Fears Queensland electoral reform will stifle minor parties There are fears Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie's electoral reforms will weaken minor parties' ability to run in an election. Photo: Chris Hopkins Minor parties have warned Queensland voters are in danger of having their representative choices limited to the two major parties if controversial electoral reforms proposed by the government are passed. Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie has introduced a raft of amendments to the state's electoral act, which, if passed, will mean Queensland voters will need to show identification at the ballot box, donation caps for parties and individual candidates will be abolished and the donation declaration threshold will be lifted to $12,400. This is one of the most cold hearted attacks on minor parties that I think we will see in this generation In addition parties would need to win at least 10 per cent of the vote to receive public funding. Currently, parties only need receive 4 per cent of the vote before they are eligible to apply to have certain election expenses reimbursed. At the last election, the Greens won 7.5 per cent of the vote. Katter's Australian Party polled at about 11 per cent, but has seen its vote drop in the last two years. Both parties said the changes, if passed, would make elections difficult for parties without deep donor pockets. "We are worried about the impact on democracy more broadly, not just our own situation," Queensland Greens convener Andrew Bartlett said. But obviously we are aware that it would make life more difficult for us, as obviously it is intended to do. We get 10 per cent in some seats, but there is plenty that we don't and it will make it harder for us to participate and it will make it harder for a lot of other people to participate, which is hardly democratic. The other thing it does is reinforce the power of big money. Obviously Clive Palmer is not as likely to be worried about not getting public funding because he has got plenty of dough himself. Parties with rich backers will still be able compete more easily, tilting the playing field even further in the direction of those with big money. And it is pretty obvious the distorting influence big money has on politics already. Robbie Katter, of KAP, agreed. "The Greens are obviously on the other side of the political spectrum to us and we disagree on a lot of issues, but I still respect their right to have a say and be part of the process," he said. Our political system was built with the vision that there would always be more than two parties. But the way the cards have fallen, we are left with this duopoly in politics of Liberal and Labor. This is one of the most cold hearted attacks on minor parties that I think we will see in this generation. ..."The way the richer parties run their organisation is like a business and it is pretty simple - if you have the dollars, you can win an election. If you don't have them, you won't. And if you needed a better example, look no further than Clive Palmer in the last federal election. Queensland Palmer United Party leader Alex Douglas said the changes did not worry him, because "we know that we are going to get the 10 per cent, easy." But he said the reforms showed the major parties, particularly the LNP, were "terrified of the future." "They're trying to weaken the capacity of those, other than the Labor party, of being able to run a campaign," he said. They saw what happened during the federal election and they realise that the world is changing. ..."The future is going to be a mixture of more than two alternatives. There will definitely be the PUP, but maybe others as well. Originally, I think the thinking came because of the Katter thing, but their vote declined in the last federal election ... but stupidly they are thinking, 'well PUP might get below 10 per cent', but that is not going to happen. Our vote will be starting at 25-26 per cent. In its response to the discussion paper examining possible changes to the electoral act, the government said raising the threshold to 10 per cent would save the state money and "ensure public funding does not apply to candidates with no realistic hope of winning." The parliamentary committee examining the legislation will report back to parliament by the end of next month. The government is under no obligation to accept its recommendations and given its majority, the legislation, whatever form it takes, will be passed.