Recall Elections by Gareth Griffith and Lenny Roth
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E – BRIEF NSW Parliamentary Library Research Service February 2010 E-Brief 3/2010 Recall Elections by Gareth Griffith and Lenny Roth and conventions associated with 1 WHAT IS MEANT BY A representative democracy and, in the RECALL ELECTION? Westminster tradition, responsible In other jurisdictions Recall is a term government. Direct democracy, as the used to describe a process whereby name suggests, argues on behalf of the electorate can petition to trigger a popular involvement in the democratic vote on the suitability of an existing process, whereas the guiding ideas elected representative to continue in behind representative democracy tend office. In those jurisdictions where it to limit such involvement to the operates, Recall is seen as an choosing of representatives at election important, directly democratic, tool for time. the electorate to remove from office those elected representatives seen to In the direct or plebiscitary model, be ineffective. Members of Parliament are seen as ‘agents’ or ‘delegates’ of the electors. In the recent debate in NSW, the idea In the representative model, in the of a Recall election has taken a words of Edmund Burke, they are different form. Basically, it is not more than mere delegates. Rather, concerned with the Recall of an under this second model MPs are individual Member of Parliament. trustees of the electorate, there to Rather, the suggestion is that a Recall exercise their own judgement in the petition can be used to trigger an early broad interests of the nation, or 2 State election, thereby presenting the whatever form of polity is involved. electorate with the opportunity to remove an ineffective or unpopular The idea of Recall elections can be government. This argument has seen as a direct democracy check on developed in the context of four year representative democracy. As noted, fixed term Parliaments, under which an the mechanism operates in other early election can only be called under jurisdictions as a check on wayward or very limited circumstances.1 ineffective individual representatives: 2 THEORETICAL NOTE The Recall idea is based on the political theory that voters should There is in democratic thought and retain the right of control over their practice a schism between, on one elected officials’.3 side, participatory or plebiscitary processes and mechanisms, which can be discussed under the heading of ‘direct’ democracy and, on the other side, those processes, mechanisms Page 1 of 11 NSW Parliamentary Library Research Service 3 HISTORICAL NOTE Referendum and Recall would lay A complex history lies behind the both open to destructive harassing Recall idea. It is enough to say that by outside pressure groups and extremist forces and occasionally more populist versions of democracy th would lay each open to more or less developed in some quarters in the 19 irresponsible harassing by the century. For example, the Chartists in other…It would have been England campaigned for annual appropriate if the ALP had long elections. Referendums also became a since struck the anachronistic feature of democratic discourse, references from the Platform.4 including those initiated by citizens to pass or repeal particular laws. Note that in the context of the Federal Labor Party, LF Crisp stated that ‘there In Australia, populist checks on can be no doubt that Recall means representative democracy were recall of legislation, since it is linked advocated by the ALP, including the immediately with Initiative and NSW State Branch. Included under the Referendum’.5 It is possible that the heading ‘constitutional reform’ in the same applied at the State level. 1918 State Fighting Platform is the call However, at the 1916 Conference of for: the NSW Branch a resolution was moved to apply the Recall to Members Abolition of the Legislative Council of the NSW Parliament, which and the substitution therefor of the suggests that for some at least it was Initiative, Referendum and Recall. seen as a rank and file check on MPs.6 The 1965-66 State Objective and Professor George Williams has Platform includes the following agenda commented on this history: for constitutional reform: Australia has a long, forgotten Abolition of the Legislative Council. history of debating the Recall. The Institution of the Initiative ALP adopted the idea nationally in Referendum and Recall. its policy platform in 1912 but Abolition of the office of State dropped it in 1963. The Recall was Governor. also debated in the Queensland Parliament over 1917 and 1918, but While the Recall idea appealed to the was not passed. Today no rank and file, the prospect of it being Australian Parliament allows voters 7 acted upon by the party leadership to exercise a recall. was remote. Writing in 1955 about the Australian Federal Labor