Independent candidates must remain independent

In relation to our article Minority government: what will it look like?

Chris Young, Surrey Hills, Vic, Mar 7, 2025

A hung parliament is, to the major parties, the Damoclesian sword. They portray minority government as the end of our democracy.

Decades ago the major parties commanded more than 90% of the vote. At the last election they held 68% of the vote between them; this share is expected to reduce further at the coming election. If the major parties want a greater share of the vote they must better reflect the people’s will in their policies and in their government. But these parties have compromised their policies to accommodate vested interests. The community-based independents’ movement has flourished to counter this.

Were independent candidates to commit, before the election, to which major party they would support in a hung parliament, they would undermine their own independence from the beginning. The parties must negotiate with independents, individually or in groups. This might increase the difficulty of passing legislation, but it is necessary because the major parties’ platforms do not reflect majority opinion. They could remedy this by breaking free from their dependence on major backers, and reshaping their policies to meet the people’s needs – but this seems unlikely.

The thread which holds that Damoclesian sword looks ready to break.