A rightwing provocateur's plan to register the 'Free Palestine party' and use it to funnel votes to conservative parties in Victoria's state election has renewed concern over the state's voting system.
Background on the Group Voting Ticket System
Victoria's upper house is the only house of parliament in Australia still using the group voting ticket system (GVTs). Under this system, voters can only choose one party above the line on the ballot paper. If that party is eliminated during counting, the voter's preferences are allocated according to a pre-arranged deal made by the party. This has allowed backroom deals between parties to flourish, with some candidates elected with only a tiny number of primary votes. The most prominent figure in these deals is Glenn Druery, known as the 'preference whisperer'.
Avi Yemini's Announcement
Avi Yemini, a former Israeli soldier and self-styled investigative journalist who runs the YouTube channel Rebel News Australia, announced on Tuesday his plan to register the 'Free Palestine party'. He stated that the party would 'flow our preferences on to parties that want to free Palestine from Hamas' in the November poll. Yemini said he was inspired by anti-lockdown activist Monica Smit, who in February announced she would seek to register the 'Save the Environment party' to influence the election result.
In his video, Yemini claimed Smit's party would 'take voters' from the left and 'redistribute their votes back to conservative parties'. He described his own plan as 'genius', saying that voters who support the Free Palestine cause would be tricked into voting for his party, only to have their preferences directed to conservative parties. He is now seeking members to register the party with the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC).
Political Reactions
The Labor-led electoral matters committee called for GVTs to be scrapped in its 2022 election review. A separate inquiry in December urged the government to implement this recommendation 'as soon as possible, so that the new voting system will apply at the 2026 state election'. The VEC stated that changes could be implemented in time for the 2026 election only if legislation is passed by August. The Liberal party and the Greens also support abolishing GVTs.
Greens leader Ellen Sandell criticised Labor for failing to act, saying: 'Group voting tickets are seriously dodgy. How can Labor condone a voting system that allows people to be tricked into voting for a party with a fake name that is completely opposed to their values?' She warned that if Labor does not abolish GVTs, it is 'handing the upper house over to the far right'.
Three Labor MPs, speaking anonymously, said there is strong support within the caucus to abolish GVTs due to integrity risks. The party has delayed upper-house preselections while awaiting an outcome. One MP indicated that Premier Jacinta Allan appears reluctant to scrap GVTs because it would benefit One Nation.
Glenn Druery said that if Labor scraps GVTs and recent polling holds, One Nation could win between 13 and 16 upper-house seats. He declined to name his current clients but said he is 'proud' to have worked to direct micro-party preferences away from One Nation since 1999. He added: 'I am happy to say I will use all my expertise, my contacts, my experience, to do my best to stop any racists, cookers or crazies from getting into the Victorian parliament.'
Pauline Hanson told 10News+ that One Nation would 'gladly welcome' preferences from Yemini's party, but she believes it would be better to 'get rid' of GVTs and 'allow voters to control their preferences'. One Nation's Victorian president, Warren Pickering, said the party has supported scrapping GVTs since 2022, describing them as a 'subversion of the democratic process'.
A government spokesperson said the registration of political parties is a matter for the VEC and that the government is still considering the recommendations on GVTs. A VEC spokesperson explained that all applications are assessed under the Electoral Act, and objections can be made but not on grounds that the party's name does not reflect its 'true' character or that its policies are objectionable.
