Bills should require two thirds of the Parliamentary vote to become legislation

7/4/26

Some legislation is formed contrary to the will of the majority of the population

On Thursday the second of April 2026 the Victorian government legislated that from the beginning of May 2026,  before any bill can be debated in the Victorian Parliament, it must include a statement of approval from Victoria’s First People’s Assembly.

The First People’s Assembly is a representative group elected by Aboriginal people in Victoria. The formation of the First People’s Assembly was legislated in October 2025.

This legislation is essentially the same as that inferred in the Australian referendum known as The Voice in October 2023.

In The Voice referendum, the Australian people rejected the formation of a Federal Parliamentary Aboriginal group. The majority of people in every State and Territory of Australia, except for the ACT, rejected The Voice. This majority of course included Victoria.

Due to its previous rejection by the Victorian people, this legislation is certainly not a manifestation the will of the majority of the people in Victoria. This legislation proves that at least some bills i.e. proposed legislation, passed by the Victorian Parliament does not represent the will of the majority of people in this State. (Note that the success of only 8 of the 45 Australian referendums proves that much legislation does not represent the will of the majority of the people)

Formation of legislation

Currently, for legislation in Victoria to be formed, it needs to be passed by a simple majority of the 88 members of the Legislative Assembly, and then passed by a simple majority of the 40 members of the Legislative Council.

A more detailed explanation of the formation of legislation follows. In practice, a bill is formulated by a sub group of the majority political party in the Legislative Assembly. This group is known as the Cabinet. The Victorian Cabinet is led by the Premier, Jacinta Allen, and consists of 22 of the 46 members of the Labor Party members of both the Legislative Assembly and Council. The Liberal party also has a cabinet that will act the same when the Liberal party presumably eventually forms government.

The decisions of Cabinet members are influenced by Party politics e.g. gaining or losing party pre-selections or government ministries, and influenced by financial donors who demand a return on their donations, and by a wide range of lobbyists. All of these influences create a concentrated and intense environment that is potentially susceptible to secret arrangements and other forms of corruption. This is a potentially detrimental beginning to the formation of any legislation.

After formation of a bill by the Cabinet, the remaining Parliamentary members of this political party are commanded to vote in support of it when it is presented to Parliament. This will practically ensure that it passes a majority vote of both the Legislative Assembly and Council, and becomes legislation i.e. the law.

A small minority

The 22 members of the Cabinet that decide Victorian legislation are a small minority of the 128 member Parliament. Further, the 128 Parliamentarians are a miniscule minority of the 7,037,000 Victorians in the State. This is obviously a very small and debatably representative group.

The members of the Victorian Parliament represent the people in this State. In a democracy, to be legitimate, the decisions of the Victorian Parliament should represent the will of the majority of the people in Victoria.

A simple majority of the members of the Legislative Assembly and Council has been proven, by the failed The Voice referendum and the Victorian Government legislating it regardless, to not be a manifestation of the will of the majority of the Victorian people.

Ensure legislation reflects the will of the people

To ensure that legislation is reflects the will of the majority of the people, the formation of legislation needs to be subject to a process that accomplishes this. The current process has been proven to not do so.

Increasing the number of Parliamentarians needed to pass legislation from a simple majority of the members of both the Legislative Assembly and Council to two thirds of both these bodies will ensure that any legislation is much more likely to be a reflection of the will of the majority of the people in Victoria.

The passage of legislation needs to be increased form a simple majority vote to two thirds

A bill that receives the support of two thirds of the members of Legislative Assembly and Council can confidently be assumed to be a genuine manifestation of the will of the majority of the people. This will be passed and become legislation, Bills that are contentious, and that are probably not the will of the majority of the people, and probably detrimental to their flourishing, will not pass and not become legislation.

For the good of the people, a minimum of two thirds of the vote of the members of both the Legislative Assembly and Council should be a requirement of the formation of legislation.

David Landini