❓ Ms Davies questions the Premier on electoral reform for the Legislative Council, accusing him of misleading the public. The Premier defends the need for reform by highlighting inequities in the current system, citing examples of disproportionate vote values and the election of a candidate with a very small number of votes.
AnsweredQoN 15Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ELECTORAL REFORM — LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
15. Ms M.J. DAVIES to the Premier:
I refer to the announcement of the
government's intention to pursue electoral reform in the Legislative
Council, despite repeated statements from
the Premier prior to the state election that this was not on the government's
agenda.
(1) Did the Premier mislead the
people of Western Australia?
(2) Did all 21 regional MPs in cabinet and caucus
agree to pursue an electoral reform agenda, thereby agreeing to
disenfranchise regional voters?
Several members
interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Order!
15. Ms M.J. DAVIES to the Premier:
I refer to the announcement of the
government's intention to pursue electoral reform in the Legislative
Council, despite repeated statements from
the Premier prior to the state election that this was not on the government's
agenda.
(1) Did the Premier mislead the
people of Western Australia?
(2) Did all 21 regional MPs in cabinet and caucus
agree to pursue an electoral reform agenda, thereby agreeing to
disenfranchise regional voters?
Several members
interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Order!
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) Obviously, at the election a few dramatic things
happened. One of them was that a gentleman who lived in America was elected to
the Legislative Council with 98 votes—98 votes. He was elected for a region
that fundamentally opposes what he stood for. This young gentleman, Mr Tucker,
got 98 votes. His success was orchestrated
by Mr Glenn Druery, who we will all be familiar with. Glenn Druery makes a business
of getting around organising voting
tickets, in upper houses in particular, to ensure that certain people with a low
number of votes get an opportunity to get elected, and then he gets a payment
at the end of it. I understand that he got a $50 000 payment as a consequence
of this. Mr Tucker was elected to the Mining and Pastoral Region with 0.2 per cent of the vote, or 98 votes.
The Liberal Party in the South Metropolitan Region got one member
elected with 67 000 votes. That is 67 000 votes for one Liberal member and 98 votes
for one Daylight Saving Party member. In what world is that fair? In what world
is that sensible? This has occurred. Apparently, Mr Druery, who I do not know
or hold any ill will towards, said words to the effect that getting Mr Tucker
elected to the Legislative Council was his finest work yet. The Western Australian
electoral system allows for this, and this should not stand.
We
also have a situation—this is very interesting; I was not aware of it—whereby
a vote for the upper h ouse of Western Australia in Kalgoorlie is worth
3.48 times a vote in Albany. Someone's vote at the polling booth in
Kalgoorlie is worth three and a half times someone's vote in Albany. As
fine as Kalgoorlie is, member for Kalgoorlie, with very fine and wise people in
their choice of a local member of Parliament, a vote in Kalgoorlie is worth
1.48 times—in effect, one and a half times—a vote in Esperance.
Kalgoorlie is a wonderful place. It does a lot for the state. It has a railway,
an airport and certain other things available to it that Esperance does not.
Esperance is actually further from the city than Kalgoorlie, but a vote in
Kalgoorlie is worth one and a half times a vote in Esperance. Also, a vote in
Wundowie, just out of Perth, is worth four times the value of a vote in
Wooroloo. Wooroloo is nine kilometres away from Wundowie, but a person's
vote in Wundowie is worth four times that of a person's vote in
Wooroloo. Does anyone think that any of those things is fair? Does the Leader
of the Opposition think that that is fair? She does not answer. Our role should
be to promote fairness.
What
the Attorney General has done is to get Mr McCusker, QC, an eminent Western Australian,
to look at all these issues. Mr McCusker is a former Governor of Western
Australia. He is a highly respected local citizen. He will have a look at all
of that and come back with a report for us to examine. How were we to know prior to the state election that someone from
the Daylight Saving Party would be elected with 98 votes and that only
one person from the Liberal Party would be elected in the South Metropolitan
Region with 67 000 votes? How were we to know that? We will get Mr McCusker to
look at that. We will make sure that we examine what he brings back so that we
can look at the fairness of the system.
happened. One of them was that a gentleman who lived in America was elected to
the Legislative Council with 98 votes—98 votes. He was elected for a region
that fundamentally opposes what he stood for. This young gentleman, Mr Tucker,
got 98 votes. His success was orchestrated
by Mr Glenn Druery, who we will all be familiar with. Glenn Druery makes a business
of getting around organising voting
tickets, in upper houses in particular, to ensure that certain people with a low
number of votes get an opportunity to get elected, and then he gets a payment
at the end of it. I understand that he got a $50 000 payment as a consequence
of this. Mr Tucker was elected to the Mining and Pastoral Region with 0.2 per cent of the vote, or 98 votes.
The Liberal Party in the South Metropolitan Region got one member
elected with 67 000 votes. That is 67 000 votes for one Liberal member and 98 votes
for one Daylight Saving Party member. In what world is that fair? In what world
is that sensible? This has occurred. Apparently, Mr Druery, who I do not know
or hold any ill will towards, said words to the effect that getting Mr Tucker
elected to the Legislative Council was his finest work yet. The Western Australian
electoral system allows for this, and this should not stand.
We
also have a situation—this is very interesting; I was not aware of it—whereby
a vote for the upper h ouse of Western Australia in Kalgoorlie is worth
3.48 times a vote in Albany. Someone's vote at the polling booth in
Kalgoorlie is worth three and a half times someone's vote in Albany. As
fine as Kalgoorlie is, member for Kalgoorlie, with very fine and wise people in
their choice of a local member of Parliament, a vote in Kalgoorlie is worth
1.48 times—in effect, one and a half times—a vote in Esperance.
Kalgoorlie is a wonderful place. It does a lot for the state. It has a railway,
an airport and certain other things available to it that Esperance does not.
Esperance is actually further from the city than Kalgoorlie, but a vote in
Kalgoorlie is worth one and a half times a vote in Esperance. Also, a vote in
Wundowie, just out of Perth, is worth four times the value of a vote in
Wooroloo. Wooroloo is nine kilometres away from Wundowie, but a person's
vote in Wundowie is worth four times that of a person's vote in
Wooroloo. Does anyone think that any of those things is fair? Does the Leader
of the Opposition think that that is fair? She does not answer. Our role should
be to promote fairness.
What
the Attorney General has done is to get Mr McCusker, QC, an eminent Western Australian,
to look at all these issues. Mr McCusker is a former Governor of Western
Australia. He is a highly respected local citizen. He will have a look at all
of that and come back with a report for us to examine. How were we to know prior to the state election that someone from
the Daylight Saving Party would be elected with 98 votes and that only
one person from the Liberal Party would be elected in the South Metropolitan
Region with 67 000 votes? How were we to know that? We will get Mr McCusker to
look at that. We will make sure that we examine what he brings back so that we
can look at the fairness of the system.
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