Voter rights 'breached by micro parties'

A civil liberties group has told a parliamentary hearing the rise of micro parties in the 2013 Senate race breached the rights of voters.

The NSW Council for Civil Liberties is calling for reform of a system that allowed parties such as the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party (AMEP) to win seats in the Senate with minuscule primary votes.

Some micro parties have been accused of gaming the preference system, which was the basis for major complaints after the September election.

Incoming senator Ricky Muir, from the AMEP, was elected on preferences after getting just 0.5 per cent of the primary vote.

The group is backing a private bill proposed by independent senator Nick Xenophon that aims to introduce optional preferential voting in upper house elections.

Council secretary Lesley Lynch told a Senate hearing in Canberra on Friday the civil liberties of voters - such as the right to have their vote reflect their preferences and to easily understand the potential impact of their vote - had been breached.

"We all know personally, and we can guess from the outcomes, there were numbers of people who had no notion the pathway that their vote was going to travel when they voted above the line," she said.