Pugsley, Antony Green's comment that one's unpreferenced vote would exhaust and play no part in determining the final vacancies is clearly wrong because in the situation where the final, twelfth, Senator elected is a candidate from the party box that my imaginary example [only a No.1 vote above line ] went directly to and solely to!
How can that vote be an exhausted vote when every single vote in that case went to the No 1 party chosen and extra preference votes from other voters were needed to secure the final Senate seat on the final Count at let us say Count 88 of the Vic. senate election official AEC Count.
So Antony Green should clarify that comment by admitting he is wrong to claim it's an "exhausted vote" for a Party or Individual candidate when that unpreferenced vote is counted to get the final twelfth [and possibly even the eleventh] Senator for each State.