Why a Referendum on Plebiscites and Proportional Representation?

We have one of the best governance systems in the world, thanks to our heritage. However, I believe the past two decades of unmandated population growth underscores two fundamental flaws in our constitution.

We have a prudent process for changing it, so only after overwhelming evidence and experience does a change gain the board support needed to amend it. Sometimes it has happened swiftly, such the changes to Senate appointment rules after The Dismissal. Sometimes it has been slow, such as the 1967  recognition of Aborigines as citizens. Bi-partisan support is essential.

Twenty years of an unmandated policy by governments of all persuasions that has transformed the country dramatically against the will of the majority means something is systemically wrong with our political system. It has become captured by vested interests.  It has become disconnected from the people and is no longer properly representing us.

That policy is high immigration. I recall back in the early 1990s the then (ALP) Minister for Immigration stating in the media, “There is a perception in the community that immigration is out of control.”

In the past year (2023) the ALP Federal government oversaw the biggest spike in immigration this country has ever seen – taking us to third world levels of population growth.

Sustainable Population Australia’s ‘Say NO to a Big Australia‘ campaign is responding to public outrage. It has a pragmatic approach to achieving its goals, given the current state of our political process. It aims “to make high migration THE election issue and force a policy shift.”

SPA is not calling for a plebiscite, because plebiscites are merely a tool for polling the people at the government’s discretion, that it can then ignore.

Constitutional reform is required. We need a referendum on plebiscites. The constitution should be amended to make it possible for a significant number of citizen signatories on a petition to initiate a plebiscite. A Yes result should achieve at least 60% and it should be binding on the government of the day. This is a safeguard against state capture.

The extent to which immigration policy has become uncoupled from public opinion also illustrates how unrepresentative our electoral system is. We also need a referendum on the electoral system to make it a more proportional representation of the electorate’s will, as Tasmania, the ACT, New Zealand and most European countries have.

I have just joined the Samuel Griffith Society, Australia’s peak (I think) body for those interested in all matters constitutional. For those who don’t know, Samuel Griffith was one the primary authors of our constitution, and Governor of Queensland in the lead up to Federation. The SGS is holding a conference at the Gold Coast  https://www.samuelgriffith.org/2024