Seats For Sale

It emerged during the 2022 Victorian state election that upper house seats were being offered for sale for $50,000 by self-described “preference whisperer” Glenn Druery.

To do this, Druery was exploiting a controversial Group Voting Tickets System, which has been made illegal in every other state and territory in Australia, except Victoria.

The Group Voting Ticket System allows a candidate or political party to direct voting preferences wherever they choose if a voter puts a number in one box above the line.

This leads to millions of votes being directed by parties or people like Druery, without any control or input from voters.

This cuts across the notion of equality.

Under Section 18 (2)(b) of the Victorian Charter of Human Rights every person has the right to equal treatment under the law. That obviously includes equal voting rights.

The Solis Foundation believes that the systematic exploitation of the Group Voting Ticket system destroys the fundamental democratic principle of transparency.
 
Solis will advocate to have the Group Voting Ticket System reformed before the next Victorian election in 2026, by fostering community support for this outcome and working collaboratively to secure the political support required.