Making good voting choices amongst a plethora of candidates is challenging, says MICHAEL MOORE. Fortunately, there is help for people to understand the best way to cast their vote. 

Compulsory voting in Australia is a responsibility of all adults living in our community. 

However, it can be challenging to understand the voting system, distinguishing between candidates and understanding policies of individuals, parties and groups.

Making good choices amongst a plethora of candidates is challenging. This is particularly true in the ACT where there is no party ticket, and where preferences are determined by the voters rather than the parties.

Compare our system to a new car. Other than mechanics, not too many people know the intricacies of how a new car works, but these vehicles are relatively simple to drive. The same is true of our complex electoral system in the ACT. Not many people really understand the complexities of how it operates. However, it is very easy for voters to use effectively.

Fortunately, there is help for people to understand the best way to cast their vote. 

Under the leadership of Dr Peter Tait, the Canberra Alliance for Participatory Democracy (CAPaD) is a non-aligned community based organisation that works to improve understanding of our elections, electoral systems and candidates. With the ACT election just over a month away their work can prove very useful.

CAPaD emphasises, as part of living in a representative democracy, “one power we have is choosing who we elect to represent us”. They provide the footwork of placing voter information in one place to make an informed decision possible. 

CAPaD assists voters to select the candidates who they “think are best qualified for the job”. To do this, CAPaD (at canberra-alliance.org.au/elections/#sctab2024-ACT-Election) provides the research for voters. Each candidate is asked why they are qualified to represent you, how they will strengthen democracy and how they are going to work for your electorate’s interests.

Research carried out by CAPaD recently, over three separate forums, attempted to understand the “qualities of those representatives and particularly how those representatives are going to facilitate community engagement in policy and legislative decision making”.

The conclusions help to understand what voters should expect from an elected representative. This also provides a framework to judge sitting MLAs and to determine whether they deserve to continue in the Legislative Assembly.

CAPaD’s interviews suggested that the ideal elected MLA represents “the interests, needs and concerns of the wider community in good faith during processes of policymaking”. The person also “forms, implements, administers and advocates for government policy and considers how it tracks through time”.

Recognising that the role has multiple functions, the group determined “the representative may alternate between being a political delegate, advocate and trustee of the community, depending on which role is needed at any given time”.

However, they also discussed the characteristics that would make the best MLAs. These include someone with “a genuine interest in community and people”, a person with “courage” as well as, a “facilitator of community participation” who is “intelligent, clear-thinking” and is “a rare beast – honest, transparent, independent, available, intellectually competent”. 

Experience in leadership was also considered an important characteristic.

In summary, CAPaD considers that voters ought to assess characteristics such as “integrity, honesty, transparency and accountability”. Other important issues identified were “putting the community first, not being factionally aligned, being resistant to undue influence from vested interests, declaring any conflicts of interest, being transparent about funding sources and spending and supporting accountability processes and public scrutiny”. 

VoteEasy (voteeasy.com.au) is another group providing assistance for voters. This national group is a non-partisan platform designed for candidates to share information with voters. It is supported by the ACT-based CAPaD. VoteEasy claims to be “an independent online platform, managed without influence”. It “gives candidates a voice and an affordable way to connect with voters and makes it easier for voters to find and know their candidates”.

Vote Easy, like CAPaD, argues voters should be able to find candidate information easily, and an informed voter will make good choices.

Voting is an important responsibility. Thanks to the Hare-Clark system of voting, our citizens have more power than voters anywhere in the world to elect the most suitable candidates to represent them. Thanks to this power, the ACT election on October 19 may be a watershed moment for the citizens of Canberra. 

Michael Moore is a former member of the ACT Legislative Assembly and an independent minister for health. He has been a political columnist with “CityNews” since 2006.

CAPaD’s independent community forums

• Murrumbidgee – Woden Valley Uniting Church, Gillies Street, Curtin, 2pm-4pm, September 22.
• Ginninderra – Belconnen Community Centre, 7pm-9pm, September 23.
• Kurrajong – Currie Crescent Community Hall, Kingston, 7.30pm-9pm, September 24.
• Brindabella – Tuggeranong Community Centre Hall, 2pm-4pm, September 29.
• Yerrabi – Forde Community Centre, 7pm-8.30pm, September 30.