It's genius. I am launching the Free Palestine party and we are going to redistribute our preferences.
In Victoria, a provocateur's plan to register a deceptively named political party and redirect unsuspecting voters' preferences to conservative causes has illuminated a structural flaw that democratic systems can rarely afford to ignore for long. The group voting ticket mechanism — a relic that hands parties, not citizens, the power to determine where votes travel — has long enabled backroom preference deals to override the genuine intentions of ordinary voters. What Avi Yemini has done, with characteristic candor, is hold a mirror to a system that even its own stewards have recommended abolishing. The question now is whether political calculation will once again outweigh democratic principle before the August deadline arrives.
- A rightwing activist has announced plans to register a fake 'Free Palestine party' — not to advocate for Palestinians, but to harvest left-leaning votes and funnel them to conservative parties in November's Victorian election.
- The scheme is entirely legal under Victoria's group voting ticket system, which uniquely among Australian states allows parties — not voters — to decide where preferences flow once a party is eliminated from counting.
- The manoeuvre follows a similar play by anti-lockdown activist Monica Smit, who plans to register a 'Save the Environment' party for the same purpose, revealing a growing cottage industry of preference manipulation.
- Labor's own committees recommended abolishing the system in 2022 and again in December 2025, and the Electoral Commission says it can manage the transition if legislation passes by August — yet Premier Allan has not moved.
- The reluctance appears strategic: internal polling suggests a reformed system could deliver One Nation between 13 and 16 upper-house seats, leaving Labor caught between democratic principle and political self-interest.
In Victoria this week, rightwing provocateur Avi Yemini announced plans to register a political party called the Free Palestine party — not to win seats, but to exploit the state's group voting ticket system and redirect unsuspecting voters' preferences toward conservative parties in November's election. Yemini, who runs Rebel News Australia, described the strategy with disarming candour: collect members, register the party, and use the preference mechanism to funnel votes away from the left and toward his political allies.
The scheme is made possible by a quirk unique to Victoria among Australian state parliaments. When a voter marks a single preference above the line, and that party is eliminated during counting, the party itself — not the voter — decides where those votes go next. This has created a shadow economy of preference deals brokered largely by Glenn Druery, the so-called 'preference whisperer,' whose negotiations have helped candidates win seats on only a handful of primary votes.
Yemini was inspired by anti-lockdown activist Monica Smit, who announced in February she would register a 'Save the Environment' party to attract left-leaning voters and redirect their preferences to conservative causes. Yemini saw the opening and moved to exploit it further, describing the strategy as 'genius.'
The episode has forced Victoria's political establishment to confront a system that even its defenders acknowledge is broken. Labor's electoral matters committee recommended abolishing group voting tickets in 2022, and a subsequent inquiry repeated the call in December, urging action before the 2026 election. The Victorian Electoral Commission confirmed it could manage the transition if legislation passed by August. Yet Labor has not acted.
Three Labor MPs, speaking anonymously, said caucus support for reform was strong — but Premier Jacinta Allan appeared reluctant. The reason, it seems, is political: polling suggests that abolishing the system could deliver One Nation between 13 and 16 upper-house seats. Both the Greens and the Liberal Party have called for immediate reform. The government, meanwhile, has offered no timeline, saying only that it is still considering the committee's recommendations. Unless Labor moves before August, Yemini's party could be legally registered — and the system that makes his scheme possible will remain intact.
In Victoria, a rightwing activist named Avi Yemini announced this week that he intends to register a political party called the Free Palestine party—not because he expects it to win seats, but because he wants to use it as a vehicle to redirect voter preferences toward conservative parties in November's state election. Yemini, a former Israeli soldier who runs a YouTube channel called Rebel News Australia, laid out the scheme plainly: he would collect members, register the party with electoral authorities, and then use Victoria's group voting ticket system to funnel votes away from left-leaning voters and toward parties aligned with his political interests.
