The referendum to entrench the Hare-Clark electoral system is comfortably ahead, according to the latest Canberra Times-Datacol opinion poll. The poll puts in the Yes vote at 58 per cent; No at 26 and undecided at 17.
However, the referendum may not be passed because Federal law requires that a majority of every enrolled voter approve it before it is passed. Because 10 per cent usually do not vote and about 6 per cent of those that do vote informal, it would require 60 per cent of the valid vote to be passed. The referendum is to decide whether the Hare-Clark voting system, which was approved by 64 per cent of people in an advisory referendum in 1992, be entrenched so that it can only be amended by referendum or a two-thirds majority of the Assembly. The referendum was proposed after an attempt by Labor to introduce above-the-line party voting was defeated in the Assembly. The affect of that would have been to hand to party machines the right to nominate a party ticket. The present system does not allow for a party vote; voters have to select candidates individually and the ballot papers are printed according to Robson rotation. This means the order of candidates on the ballot paper is scrambled so some papers, for example, might have the Labor team with Lamont at the top and others with Connolly and others with Follett.
Labor agreed to support a Yes in the referendum after the defeat of its bill. The Liberals and the Independents also supported Yes. Only Abolish Self-Government MLA Dennis Stevenson voted against it. Bogey Musidlak, of the Proportional Representation Society, said the poll suggested the referendum would pass. His society would be campaigning at polling booths next Saturday telling voters to keep control of the voting system in the hands of the people instead of in the hands of a bare majority of Act politicians. The referendum has hardly been mentioned in campaign literature. The poll shows that the Yes votes is stronger in higher age groups, with public-sector employees, Liberal voters, males and in Molonglo.