Jailed for advertising alternative voting method

By Vanessa Hearman MELBOURNE — Albert Langer, a political activist in Neither, a group campaigning for a mixed-member proportional (MMP) voting system, was sentenced to two and a half months' jail for contempt of court on February 14. He had placed a newspaper advertisement urging voters to mark their ballot papers "1, 2" for independent or smaller party candidates and "3" for the major parties. Despite this method not contravening the Australian Electoral Act, as set out by the Australian Electoral Commission's scrutineers' handbook, the commission gained an injunction preventing Langer and his associates advertising the fact. Langer was jailed for contempt after he distributed materials pertaining to this alternative voting method at a news conference. He has promised to continue his fight against the electoral commission during his prison term. David McMullen, spokesperson for Neither, commented to Green Left, "No way is there a law which forces people to express their preferences, beyond those they wanted in the first place". Di Quin, Democratic Socialist candidate for Melbourne, attacked the jailing of Langer as "an assault on democratic rights", although she disagreed with Langer's preference strategy. "I can empathise with the attitude that neither major party serves the interests of the majority. But to go from there and say it doesn't matter whether Labor or Liberal governs is to ignore experience. The ALP is still a lesser evil and is better exposed as a bosses' party if it is in government. For these reasons the Democratic Socialists will be directing their preferences to Labor ahead of Liberal, after more progressive candidates." Neither can be contacted by phoning (03) 9489 2223.

From GLW issue 220