Australian election...minor parties.?

Question

What's the reason people don't vote for a minor party? It was better with the Democrats having the Senate balance of power...now the Greens seem to be the biggest minor party, yet still under 10% of the vote.

Is it simply just a case of people beileiving their vote is wasted on a minor party? All this "2 party preferred" crap in the media seems to lead voters into voting Labor or Liberal. I've voted Labor in the past few Elections but will probably choose the best Minor/Independant in my Electorate that addresses my issues.
A 'wasted' vote maybe, but a vote for what I want done in my electorate/country.
(To keep this a "questions" post...What's the reason people don't vote for a minor party?)

Addition: Thanks for the quotas info Answer #1.
Answer #2, I meant non-religious/racial-extremist minorites. Not One Nation, Family First.

Answer 1

Actually, for the Senate, about 20% vote for minority parties. The problem is that those votes tend to be split equally between the minority parties on the left and the minority parties on the right.

If both the Coalition and Labour get 40% they start out at approximately 2.8 quotas each. Because the minor parties on the left tend to give their preferences to Labour before they give it to a minor party on the right (and vice versa for the minor parties on the right in terms of giving their preferences to the Coalition), unless one of the minor parties can pull ahead of their "ally," the preferences ultimately give Labour and the Coalition that last Senator.

Most of the discussion of two party-preferred has to be understood as referring to the House of Representative where swing in two party-preferred between the Coalition and Labour is a good way to predict who will form the government.

Answer 2

I think what has happened with the Democrats is that people have become disillusioned with all of the in-fighting that occured early this century, which resulted in a number of very quick changes of leader. While this was similar to the Labor Party, the Democrats don't have the same number of members and base support to survive in a meaningful way. That is just my opinion. As for your "wasted" vote. With preferences your vote will always count until a candidate has greater than 50% of the vote for the House of Representatives or a quota for the Senate. Remember also that the parties are made very aware of the number of votes going to minors and independents, even if they don't eventually get enough votes to be elected. So, keep voting that way, if that's what you want, because a swing away from a party on first preferences will make them think hard about the policies that others are pushing. I hope that makes sense.

Heard on ABC - Adelaide this morning that Nick Xenophon, independant candidate for the Senate, looks like getting around 24% of 1st preference votes in Metro SA, so should easily get a quota.

Answer 3

I think people don't vote for the minor parties because they don't know enough about the party. We see so much coverage on TV about Labour and the Liberals that most of us pretty much know where they stand and what they are on about. What we don't see much of is the minor parties campaigning. We are now just over 2 weeks from the election and I still have no idea who the minor parties or independents in my electorate are. The two major parties on the other hand have sent out pamphlets introducing themselves and describing their plans for this community after the election if they are voted in, and they have appeared at the local shopping centre to face the people.

Answer 4

Minor parties only get 20% of the votes nationally. In the house of reps, each seat represents a small region. So, each region only gets 20% of votes for a minor party which is not enough to win the seat, so minor parties can never win any seats. That's why there is such an emphasis on 2-party preferred.

In the senate it's different. Seats are allocated by proportion of votes, so 20% nationally means they gets a useful number of seats!

Make sure you vote for a minor party in the senate.

Answer 5

Not a wasted vote at all.

If a candidate gets over 4% of the primary vote, that is worth $2.10 each vote - that's what the government pays to the smaller parties for each Electoral Funding vote;

Small parties don't get big bucks sponsorship - they need Electoral Funding to speak up for you and make democracy work;

Big parties still always win because the voting system makes little votes join with big parties at the finish line.

Its a good idea to put a small party or independent first. Put the big party you want to win second. It's a great way to keep the politicians on their toes and ensure voting dollars are spread around making democracy healthier.

Your small party may not win this election, but at least it ensures their survival to continue to lobby the bigger parties for you

Answer 6

I think people just try to keep it simple and go for one of the major ones for various reasons of :-
a) being too lazy to look into what the minor parties stand for, b) thinking that a minor party won't stand a chance in getting anywhere. It is crazy when you think about it, because if enough people take an interest in these minor parties, then they will get to be a major one in the future.

For the record, I met Bob Brown about 3 weeks ago. He was AMAZING. So personable, so attentive, so calm, yet so passionate. Lovely man. I used to be a die-hard Labor voter, but meeting Bob has shown me the importance of voting for a minor party which encompasses my beliefs.

Answer 7

A wasted vote is one that , a person who has never voted, and such when they would like to see a minor party who has similar beliefs need to make their vote count by voting, as it is a decision then that is taken by the relevant parties that there is something wrong with their policies and need to smarten up to gain their support, in fact its like a protest vote against the major parties in the long run.

And sometimes a minor party has good policies that can benefit the whole community as well as the Nation.

Answer 8

Yes the senate was better when the Democrats had the balance of power and why don't they have it any more. You can blame Meg Lees for that when she sold out and stabbed Australians in the back by voting for the GST so much for keeping the bastards honest and John Howard is one bastard that needs to be kept honest. This election should see the democrats being wiped out as they no longer have any relevance all I can say is good thing Don Chip is no longer here to see it

As for minor parties why no body votes for them they are seen as being single issue and you either agree with their view or you don't and if you do agree good luck getting 50% of the country to agree with it

Answer 9

That outfit could be effective for an AFRICAN party, yet no longer for Australia! Aussie clothing may be the eco-friendly and gold donning hues. A socceroos jersey or some thing alongside those lines. donning the flag is a few thing an American could do. no longer finished with the aid of a perfect Australian who hasn't bee indoctrinated into American lifestyle.

Answer 10

Take Family First for example, too extreme, against Asian beliefs and cultures, which are my majors at University....definately not worth my vote nor should anyone else be voting for a party that is funded by the AOG's (Assembles of God) here and overseas.

So I guess its because some may be far too extreme for what we are willing to risk.