Electoral (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 6 December 2016.)

The Hon. J.E. HANSON (16:33): I rise to speak in support of the Electoral (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2016. This bill has been introduced as a result of the recommendations made by the Electoral Commissioner and as a result of the government's desire to fix up various other technical issues with the Electoral Act. As members would be aware, the Electoral Act has been the subject of a number of amendments in recent years, most notably the government introduced an overhaul of the axed donations and disclosure scheme.

That overhaul has resulted in one of the most transparent electoral systems in the country, allowing the public greater insight into a political system that historically has been opaque. The government also introduced a public funding system that decreases reliance on donations as a path to electoral success and ensures that all parties are on a level playing field. Parliament most recently passed a number of further changes to the funding expenditure and disclosure component of the act to clarify various elements of the new scheme.

The bill before us today makes further changes that strengthen the integrity of the electoral system, make voting easier for the public, and tidy up some of the outdated provisions in the act. The most important of these changes relates to voting accessibility for people with a disability, or who otherwise require assistance. The bill will insert provisions which allow for electronically assisted voting to be used for sight-impaired electors and enable regulations to be made to that effect.

There are various methods of electronically assisted voting used interstate and elsewhere. These will be examined by the government in due course. Further, the government has expanded provisions that enable people to vote with assistance, including removing requirements that a person physically sign a declaration vote if they are unable to do so. I think it is important that we be as practical as we can with these processes to ensure that our democratic system is as accessible as possible.

Another important aspect of the bill is the changes that attempt to deal with pre-poll voting. The government takes no issue with pre-poll voting where it is necessary to do so. There are, indeed, many valid reasons for why someone would need to vote early. What these changes target is pre-poll voting for reasons of convenience. The act does not allow pre-poll voting for that purpose, and yet in recent years we have seen an almost exponential increase in the number of pre-poll votes lodged.

This is not ideal for a true democratic system. An election is supposed to reflect the will of the voting public at a particular moment in time, not over a lengthened period of time. To allow otherwise, makes the electoral system more susceptible to the 24-hour news cycle and does not allow political parties, especially new parties, to properly present their case for election. The clauses that have been drafted try to address this problem. The government has been mindful to not affect those who need to vote early for a valid reason.

Advertising at a pre-poll centre is being restricted so that people driving past a centre do not spontaneously and unnecessarily choose to vote early. Voting early would now only be an option in the week leading up to the election, rather than two weeks. The powers of the Electoral Commissioner have been redefined to ensure that the commission does not inadvertently encourage people to vote early; instead, encouraging citizens to vote on polling day. For the record, I also wish to note that these changes do not affect postal voting in any way.

Finally, a number of amendments are put forward that should simply make life easier for the commission to conduct its work. These include changing nomination deposit rules so that cash payments are no longer required, and changing various procedures with respect to declaration votes and the envelopes that contain them. The government is also removing the rather archaic term of 'inmate' to describe those places such as aged-care facilities, and instead the term 'resident' will, sensibly, be adopted.

I note that there are a number of amendments filed with respect to this bill. Some of these amendments deal with existing clauses of the bill, while others add new concepts to the bill. The majority of these amendments can be dealt with as isolated concepts, which should make the committee stage of the bill relatively straightforward.

The government is examining those amendments and is also aware that some further amendments may be forthcoming. This bill represents a good opportunity to tidy up any issues prior to the beginning of the rapidly approaching electoral season. The Attorney-General has indicated that he welcomes a constructive and collegial discussion with respect to those issues. I commend the bill to the council.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. A.L. McLachlan.