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A key figure in the abolishment of the Group Voting Ticket (GVT) in Victoria, Monica Smit, now has a new “addiction” driving her – she wants to get rid of mandatory voting.

“This is my next goal. Mandatory voting forces uneducated voters to make bad and emotional decisions,” she revealed to The Daily Declaration.

The founder of anti-lockdown group Reignite Democracy Australia launched the Climate Action Now party to harvest votes towards One Nation at the Victorian election on 28 November.

Her brother Daniel Smit was leader of the I’m Voting To Avoid The Fine party, while prominent independent reporter and fellow conservative, Avi Yemeni, spearheaded the Free Palestine (From Hamas) Party.

Smit, Yemeni and One Nation Victoria Leader, Warren Pickering, all spoke at a ‘Bye Bye GVT’ celebration at Hawthorn East on Sunday night, where they praised the state’s conservative community for helping to bring an end to vote harvesting via micro political parties.

The GVT played a role in former Labor Premier Daniel Andrews getting re-elected in 2022 via the Sack Daniel Andrews Party, which diverted votes straight back to Labor four years ago.

“I’m ecstatic and completely shocked,” Smit said at the function when asked how she felt regarding the end of vote-funnelling micro parties.

“It took participation. It wasn’t easy, and it took effort. Nothing worth doing takes little effort.”

One Nation Victoria Leader, Warren Pickering, said the end of group voting in Victoria was a massive relief for conservatives across the state. Picture: Josh Spasaro.

Pickering added that the result lifted a massive weight from his shoulders.

“You have no idea. It’s one of those things that has been hanging over the back of our minds for the past four years,” he told The Daily Declaration.

“The additional resources, energy and effort that it takes to try and educate people on exactly how it impacts the elections in Victoria is something that was ever-present these past four years.

“Obviously, we’ve made it harder to work with like-minded parties that utilised that vote-harvesting system to their benefit.

“So it’s enormous for us.”

The likes of the Climate Action Now, I’m Voting To Avoid The Fine and Free Palestine parties would have diverted votes towards One Nation Victoria, until the Group Voting Ticket was abolished by the Carroll Labor Government on 11 August.

With Victorian conservative figures flipping the tables and playing the same game in return against their left-leaning political opposites, Labor lawmakers moved swiftly to put an end to the system last month.

And now Smit wants further voting reform.

“In America, they have a voluntary voting system. The older you are, the more likely you are to choose to vote,” she said.

“The older you are, the more likely you are to be conservative, as well. So if we can get rid of mandatory voting, then it’s going to help conservatives.”

Conservatives beat the left at their own game; leftist group takes credit for it

Smit founded Reignite Democracy Australia in August 2020, after spending 22 days in prison for refusing to sign bail conditions following her being charged with incitement.

Her ‘crime’ was publishing an anti-lockdown protest poster on social media.

She said playing the same game as the left in spearheading a minor vote-harvesting party was something she never imagined herself doing, but a challenge she enjoyed.

“It’s a whole new experience for me to kind of play their game, but play it transparently and openly, which still gives it integrity,” she said.

“But then to flip the system that you’re playing transparently is a whole new strategy that I’ve never tried.

“I’m quite addicted to it now, so my next goal is getting rid of mandatory voting.”

In a rare case of those on the left and right sides of politics celebrating the same outcome, left-wing political activist group GetUp also rejoiced at the abolishment of the Group Voting Ticket in Victoria.

It was the final Australian jurisdiction where the system remained intact.

“This is where fake progressive parties like the Free Palestine Party or the Save The Environment Party or the Muslim Votes Matter Party were created with the intention of funnelling those progressive votes to One Nation through the Group Voting Ticket System,” the group said in a video on its Facebook page.

“That system that allowed them to funnel preferences to One Nation is dead, thanks in part to you guys who have signed the petition (22,100 signatures), who have made noise and who have made this an issue.

“Well done, team – let’s keep making democracy better together.”

Yemeni’s Rebel News Australia independent media outlet replied in GetUp’s comments section with this:

“Thank you for being our useful idiots and doing your tiny part to help us get this across the line. Couldn’t have done it without you.”

In a strange way, Smit said she aligned with GetUp on this one occasion, with both celebrating the end of group voting in Victoria.

“I don’t often agree with them, but I’m happy to agree on certain topics,” she said.

