Ben Wellings. Photo by Belinda Pratten.
Ben Wellings was in the United Kingdom during the recent, historic referendum on preferential voting. The poll revealed a lot about voter apathy and the unpopularity of politicians. It also exposed some shady myths about Australia, he writes in the upcoming edition of ANU Reporter . Australia enjoyed a high profile in Britain this April and May. But this time there were no shark attacks, Scott and Charlene were not getting married and nor was a bikini-clad Lara Bingle stepping out of the surf asking 'Where the bloody hell are you?' It was far more exciting than that: it was about voting systems. I was lucky enough to be in England during these heady days and saw the whole thing unfolding with my own eyes. As a result of the negotiations that produced Britain's first post-War coalition government last year, Britons went to the polls in May to vote on whether or not to change their first-past-the-post voting system for Westminster elections to an Australian-style preferential system called AV (Alternative Vote).
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