Changes to the electoral system [kinda OT]
Peter Mackay
peter_...@hotmail.com says...
> On Tue, 9 Oct 2001 16:20:10 +1000, "Scott Hillard"
> <shil...@ozemail.com.au> wrote:
>
> >
> >Edwin <mi...@optushome.com.au> wrote in message
> >news:0ohw7.21683$Tv6.1...@news1.rdc1.nsw.optushome.com.au...
> >
> >> This has been on my mind recently - what changes would you make, if you
> >> could, to the Australian electoral system?
> >
> >Franchise only available to those who own land, or who have done military/
> >emergency services service.
> >
> >Service guarantees citizenship.
>
> Read 'Starship Troopers' as a kid/teenager, did you?
Much as I admire Heinlein's ability to tell a good yarn, I'm not too
sure about some of his political notions. This sort of franchise
restriction smacks of the bad old days, for example when this indirect
discrimination was used to prevent Tasmanians of Aboriginal ancestry
from voting, or later on to give the vote to only a few Aboriginal
Australians.
Nevile Shute floated an equally discriminatory scheme when he advocated
extra votes for military service, gaining a degree, overseas travel etc.
The essence of democracy is that all of the people are equal in terms of
their votes - you count up the YES votes and you count up the NO votes
and at the end of the day you and the Prime Minister have the same say
in the referendum.
The flaw with schemes to restrict the franchise is that after a while
the Electoral Act would look like the taxation legislation. I own land
in Queensland, but not where I live in the ACT, where can I vote? Is a
share in land ownership good enough, as for married couples? What about
family trusts? What about membership of a land-owning organisation?
Ownership of shares? How big a block do you need to qualify - will some
outback councils get rich selling quarter acre blocks of desert for a
buck a pop? Does having a mortgage allow you to vote?
And what of Aboriginal Australians living on native title land?
The whole concept sounds good to some (presumably those owning land),
but when looked at closely about the only people who would actually
benefit would be lawyers and shonky real estate merchants.
--
Cheers, Peter