The Demise of Victoria's Backroom Electoral Cartel

Victoria’s upper house has long operated as a casino for political microparties, where a one per cent primary vote could miraculously translate into a parliamentary seat. That era of electoral alchemy is officially over. On Tuesday night, the legislative council voted 33 to four to pass the Electoral Amendment (Miscellaneous Matters) Bill 2026. The legislation finally abolishes group voting tickets ahead of the November state election, dragging Victoria into line with the rest of Australia.

Under the discarded system, voters selecting a single party above the line surrendered their preference distribution to party operatives. This structural quirk birthed an industry of backroom preference swapping, allowing obscure candidates to leapfrog rivals who had secured vastly more genuine public support. The new rules demand that voters number at least five parties above the line, placing preference allocation back in the hands of the electorate. Election analyst Antony Green notes that over the past decade, roughly twenty candidates secured office with under six per cent of the primary vote, entirely due to clever preference deals.

Unsurprisingly, the four dissenting votes belonged to the beneficiaries of the old racket. Representatives from the Animal Justice Party, Legalise Cannabis, the Libertarians, and the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers are now facing a severe reality check. Georgie Purcell of the Animal Justice Party conceded the changes severely damage her re-election prospects, though she maintained that it’s not over until it’s over. David Limbrick, the Libertarian MP who gained prominence opposing pandemic mandates, cast his party as the perpetual underdog, noting his vote share had previously surged despite pessimistic forecasts.

The disaffected incumbents argue they would have supported the abolition had the government simultaneously collapsed the eight upper-house regions into a single statewide electorate of forty seats. Such a move would lower the electoral quota to a mere 2.4 per cent for four-year terms. Achieving this requires a referendum. A parliamentary inquiry last year suggested a referendum on structural reform for 2028 or 2030, but the microparties insist the current timeline is a deliberate ploy to consolidate major party power. Legalise Cannabis MP Rachel Payne described the reform as self-serving and motivated by all the wrong reasons.

The rhetoric about stifled diversity ignores the democratic principle that parliamentary seats should reflect actual voter intent, not the negotiating skills of preference whisperers. However, the major parties hoping for a more compliant upper house might be miscalculating. Green projects that the Coalition and Labor will likely secure one to two seats per region, while the Greens could pick up to six.

More strikingly, One Nation is polling at roughly twenty per cent of the primary vote statewide. Green calculates this genuine voter support could translate to eight or nine seats under the new system. If the Liberal party forms a government after November, they will likely find themselves relying heavily on One Nation. Removing an artificial electoral distortion does not guarantee a predictable parliament, but it ensures a more democratic one.

Written by Martina Kirchner martina.kirchner@alpineweekly.com