NSW Upper House electoral changes
The NSW government's bill to change the method of election to the
Legislative Council went through parliament with a few minor amendments.
The bill supported by both the major parties, was opposed by the majority
of crossbenchers.
The cross benchers, Peter Breen and The Greens, managed to convince the
major parties to amend the legislation. The government agreed to a slight
reduction in the once-off party registration fee from $3,500 to $2,000 and
in party membership from 1000 to 750. These amendments were supported by
all members of the parliament.
The passing of this legislation means that optional preferential
above-the-line voting will be in place for the next state election. This
means that parties will no longer have to lodge preference tickets with the
State Electoral Office. This effectively ends back room party deals and
means that voters will now determine preference flows.
The negative side of the bill is that it increases the cost of party
registration and party membership.
--
Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html
Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop
Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink
Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
