ELECTORAL (FUNDING, EXPENDITURE AND DISCLOSURE) AMENDMENT BILL

Final Stages

The Legislative Council agreed to the bill with the amendments indicated by the following schedule, to which amendments the Legislative Council desires the concurrence of the House of Assembly:

No. 1. Clause 4, page 21, after line 42 [clause 4, inserted section 130Y]—After subsection (4) insert:

(5) If, after a certificate has been lodged by the agent of a party in accordance with this section, a candidate who—

(a) is a member of Parliament; or

(b) is a member of a group a member of which is a member of Parliament,

ceases to be endorsed by the party in relation to the relevant election, the agent of the candidate will be taken, for the purposes of this Part, to have lodged a certificate in accordance with this section at the time specified in subsection (2)(aa) unless the candidate, within 48 hours after ceasing to be so endorsed notifies the Electoral Commissioner (in a manner determined by the Electoral Commissioner) that he or she does not wish to be taken to have lodged a certificate in accordance with this section (in which case the agent of the candidate may not lodge a certificate in relation to the relevant election).

No. 2. Clause 4, page 22, lines 39 to 43 [clause 4, inserted section 130Z(2)]—Delete subsection (2)

Consideration in committee.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: I move:

That the Legislative Council's amendments be agreed to.

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: The opposition agrees with these amendments. For clarity, the member for Mount Gambier raised an issue during the committee stage in this house, and this amendment goes a small step to what he was talking about.

In relation to the other issues the member for Mount Gambier talked about, the advice from parliamentary counsel was that they would be better dealt with in regulation because they were too complex for the legislation proper, and we have agreed that those regulations will not be brought in without agreement between government and opposition. Naturally, at that point, prior to bringing those in, we would consult with the member for Mount Gambier, who raised the issue initially. So, in fairness to the member for Mount Gambier, I put that on the record.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: I agree with everything the member for Davenport has said.

Motion carried.