And it was an expensive tablecloth at that, costing the State Electoral Office an extra $10 million to print and handle the 4 million ballot papers issued! Traditionally, small parties struggled to receive the required quota to be elected to the Council – approximately 4.55% of the total number of first preference votes cast. The introduction of ‘above the line’ voting in 1987 then allowed parties to distribute surplus votes (the votes over and above the quota) according to their own preferences, rather than those of the electors. So a large number of so-called ‘micro parties’ registered for the election knowing that, while they had little chance of being elected in their own right, the allocation of preferences from another party could lead to electoral success. And that is precisely what occurred: three candidates were elected with less than 1% each of first preference votes, one with only 0.2% of first preference votes!
The Tablecloth Election triggered allegations that this perceived manipulation of preference flows was undemocratic, prompting the government to introduce reforms. The key reform was the abolition of the group ticket voting system, so that the only preferences that could flow between parties would be those preferences filled in by voters themselves – not those directed by the parties. Party registration was also reformed. A party would be required to have a minimum of 750 members to be registered, instead of the previous 200; the party had to be registered for 12 months prior to an election; and it had to pay a $2,000 registration fee. The reforms put a stop to the election of micro parties with miniscule first preference votes, but thankfully have not impeded the election of a broad crossbench representing a range of diverse interests – one of the democratic hallmarks of NSW’s Legislative Council.
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