The New South Wales Branch of the Proportional Representation Society has a big coverage of Tasmania relevant issues in its current newsletter, ironically called Last Remainder.
In summary, it says the Wilke win was a bit of a fluke, and that Tasmania should elect its House of Assembly by one big state-wide constituency. This might put it at odds with Neil Robson’s Tasmanian Branch of the PR Society, which seems to favour the status quo of five or seven. It would also be a political issue too hot to handle in this state.
The last time and only time Tasmania was a state-wide lower house PR constituency was in 1901, when Tasmania elected its five members of the original House of Representatives by PR.
That worked well, but bigger numbers, anything over about 7 or 9, just won’t. Just imagine a House of Assembly with its 25 members elected by PR. We might get a lot of loonies like mad Trots or Family Firsters elected. PR is about balance, and five or seven works well.
Download:
Largest_Remainder_jan11.pdf
