A different take on “The Voice” referendum
A piece provided to various progressive media outlets ahead of the national referendum of an Indigenous Voice to the Australian Parliament advocating public promotion of abstention as a legitimate option for voters. Unfortunately, the piece did not get a run and, to our national shame, the referendum was defeated on 13 October 2023. (7 min read)
Australians who do not know or care about “The Voice” referendum on 13 October 2023 should abstain from voting by submitting a blank ballot paper. Abstention is a legitimate third option which, if promoted, will help neutralise polarisation.
There is a lot of passion on the “Yes” and “No” sides of The Voice, but there are also a lot of Australians who are not interested in politics and do not fully understand the issues. They are angry about activism and feel bad about the referendum. They should not feel forced to vote against their consciences.
“Abstaining is not wasting a vote, it is making the point that you will not be badgered into voting for something you are unsure about”
Voting is compulsory in Australia but it is not illegal to submit a blank ballot paper.
“While you have to turn up to vote, you do not have to vote yes or no. There is a third option – abstaining.”
“You abstain by putting your ballot paper into the box without marking it or by writing on it that you wish to abstain.”
“It is a bit rich for politicians to say we must vote yes or no when they don’t have to.”
Australian politicians routinely abstain from votes on legislation and other business.
Ten Parliamentarians did not vote on the legislation that authorised the voice referendum. While Senator Patrick Dodson was on medical leave and Milton Dick and the Speaker of the House was ineligible to vote, a further eight – four MPs and four Senators – were not present in the chamber for the vote. They were:
- Madeleine King MP
- Bob Katter MP
- Cameron Caldwell MP
- Russell Broadbent MP
- Senator Richard Colbeck
- Senator Andrew McLachlan
- Senator David Van
- Senator James Patterson
The Parliament’s website does not directly identify which MPs and Senators abstain. To work out who abstained from voting, it is necessary to compare the votes for a division for a Bill against all the Parliamentarians.
The lack of transparency about abstentions conveys an impression that abstaining from voting is bad. However, the Parliament’s procedures acknowledge that an MP or Senator abstains by absenting themselves from a division.
It is ethical and proper to abstain from voting – whether it be in the Parliament, the board room, the party room or in a referendum. And it could easily be argued that it is unethical and improper to vote for or against something that one does not understand.
Ten Parliamentarians, including Scott Morrison and Tony Abbott, abstained from voting on the Same Sex Marriage legislation despite an overwhelming majority of Australians supporting it in a national plebiscite in 2017. Even John Howard notoriously relied on abstention by independent senator Mal Colston to secure passage of GST legislation in 1999.
Those same individuals will likely argue that ordinary, quiet Australians should not have the right to abstain from voting in a referendum. Is that a case of “do as I say”, not “do as I do”?
Australians know when they are being played and many will recognise that the real issue for those opposed to abstention from The Voice referendum is a deep fear of how this may impact on future referendums on matters they truly care about.
If only those who are truly interested in the issues chose to vote yes or no in the referendum and the rest of us abstain, we can all sleep the sleep of the just on 14 October.
For those who are interested in the details, I set out my references and research below.
Namaste.
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MY REFERENCES & RESEARCH
SENATE PROCEDURES
“The procedures do not allow for senators formally to record an abstention from voting. All senators who are on the floor of the chamber when the count is begun must vote with the ayes or the noes, except the senator in the chair.27 Senators who wish to abstain in a vote can do so only by absenting themselves from the floor of the chamber. If a senator is absent during a division, it is therefore not possible to tell from the record of voting alone whether the senator has deliberately abstained from voting or has simply been absent. It is of course open to senators to declare an intention to abstain from voting during debate on a motion or otherwise to make their abstention known.”
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES PROCEDURES
“When a decision is made in the House of Representatives, it is put to a vote. Members can vote yes or no, or they can choose to abstain from the vote which means to not vote at all. In a division – a formal vote – members must be in the House of Representatives to be counted. If members choose to abstain, they need to leave the House of Representatives to prevent being counted. Members usually have 4 minutes to enter or leave the House of Representatives, unless more than one division vote is held in quick succession, in which case members have 1 minute.”
House of Representatives procedures
VOICE BILL – PARLIAMENTARY DIVISIONS
Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023
HOUSE OF REPS – THIRD READING – 31 MAY 2023 (151 SEATS)
Third reading – House of Representatives
AYES – 121 (ALP – 76; LPA – 21; IND – 11; LNP QLD – 8; GREENS – 4; CENTRE ALLIANCE – 1). NOES – 25 (LNP QLD – 12; NATIONALS – 9; LPA – 4). ABSTAIN – 5 [Dick (ALP – ineligible to vote as presiding officer); Madeline King (ALP); Bob Katter; Cameron Caldwell (LNP); Russell Broadbent (LPA)]
SENATE – THIRD READING – 19 JUNE 2023 (76 SENATORS)
AYES – 52. NOES – 19 (including Thorpe). ABSTAIN – 5 [Richard Colbeck, LPA (moved an amendment to the Bill that did not succeed); Patrick Dodson, ALP (on medical leave but publicly in favour of the Bill); Andrew McLachlan, LPA ; James Patterson, LPA (he spoke on 14 June in favour of Bill but did not vote); David Van, LPA ]
AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION WEBSITE
“Subsection 45(1) of the Referendum Act provides that: ‘it is the duty of every elector to vote at a referendum’.
..Section 35 of the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984 require an elector, when attending a polling place to vote on polling day and upon receiving a ballot paper/s, to retire alone to an unoccupied voting compartment and there, in private, mark his or her vote on the ballot paper/s. The elector must then fold the ballot paper/s so as to conceal his or her vote and deposit it/them in the relevant ballot box.
An elector may be guilty of an offence under …section 130 of the Referendum Act, if the elector fails to vote at …a referendum… without a valid and sufficient reason for that failure.
What constitutes a ‘valid and sufficient reason’ for failing to vote is, in the first instance, is a matter for the relevant DRO to assess on the merits on each individual case, in accordance with the law as previously interpreted by the courts. The decisions of the court on the interpretation of the term ‘valid and sufficient reason’ have developed over the years into a substantial body of law that guides DROs in their decision-making in individual cases.
Without limiting what may constitute a ‘valid and sufficient reason’… section 13A of the Referendum Act, provides that “the fact that an elector believes it to be part of his or her religious duty to abstain from voting constitutes a valid and sufficient reason for failing to vote.””
REFERENDUM (MACHINERY PROVISIONS) ACT 1984:
See sections 24, 45, 93, 120, 122, 130, 131)
ONLINE SOURCES:
Thorpe may abstain: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-28/lidia-thorpe-rules-out-voting-no-to-voice-may-abstain-from-vote/102403054
10 abstain from Same Sex Marriage Bill: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-08/same-sex-marriage-who-didnt-vote/9240584
Tamworth – re abstention: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/apr/07/if-i-had-to-vote-right-now-id-abstain-tamworth-residents-call-for-details-on-the-voice
Michael Mansell et al (Wheeler Centre): https://www.wheelercentre.com/wlr-articles/housekeeping-3-no-shows-why-do-people-abstain-from-voting-in-australia/
Dodson on medical leave for debate on Bill: https://nit.com.au/16-06-2023/6391/dodson-sends-heartfelt-message-urging-for-voice
Dutton on same sex marriage: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/i-voted-no-but-yes-will-win-says-dutton-on-same-sex-marriage-survey/xir0agqf4
Howard accepts Colston vote: https://australianpolitics.com/1998/10/15/howard-to-accept-colston-vote.html A New Tax System (Pay As You Go) Bill
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