The Geoff Shaw parliamentary saga highlights the limitations of parliamentary democracy when the electorate does not have the power of recall in between elections. Geoff Shaw was elected as the Liberal member for Frankston at the last state election. He became an "Independent" when the Speaker, Ken Smith, referred his case to the Victoria Police. Mr. Shaw's antics in and out of state parliament have been directed to ensure he will never be accountable for his actions. His balance of power status gives him the power to dictate the government's parliamentary agenda. The motion to suspend him was hatched to ensure the people of Frankston didn't have the chance before the next state election to pass judgement on Mr. Shaw, the Napthine led government and the Andrews led opposition.
How different the situation would have been if the long suffering electors in Frankston, or any state electorate, had the power to call a fresh election in between elections when Geoff Shaw, or any other politician, changed their political colours midterm or were not performing to the electorate's satisfaction (the power of recall is a feature in many states in the USA). In order to ensure this power was not misused, a fresh election in between election would be limited to once during a parliamentary term and could only be called if 25% of electors signed a
petition calling for a fresh election.
The power of recall would make parliamentary representatives directly accountable to their electorate, not the faceless men and women who currently use the political process to promote their political party's interests before the interests of the people they represent in parliament.