The plan works because of how Victoria's upper house still operates. Unlike every other state parliament in Australia, Victoria allows voters to cast a single preference above the line on the ballot, and if that party is eliminated during counting, the party itself decides where those votes go next. This system has created a shadow economy of preference deals, brokered largely by Glenn Druery, a figure known as the "preference whisperer" for his ability to engineer outcomes that benefit parties he favors. Some candidates have won seats with only a handful of primary votes, their paths to parliament paved entirely through backroom negotiations.
Yemini's inspiration came from Monica Smit, an anti-lockdown activist who announced in February that she would register a party called Save the Environment—a name designed to attract left-leaning voters whose preferences she would then redirect to conservative parties. Yemini saw the opening and decided to exploit it further. In his video announcement, he described the strategy with disarming candor: he would create a party with a name that would appeal to a broad coalition of voters—from the far left to immigrant communities—and then harvest their preferences for parties opposed to his stated enemies. "It's genius," he said.
The scheme has forced Victoria's political establishment to confront a system that even its defenders acknowledge is broken. Labor's own electoral matters committee recommended in 2022 that group voting tickets be abolished. A subsequent inquiry reinforced that call in December, urging the government to implement the change before the 2026 election. The Victorian Electoral Commission said it could manage the transition if legislation passed by August. But Labor has not acted. Three Labor MPs, speaking anonymously, said there was strong caucus support for abolishing the system, but Premier Jacinta Allan appeared reluctant—because removing group voting tickets would likely benefit One Nation, which recent polling suggests could win between 13 and 16 upper-house seats under a reformed system.
The Greens and the Liberal Party have both called for immediate reform. Greens leader Ellen Sandell framed the issue in stark terms: a voting system that allows parties with deceptive names to trick voters into supporting them is fundamentally incompatible with democratic integrity. Druery himself, when asked about the prospect of reform, said he would continue to use his network to prevent what he called "racists, cookers or crazies" from entering parliament—a statement that underscores how much power preference brokers wield in the current system. Pauline Hanson said One Nation would accept preferences from Yemini's party but agreed that voters should control their own preferences rather than having parties do it for them.
The government has offered no timeline for action. A spokesperson said the registration of political parties was a matter for the Victorian Electoral Commission, and that the government was still considering the electoral committee's recommendations. The commission, for its part, said it would assess Yemini's application according to the law. The legislation does not allow objections based on whether a party's name reflects its true character or whether its policies are objectionable—only on technical grounds like incorrect applications or obscene names. This means Yemini's party could legally be registered, and if it is, the preference system that allows it to function will remain in place unless Labor acts before August.
Citações Notáveis
Group voting tickets are seriously dodgy. How can Labor condone a voting system that allows people to be tricked into voting for a party with a fake name that is completely opposed to their values?— Ellen Sandell, Greens leader
I will use all my expertise, my contacts, my experience, to do my best to stop any racists, cookers or crazies from getting into the Victorian parliament.— Glenn Druery, preference broker
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why would someone go to the trouble of creating a fake party just to redirect votes? What's the actual payoff?
The payoff is influence without visibility. If you can get thousands of people to vote for your party, and then direct their preferences to candidates you've chosen, you've essentially bought seats in parliament without having to convince anyone you're worth voting for directly. It's a loophole.
But doesn't the public eventually figure out they've been tricked?
Some do, some don't. By the time they realize the party name doesn't match its actual positions, their vote has already been allocated. The system counts on voter inattention and the complexity of preference flows.
So why hasn't Victoria just fixed this already? It seems like everyone agrees it's broken.
Because the party in power—Labor—benefits from the current system in some ways, and they're terrified of what happens if they change it. One Nation could gain a dozen seats. That's the real calculation happening behind closed doors.
Is there any chance Yemini's party actually gets registered?
Legally, yes. The electoral commission can only reject it on narrow technical grounds. They can't say no just because the name is deceptive or the strategy is cynical. The law doesn't protect against that.
So the system is exposed by someone willing to be completely honest about exploiting it.
Exactly. Yemini didn't hide what he was doing. He announced it on video. That's what makes it so damaging—it forces everyone to acknowledge that the emperor has no clothes.