By Stephen Lesslie (President, Electoral Reform Australia)
Frustra fit per plura quod potest fieri per pauciora [It is futile to do with more things that which can be done with fewer] – William of Ockham (c. 1287–1347)
There is no perfect electoral system, but in reforming the Senate voting system we should keep Occam’s Razor in mind.
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Stephen Lesslie (President, Electoral Reform Australia) and Susan Gregory (Vice President, Electoral Reform Australia)
The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters (‘JSCEM’) brought down its interim report on the conduct of the 2013 federal election, with a focus on Senate elections, on 9 May 2014.1
What a disappointment it was!
Our Annual General Meeting was held at 74 Thompson Street, Drummoyne on Wednesday 28 May 2014.
Click here to read the President’s Report.
Thanks to the outgoing committee, and welcome to the new committee:
President: Stephen Lesslie
Vice President: Susan Gregory
Vice President: Mark Rodowicz
Secretary/Treasurer: Patrick Lesslie
Committee member: John Baglin
Committee member: John Alexander
Committee member: Peter Palethorpe
Committee member: Alan Kennedy
Returning Officer: Marian Lesslie
Anyone is welcome to attend our meetings. For details, email info@electoralreformaustralia.org.
The Annual General Meeting of Electoral Reform Australia, held on 20 May 2012, was addressed this year by former Labor MLC Jan Burnswoods. Jan spoke on the impact of proportional representation on the selection of candidates for the NSW Upper House.
Gerrymander is alive and well in the US, according to this article on SMH.
The Branch’s AGM was held on Monday 16th April, at 74 Thompson Street, Drummoyne at 7.30 pm. Thanks very much to all those who attended, and especially to Bogee Musidlak, who we were delighted to have as our Guest Speaker.
Stephen Lesslie
The Branch’s AGM was held on Monday 10th May, at 74 Thompson Street, Drummoyne at 7.30 pm. Thanks very much to all those who attended, and especially to Stephen Lesslie, who kindly consented to be our Guest Speaker.
The Australian Government has recently released two green papers on electoral reform:
The second paper, Electoral Reform Green Paper – Strengthening Australia’s Democracy, was released on 23 September 2009. Submissions on the paper were invited by 27 November 2009 and an online discussion forum was held on the paper from 9-27 November 2009.
The first paper, Electoral Reform Green Paper – Donations, Funding and Expenditure, was released on 17 December 2008.
The PRSA NSW Branch has made a submission. It can be downloaded here: PRSA-NSW-Green_paper_submission (PDF 110K)
On 23 September 2009, Special Minister of State, Senator Joe Ludwig, released the second part of the Rudd Government’s consultation process on electoral reform.
A media release about the Green Paper can be found at:
http://www.smos.gov.au/media/2009/mr_382009.html,
and the paper itself is available at:
http://www.pmc.gov.au/consultation/elect_reform/strengthening_democracy/index.cfm
Public comments have been invited and the closing date for such submissions is 27 November 2009.
An online discussion forum will also be open from Monday 9 November to Friday 13 November.
Malcolm Mackerras
The Branch’s AGM was held on Monday 13 July, at 74 Thompson Street, Drummoyne at 7.30 pm. Thanks very much to psephologist and academic, Malcolm Mackerras, who kindly consented to be our Guest Speaker.
Mr Mackerras was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in January 2006 for advocating reforms to the country’s electoral system and encouraging political debate.