Book Review: From Secret Ballot to Democracy Sausage – How Australia Got Compulsory Voting by Judith Brett
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This is the latest book in my year of reading Australian female writers.
*****
There’s a famous quote from Winston Churchill that says democracy is the worst form of government… except for all the others. This is the book that proves Australia’s electoral system is the worst form of voting… except for all the others.
Compulsory registration, a perpetual electoral roll, universal suffrage (all citizens aged over eighteen excluding those currently jailed for a term of three years or more), compulsory voting, postal, absentee and pre-poll voting, preferential voting in the lower house, proportional voting in the upper house, secret ballots, an independent electoral commission (not controlled by political parties), everything Australia does is designed to ensure everyone has a say and the majority is reflected while the minorities are protected.
But the way in which Australia got all of this is almost unbelievable. After the US war of independence, Britain was so determined not to lose any more colonies that when Australia politely asked for theirs, the colonial masters bent over backwards to do what they could while retaining it as part of the Commonwealth. Not a single life was lost.
And the Australian electoral system is also amazing in that when it appears the system is being gamed by anyone for unfair advantage, both sides of politics since Australian federation have come together to legislate the necessary changes to prevent it from happening again. Can anyone imagine that in the US? Ha!
There are some fascinating snippets, like the story behind how the state of South Australia became the first place in the world women could run for office. Hoping to sabotage a bill that would give women the right to vote in South Australia in 1894, opponents introduced an amendment that would also allow women to run for office. It backfired: South Australian women ended up with more than they had even been asking for and South Australia was forever etched in hilarious feminist history.
The book suffers from a few editing errors and the occasional slight political preference appears to have slipped into the text but otherwise it is terrific, especially for political history nerds and those interested in how countries establish themselves. Or maybe I should say only for political history nerds and those interested in how countries establish themselves.
It would probably be worthwhile for all politicians to read this as well as a reminder of a time when people ran for office to better the country as a whole, not to force a personal agenda on others. Of course, there is no system of voting on earth that can ensure a country gets good politicians. What a shame.
4 stars
*First published on Goodreads 14 June 2019