Party, LF 4 STANDPOINTS IN THE Crisp described the Recall and CONTEMPORARY DEBATE Initiative proposals as ‘anachronistic’. The Sydney Morning Herald is He wrote that Labor had long accepted currently inviting registered NSW the rules of the game of responsible voters to sign an online petition calling government: for a referendum to be held at the next State election to change the NSW the Initiative, Referendum and Constitution to allow for a Recall Recall cut right across the basic mechanism. As of 4 January 2010, 20, principles of responsible cabinet 054 people had signed the petition (no government. Both parties accept the broad traditions of the British updated figure has been published). parliamentary system: the Initiative, Page 2 of 11 E-Brief Recall Elections There has been considerable The SMH’s State political editor comment and debate on this issue, Andrew Clennel reported on the same from politicians, academics and others. day: These are presented in summary below. Mr O'Farrell said there were four chief reasons why people thought he 4.1 Political standpoints should not pursue recall elections, and he dismissed all of them. ''The first check [on it] is if you can't Barry O’Farrell – Leader of the get the signatures, well, clearly Opposition: there's not enough support there, so In a speech to the Sydney Institute in that's the first democratic feature March the Opposition Leader about it. announced that if elected in March ''Second, if you do get a fresh 2011 he would appoint a panel of election, it's possible the person constitutional experts to look at you're seeking to recall could win introducing a Recall election provision again. in NSW. He would then look for a ''Third, they argue that it's an referendum at either the 2012 local additional expense … [they] would probably argue we shouldn't have government elections or at the 2015 elections at all because they're State election to introduce a Recall pretty expensive too. provision. ''Fourth, they argue that it characterises all MPs or all Taking the debate a step further, the representatives as not hard-working SMH reported in December 2009: … well, I think, to quote Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott, that's just Mr O'Farrell said that if the Herald BS.'' campaign produced enough Mr O'Farrell ruled out another, signatures he would introduce possibly simpler, option to improve legislation next year in an attempt to democracy to NSW - a return to set up a referendum in 2011.8 three-year term. At that time Mr O’Farrell confirmed his Mr O’Farrell is quoted as saying: commitment to the Recall idea, stating: “So I'd be happy to have a fixed four-year term with a recall Recall elections are democratic, 10 increase accountability, offer a provision”. safeguard against abuse and can help restore confidence in, and Premier Keneally promote active involvement with, the On 12 December 2009 it was reported political process. The spectre of that the Premier would ‘support a being forced to an early election by debate’ on recall elections in NSW. the public could provide the stimulus The SMH reported: needed for government - even a NSW Labor one - to put in a full four- Ms Keneally said she was prepared year effort as well as a safeguard to listen if the public wanted a against political abuses…. A recall debate on the issue. "What I would election mechanism would give the say is that we're talking about a public a release valve. It would only significant constitutional change prove successful if first, supported here, one that is untested in the by sufficient petitioners, and second, Australian context," Ms Keneally told by a majority of electors in any reporters. The community should 9 subsequent poll. have a debate "before we would Page 3 of 11 NSW Parliamentary Library Research Service take such a step", she said. On one There have been surprisingly few side of the debate, fixed terms advances since the 19th century provided stability for a government campaigns of the Chartists for to make a hard decision "and deliver universal suffrage, secret ballots and on it". On the flipside, Ms Keneally payment for MPs. said a recall provision or even the A number of letters to the editor return of non-fixed terms could published in the Herald have warned "provide a better opportunity for that there can be a downside to the people to engage in the political right of recall on unpopular process".11 governments. In most of the US states with this provision, the bar is Andrew Stoner – Leader of the set at 12 per cent of votes cast at Nationals the previous election. Many now On behalf of the NSW Nationals, think this is too low. Cashed-up Andrew Stoner on 21 December 2009 lobby groups and corporate interests are able to wheel out sophisticated added his support for the debate on campaigns to gather the necessary the Recall idea in these terms: number of signatures.