In Australia, most people align themselves with one of the two sides. Labor or The Coalition. It’s hard to blame voters for this, as we see them everywhere on the news, and they both have a near infinite campaigning budget. This is also common in other countries, with a great example being the USA. A single vote has ensured that people must vote for the Democrats or Republicans, otherwise their vote is wasted
I believe that this is a major flaw of our country. Having only two major groups run the country has ensured one of these groups will be in government. Dissatisfied Labor voters can go to The Coalition, and vice versa. This also ensures that:
- The big parties don’t need to compromise with minor parties or independents
- It’s nearly impossible for a government to lose confidence
- Independents have a hard time gaining a voter base
This effectively disables some core parts of our democracy, such as a vote of confidence, and prevents us from having a responsible government. How can we be confident in a government that can’t be removed? Introducing a third major party would force the executive government to make good decisions that Australians want, as they would be under the threat of a no-confidence vote.
One thing that’s important to note is our voting system is different from the USA. While they have a non-transferable vote, we have a transferable one. That means we can mark all of the candidates in the order of our preference. Here is a very good example that shows the basics of how it works. The main benefit is that you can’t “waste” a vote, meaning you can still vote for an independent and minor party while simultaneously showing your preference between the two major parties. For each vote a candidate gets, they also receive $3 for their next campaign, making it a free way to support them, even if they don’t win.
Overall, support the little guys, for the benefit of democracy. You literally can’t waste your vote.