You’ve got to love the concept of a two-song preferred vote.

I just wanted to draw attention to Rann’s referendum proposal. He’s given no details of the mechanism, but it could only be a multi-option vote – a ‘preferenda’.

1. Would it be by preferential vote, or plurality wins? I imagine only a preferential vote could guarantee the legitimacy of any outcome.
2. Does anyone know of preferenda being used in Australia before? I’ve only come up with some local option polls (eg offering communities different hours for pub closing times).
3. My interest in this is a belief that we should resolve the Republican question in one fell swoop with a preferendum – pitching, head-to-head Con Monarchy; Parl Apptment and Direct Election models.

The first thing to note is how refreshing it is to see a press release with a footnote. A first? Forget the fact that the footnoted paragraph is not just irrelevant (indeed referring back 22 years) but a case of ‘methinks he doth protest too much’. Press Releases need pseudo-academic touches the way government ads need flippant and passing citation of bogus research (yes, I’m referring to the Business Council of Australia ads).

The second thing to note is that the ambit claim on tax deductibility of donations has been stripped somewhat. It is now $1500 pa (funny figure, since it is considered obsolete as the threshold for disclosure).

Even so, $1500 is 15 times the present level of $100. AND it’s extended to company donations (mind you some coys already claim, as a business expense, their overpriced tickets to party dinners, conferences, millenia fora etc…) The problem with any form of tax deductibility is that it is a taxpayer subsidy of private political largesse. And by definition an unequal one since poorer/retired voters can’t afford more than token donations, and higher income earners benefit more since their deduction is at the highest marginal rate.

Note that the current deductibilty of just $100 – currently only allowed to natural persons – just covers a party membership. The new $1500 will, I presume, apply to the first $1500 of up to 9 donations to a party, since the larger parties register by state/territory branch + as a national entity. That’s up to $3600 tax saved – or rather ploughed into their favoured party – by every corporate donor, every year.