Belly, the trouble is that first past the post cannot result in majority rule ever, by definition. I would point to chris_ho's interesting observation about preferences per se as opposed to pre-election deals between parties, but it's increasingly clear that you don't really understand the system that you love to discuss so much.

It seems that your position is 'Labor good, everybody else bad', which may have been appropriate for an old union warhorse, but is increasingly unsuited to understanding and conducting politics this century.

FIRST PAST THE POST, the only solution.

SOG I find it hard to warm to you, but you have it down to pat here.
Morgonzola is an active green, I activly oppose them always, as a result of Browns actions.
My poor formal education is leading a bloke I have always liked, to say I do not under stand the way preferences work.
Quite silly, I offer this in reply Morgan, do you rebut my claim your first lower house member got there on conservative preferences.
Do you think conservatives wanted that out come.
Are you, surely given your feelings I am not informed, you are Wilkie won a seat after finishing third, on preferences.
DLP got a senate seat on my party's preferences.
Who put family first in the senate, it was us again.
Do you challenge my view more will never vote for you than do.
I may well lack understanding,but today you bloke,a fella I think left here once told me I have my arm over SM shoulder or words to that effect.
My loyalty is to Labor because while not one serve every thing I want they forever serve best, one vote one value no senate and no one with 12% in control.

"Wilkie won a seat after finishing third, on preferences"

Belly if that's the case it means that more voters prefered to have him there than prefered the two who had more first choice votes.

That looks like a far better outcome than a first post the post situation where the majority of voters in the electorate could have had a rep they most definately did not want.

I would like to see preferences being optional, some people you don't even want to put last on a ballot paper.

R0bert

Belly:>> SOG I find it hard to warm to you, but you have it down to pat here.<<

Don't find it so hard Belly my china, I warmed to you right off the bat, I grew up with lots of "you" around me, perhaps that is why I am particularly scathing regarding your defense of the Rudd Gillard governments as there is no Labor in them. Kim was the last. Re what you said to Morgan was exactly right, we need first past the post.

A brief outline of how stupidly unique our preferential system is, note the two other winners that utilize this non sense system, one that in essence acts against democracy.

>>Australia is also of international significance as the home of preferential electoral systems. It was the first place to use them, today it is the largest of only three established democracies to use the system—the others being Malta and Ireland <

RObert your extrapolation regarding the last coming first is absurd, why don't we just throw all the names into a hat, the result would be the same, the last could come first.