Labor has given the clearest signal yet that they will force Victorians to use group voting at the next state election in their response to the Electoral Matters Committee's report today.
When the report was released, Labor deferred voting reform until after another inquiry in the Upper House - despite the report stating that group voting tickets should be abolished and that there should be no delay, even explicitly stating that it should not be prolonged by another inquiry.
Labor has today said that they will wait to review group voting tickets until after the new EMC inquiry, which doesn't report until December.
Victoria's unique group voting system has been abolished in every other state and the Commonwealth and does not allow voters to allocate preferences above the line on the upper house ballot paper.
It is manipulated in deals between microparties who pay Glenn Druery to arrange preference swaps so that most people who vote for one microparty end up electing another, often unrelated party.
Given the new inquiry will not report until after the 2025 sitting year has ended, we may not see a response from the government until mid 2026, which the Victorian Greens spokesperson for integrity, Dr Tim Read says that this no doubt means that Labor has kicked the can down the road until after the 2026 election.
As stated by the Victorian Greens spokesperson for integrity, Dr Tim Read:
"If the government won't allow Victorians to choose their own preferences, they should at least have the decency to say so.
"It's disappointing to once again see Labor kicking the can down the road on group voting tickets. Elections should be determined by the will of the people, not dodgy backroom preference deals."
