Tuesday, 2 December 2025

 Jacinta ERMACORA (Western Victoria) (13:28): Pursuant to section 35 of the Parliamentary Committees Act 2003, I table a report on the inquiry into Victoria’s upper house electoral system, including an appendix, extracts of proceedings and minority reports, from the Electoral Matters Committee, and I present the transcripts of evidence. I move:

That the transcripts of evidence be tabled and the report be published.

Motion agreed to.

Jacinta ERMACORA: I move:

That the Council take note of the report.

I just want to make some very brief contributions of thanks, really, for this report. Particularly I want to thank those who submitted to the inquiry and also those who gave their time in public hearings, including the Hansard team and the secretariat, who worked very hard on this project, as well as, for their participation, the Victorian Electoral Commission. I also want to just close by saying to a member in the other place, Emma Vulin, who preceded me on the committee and during this inquiry: thank you.

 Evan MULHOLLAND (Northern Metropolitan) (13:30): I rise to speak on the Electoral Matters Committee’s report into the upper house system. It is good to be back on the Electoral Matters Committee. This was a wideranging inquiry. It was really good to attend multiple different hearings on this particular report. It is an important report.

We know that group voting tickets have long been an issue in Victoria. Over the life cycle of this government we have been given weasel words by this government, by former Premier Daniel Andrews and this Premier as well, that ‘It is to come’, ‘It is something we’re looking into’, only to get to the election and for the government to shrug its shoulders and say, ‘It’s all too hard.’ The Liberals and Nationals support the abolition of group voting tickets. Labor have been dragged kicking and screaming to their current position.

We also, as Liberals and Nationals, as outlined in our report, believe that representation of regional Victorians is paramount to any future structure of the Legislative Council. Labor’s 2003 decision to entrench the regional structure in the state constitution has created an inflexibility to sensible reform. Labor has been aware of this issue but has failed to act. Their reluctance to fix our broken electoral system means that electoral outcomes in the upper house have been – actual electoral outcomes of people that are here – distorted by preference-whisperers to reflect their undemocratic intentions rather than the will of voters. We back the removal of group voting tickets. The government, I understand, is keen to negotiate with us in good faith. I will say, through bills they might introduce today, they have not got off to a good start.

 Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (13:32): I too want to make some comments about this report and start by thanking the staff and fellow committee members and everyone who contributed to what was a really robust and interesting inquiry.

I think this is a really good report, and it very accurately reflects what the committee heard. While there is a case for upper house reform, the best way to reform it, if at all, is heavily contested. Any upper house reform requires a referendum, and this necessarily requires a clear question to be put to the Victorian people, and we do not yet have an idea of what that clear question would be. The committee found, rightly, that further work was required to decide if and how any upper house reform should take place and that a parliamentary committee was not the best vehicle to do so. Further, the inquiry found that, practically speaking, any referendum on upper house reform would take a significant amount of time to prepare for and would not be possible before the next state election.

This is really critical because the inquiry also heard, once again, as Mr Mulholland said, that the abolition of undemocratic group voting tickets should be a priority and should take place before the next state election, and does not need to be linked to upper house reform. The Victorian Electoral Commission indicated that removing group voting tickets would be logistically possible before the next election, and there was widespread, albeit not universal, support for doing so across the political spectrum. We have long argued for the abolition of group voting tickets. As we have heard from Mr Mulholland, there is really broad support for doing so. This inquiry into upper house reform was used as an excuse for not moving on that. I think the time for excuses has run out. We have had two joint committee inquiries just this term that recommend the abolition of group voting tickets before the next election, and it is time that the government got on with this.

 David ETTERSHANK (Western Metropolitan) (13:34): I would like to start out by thanking the secretariat, led by Chris Gribbin, who did amazing work, and the many who participated in the proceedings.

The report has an excellent analysis of the complex and diverse views expressed by the community and stakeholders over how reform in the upper house system should be implemented. Central to the debate is the abolition of group voting tickets, which everyone agrees on, and the interrelated question of changes to the structure of the regions. This is a very disturbing report in that its central recommendations regarding the abolition of GVTs without changing the regions is little more than a convenience agreement between the old parties of Labor, Liberal, National and Greens to frustrate and neuter the rapidly growing smaller parties. It is worth noting that when the Western Australia and New South Wales governments abolished GVTs they simultaneously restructured the regions to ensure an equitable outcome.

Over the last four elections the share of first preference votes garnered by the smaller parties has tripled, from 9 per cent to 27 per cent. The proposal to eliminate GVTs without changing the regions would disenfranchise that quarter of the electorate that do not vote for the old parties. It would effectively eliminate all of the crossbench except for the Greens.

The recommendations build on several recommendations from the earlier inquiry in 2022, which recommended increasing the number of members required to register a party from 500 to 750 and increasing the number required for an independent to run from six sponsors to 50 sponsors. It is all designed to make it harder for small parties to get a say.

There is no such thing as a perfect democracy, but ours is pretty good. Should the government choose to adopt these recommendations, it will be a dark day for political diversity and democracy in Victoria. I commend the report to the house.

Motion agreed to.