Page 1224 - Week 04 - Thursday, 21 April 1994
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on an electoral system that they may prefer, like one electorate with a good PR system, I would give them that right. When it comes to members of this Assembly and other parliaments around Australia saying that the people should have a referendum on a particular question, I suggest that the people should be able to have referendums. Why should it be only we who can allow them to do it, and why should we be the people who determine the issues, the specific questions, and when? The sooner that that power is held also by the people of Canberra, the better for our democracy, the better for our economy, and the better for our health.
MR BERRY (5.19): Madam Speaker, so far I have not been drawn into this debate, principally because of the length and complexity of it; but this issue is a very simple one.
Mr Humphries: To rort or not to rort.
MR BERRY: Mr Humphries and the Independents, since the outset of the debate over the electoral system, have sought to confuse the community in the ACT. They want to implement a confusing system because they can profit by it. That has been their approach all the way along. The Independents, Mr Moore and Ms Szuty, were elected on the basis of their look-alikeness to the Labor Party. More Labor than Labor was the general thrust of their campaign. Now, of course, when their names have been in lights here and there, they seek to have a confusing electoral system, and seek to ensure that electors do not get access to information when they are about to vote. It is as if people have been forcing how-to-vote cards down the throats of electors as they go to the polls. I have been handing out how-to-vote papers at polls for years and I know when somebody does not want one. They say no. When they say no, there is not much you can do about it. You cannot make them take it away. They will just drop it on the ground, and it would be a waste of a good piece of paper. All we have to do is give them the opportunity to say no. It is as simple as that. What are you frightened of?
Mr Humphries: Confusing the voters.
MR BERRY: I will tell you what you are frightened of. You are frightened that traditional Labor voters and others out there who want to vote Labor will be able to do it correctly and maximise their Labor vote. The Liberals foresee that they are not likely to be in a position to win a majority in this chamber for a long, long time, so the best thing for them to do is to create a confusing system. The Independent benches, occupied by Ms Szuty and Mr Moore, see some value in confusion and making sure that Labor does not win a majority, because they see the power of the balance of power. So it is in the interests of both of you to create a confusing system. It is the same as your attitude to above-the-line voting. You were panic-stricken about it because you knew that the overwhelming majority of the community out there love it. People can get into the polling booth, strike a blow for democracy and get out quickly, knowing that their vote will count as strongly as possible. Voting above the line will ensure that their Labor, Liberal or any other vote is recorded in the strongest way possible.
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