2020.”