ELECTORAL (PUBLICATION OF ELECTORAL MATERIAL) AMENDMENT BILL

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Attorney-General, Minister for Justice, Minister for Tourism) (10:32): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Electoral Act 1985. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Attorney-General, Minister for Justice, Minister for Tourism) (10:31): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading explanation inserted in Hansard without my reading it.

Leave granted.

The Electoral (Publication of Electoral Material) Amendment Bill 2010 fulfils two commitments given by the Government to amend the Electoral Act 1985.

The first was a commitment by the Government to address concerns about the use of how-to-vote cards. This matter was identified and highlighted at the State election and the Government made a commitment to address this concern.

Accordingly, the relevant provision contained in the Government's Electoral (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2009 is being put forward again in the hope that this time it will be passed without amendment. This provision is found in clause 4 of the Bill.

The second was a commitment before the election by the former Attorney General, a position supported by the former Shadow Attorney-General, the Member for Bragg, to the effect that section 116, amended by the 2009 Bill, should be amended so as to return the situation regarding internet comment back to the position it was prior to passage of that legislation.

Clause 5 of the Bill gives effect to this intention.

I commend this Bill to the House.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

2—Commencement

3—Amendment provisions

These clauses are formal.

Part 2—Amendment of Electoral Act 1985

4—Insertion of section 112C

New section 112C creates an offence relating to the publication or announcement of certain kinds of material relating to a candidate in an election without the authority of the candidate and is based on section 351 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918.

5—Amendment of section 116—Published material to identify person responsible for political content

This clause limits the type of publication to which section 116(1) applies by removing journals published in electronic form on the Internet and Internet broadcasts from the scope of the provision. The clause makes amendments to section 116(2) which are consequential to the amendments to section 116(1). The clause also amends section 116(2)(c) to restore the provision to its form prior to its amendment by the Electoral (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2009, except that the term journal replaces the former term 'newspaper'.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mrs Redmond.