WA government uses majority to introduce sweeping changes to electoral system

The WA government has used its parliamentary majority to overhaul the state's electoral laws, which critics say will diminish regional representation.

Rather than upper house MPs being chosen from six regions of varying size, the whole state will serve as a single electorate with 37 members elected under a "one-vote, one-value" system.

Group voting tickets, which critics argue are used to 'game' the system using complex preference deals to elect candidates with tiny shares of the vote, will also be abolished.

The changes will come into effect after the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Equality) Bill 2021 passed the Legislative Council at about 1.40am on Wednesday morning.

Under the previous system, Perth voters only elected half of the upper house MPs despite making up 75 per cent of the state's electors.

In the most dramatic example, 4 per cent of voters who lived in the Mining and Pastoral Region were able to elect nearly 17 per cent of upper house members, meaning their vote carried six times more weight. 

WA Premier repeatedly claimed reforms were not on the cards

Despite repeatedly claiming it was "not on the agenda" during the state election campaign, Premier Mark McGowan swiftly moved to introduce electoral reform after securing a majority in both houses.

In April, he announced a panel of electoral and constitutional law experts had been tasked with "modernising" the Electoral Act 1907.

The panel was led by Malcolm McCusker QC, a former WA governor, and included three electoral and constitutional law experts.

The report's primary recommendation was to abolish the three metropolitan and three non-metropolitan regions in favour of a single electorate, as exists in the New South Wales and South Australian legislative councils.

Speaking on Wednesday afternoon, Mr McGowan said the changes meant the upper house would have democracy for the first time in 130 years.

"The current system allows for some people's votes to be worth six times other people's votes and that is clearly unfair and clearly unjustifiable," he said.

"Now we'll have a democratic system in which everyone's vote is equal, everyone is equally represented across the state."

Reforms will rip regional representation from WA Parliament: opposition

The state opposition warned the changes would slash regional representation.

Liberal MLC for the South West Region Steve Thomas said the bill's passage marked a "devastating day for regional communities".

"Labor's success in their 120-year campaign to cut regional representation will mean that the disadvantages regional people face are about to get worse," Mr Thomas said.

"No truly regional Labor MP spoke [on the bill] beyond a few desultory comments in the third reading stage after all the substantive debate was over."

When he released the report, Mr McCusker said the recommended changes would not necessarily lead to regional voters having less representation.

"It depends on how people in the regional areas wish to vote," he said in September.

Mr McGowan has previously pointed to the election of Daylight Saving MP Wilson Tucker, who was elected despite getting just 98 first preference votes, to highlight why the reform was needed.

"The March 2021 state election clearly demonstrated that the current system was outdated, broken and not operating in the best interests of democracy," he said in September.

"The Group Voting Tickets system in the WA Legislative Council has been roundly criticised.

"In addition, the council currently is the most undemocratic of any State or Territory in Australia.

"It lags behind most parliaments in the developed world."

'A sad day for regional WA'

All Labor MPs voted in favour of the legislation, as did Legalise Cannabis WA MP Brian Walker.

Only the state opposition –Liberal and Nation MPs – voted against the bill.

Other MPs, including Wilson Tucker, left before the vote.

"It is a sad day for regional WA," Mr Tucker said on Wednesday," he said.

Regional Labor MLC Darren West said the new system was fairer, and a good outcome for regional WA.

"What will happen is that regional voters will now have 37 Upper House members they can take their issues and concerns to," he said.

"It is actually a good day for regional WA.

"It is ridiculous that a vote in Kalgoorlie is worth 3.5 times a vote in Boyup Brook.

"Future generations will look back and say it was crazy that once you got extra weighting on your vote depending on where you lived.

"Just as we look back now and say it was ridiculous that women or Aboriginal people were once not allowed to vote."