“I think that’s great, actually. I think it’s great for democracy. It was interesting, that’s all I can say.

“But they tried to take credit for it after they did absolutely nothing. They fundraised money for something they weren’t doing, and then they took credit for something they didn’t do.

“They made a selfie video after the event, and they lied in that video saying that we started the party to deceive voters.

“We never wanted to run the parties. We did it to expose it (GVT), but if they didn’t abolish the Group Voting Ticket, we would’ve run the parties.

“And we would’ve given our preferences to One Nation. So that’s the deception they were talking about.”

Well-known Melbourne conservative figure Morgan Jonas also played a major role in helping to get the GVT system abolished.

“It was Morgan’s idea, but we were just chatting about it. We chatted about it a few times a year-and-a-half to two years ago,” Smit said.

“And then we chatted about it again, and I was like, ‘Do you know what, that’s a really good idea. We should do it.’

“And then I said, ‘I’m going to do it’. He was my confidant. I was calling him stressed about things, and he would help me out.”

Victorian Premier: ‘Fairer and more transparent elections to come’

Victorian Premier Ben Carroll said the abolishment of the GVT via the Electoral Amendment (Miscellaneous Matters) Bill 2026 would lead to fairer and more transparent elections.

The reforms will also require the Victorian Electoral Commission to publish information about new political parties.

“Fair elections are the bedrock of democracy, and we are delivering these reforms to ensure Victorians can be confident in their electoral processes,” Carroll said.

“Victorians shouldn’t wake up after an election wondering how someone with only a handful of votes ended up in Parliament.”

Pickering was full of praise for Yemeni’s tenacity in the way he sold his Free Palestine Party to conservative Victorian voters.

“It was brilliant. And again, it just highlights the hypocrisy,” he said.

“The blatant outrage we saw off the back of that, it should’ve inspired the opposite side of politics to say ‘do you know what – we are taking the piss, aren’t we? We actually need to unify our movement and make sure our elections remain democratic’.

“Again, that points to a broader issue when you think ‘all right, whatever the make-up of the parliament after November, One Nation is going to have a great deal of influence’.

“Are these people on the opposite side of politics going to be able to put aside their personal grievances and work with us in engaging in robust dialogue to achieve better outcomes for Victorians?”

Rebel News reporter says no more GVT would hurt Labor

Yemeni said the abolishment of the GVT would come as a body blow for the Labor Party in Victoria.

“They wanted small parties so they could divide and conquer. They were worried about the Greens having a big bloc,” he told The Daily Declaration.

“Additionally, they were very worried about One Nation. And so, for them, it’s a double-hit.

“It’s nice to play their games against them.

“It shows that they’ve been abusing the system for so many years, as they’ve successfully done.

“They realised if we start doing it, maybe things would turn around and they freaked out.”

Pickering: ‘We won’t let personal attacks railroad our campaign’

Meanwhile, Pickering said he and his family had moved on from the relentless media scrutiny regarding his past private life.

Earlier this month, Pickering’s former partner of 18 years, Jo Scott, told The Australian newspaper that he led a secret life involving illicit drug use and “sexual deviance”.

Pickering told reporters that his past lifestyle choices “hurt people I loved”, but denied smoking ice while his children were home.

The hopeful Victorian Premier said he was now in a good mental space with the state election just over two months away.

“I’m going all right. There’s a lot of work to be done, and everything over this past couple of weeks, as hard and challenging as it’s been for my family, it has been a distraction from the campaign,” he said.

“We’re not going to allow it to railroad this campaign. There’s always a very real probability that anybody with perceived personal grievances can be weaponised for political gain.”

When reminded that the personal attacks on him were disgraceful and hypocritical, Pickering replied:

“It was, but at the same time, it gives us an opportunity. And it highlights to the broader community just how low these things can go,” he said.

“And for us, it presents an opportunity to pivot and get back on with the job because we’ve got a state to save.”

Regarding the welfare of Pickering’s family after Scott’s allegations, the One Nation Victoria Leader said:

“They’re good. We’ve been enduring this type of rhetoric one way or another for 20 years. Yes, it’s hurtful and painful, and you don’t like to re-live past traumas.

“But we’ve all grown up with it, we’re all past it, and we’re all ready to move on.”

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Featured image: Founder of anti-lockdown group Reignite Democracy Australia, Monica Smit, now wants to end mandatory voting. Picture: YouTube.