The Senate: Safeguard or Handbrake on Democracy?

The introduction of a formal threshold for Senate candidates is consistent with the principles of representative democracy. This is because no vote is wasted and no voter disenfranchised irrespective of whether their chosen candidate was so popular that the vote was not needed or so unpopular as to have no chance of election. All voters are able to exert an influence and have a choice in how they direct their preferences.

What effect would a formal threshold have on the composition of the Senate?

In the last three elections a total of sixteen minor party and independent senators were elected, but only two obtained a full quota in their own right. Assuming thresholds based variously on 5%, 7.14% (representing 50% of a half Senate quota), 10% and 11.43% (representing 80% of a half Senate quota) of formal votes or percentages of the Senate quota were applied to the 1993, 1996 and 1998 elections respectively, the results are predictable.

If the most rigorous threshold was applied, only four would have been elected. A 10% threshold would have seen Senators Woodley, Lees and Margetts defeated in 1993, Senators Murray, Brown and Bourne defeated in 1996, and Senators Harradine, Greig, Woodley and Ridgeway defeated in 1998. A 7.14% threshold would have resulted in the defeat of Senators Woodley and Margetts in 1993 and Senator Greig in 1998. A 5% threshold would have seen all sixteen minor party Senators elected.

An effective threshold system would therefore continue to recognise the legitimacy of minority representation whilst enhancing the prospects for strength and stability of government. Conceptually, it offers a solution to the rule of minorities that has characterised the Senate in recent years.

A workable and efficient Government and Parliament are the essential engines that drive Australia. To this end, it is in the long term interests of both the major parties to take a bi-partisan approach to restoring a balance in the Senate between fair representation and the ability to govern. Finding a workable solution is a national priority.