Electoral (Prisoner Voting) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (18:13): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading explanation and the detailed explanation of clauses inserted in Hansard without my reading them.

Leave granted.

As members know, the Marshall Government has committed to introducing legislation to disqualify people who have committed serious offences from voting at South Australian state elections.

Passing this Bill will mean that a person who is in custody at the close of rolls and serving a sentence of imprisonment of three years or more will be ineligible to vote at a South Australian state election. This is an overdue change and one that will be broadly welcomed.

Currently, all prisoners in South Australia can vote in South Australian state elections, however, the position is not the same in other jurisdictions.

The Bill will bring South Australia broadly in to line with the Commonwealth position.

It will mean that prisoners who are ineligible to vote in a Commonwealth election will also be ineligible to vote in a South Australian election.

A difference between this Bill and the Commonwealth laws is in relation to prisoners serving a sentence of imprisonment of 3 years or more on home detention, who will be ineligible to vote at a State election. The rationale for this is that, in South Australia, home detention is a custodial sentence.

People sentenced to home detention must realise this is a serious sentence from the Court and will impact on their right to vote just as any other type of custodial sentence would.

In addition, the Bill will prevent the following categories of people from voting:

a person who is detained on the basis that they are unwilling or unable to control their sexual instincts; and

a person who is subject to a continuing detention order under the Criminal Law (High Risk Offenders) Act 2015.

The Bill will also apply to a young person who is serving a sentence of 3 years or more in a training centre. The circumstances where this could occur are where a young person is sentenced as an adult, having regard to the serious nature of their offending, and serves that sentence (or part of it) in a training centre.

Importantly, the Bill will not apply to people who are detained under the mental impairment provisions of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935.

Regardless of whether a person has committed multiple offences, the disqualification will apply to them if the total period of time for which they have been sentenced to imprisonment exceeds 3 years and they are in custody at the close of rolls.

It does not matter whether they are serving sentences cumulatively or concurrently.

This Bill does not affect a person's enrolment status or their ability to enrol. Enrolment is provided for in Part 5 of the Electoral Act1985 ('Electoral Act'). It is unaffected by these amendments, which relate specifically to the entitlement to vote that is provided for in Part 9 Division 1 of the Electoral Act. A prisoner who is enrolled but ineligible to vote will remain on the roll and will be able to vote again once they are released.

In other words, once a person has finished a custodial sentence their rights are restored, including the right to vote. That is how it should be.

The Bill makes a number of technical amendments to the Electoral Act to support the new position on prisoner voting.

It makes amendments to section 68 of the Electoral Act, which provides for the preparation of the certified list of electors for an election. While the name of a prisoner who is ineligible to vote will remain on the electoral roll, the amendments provide that the name of a prisoner who is ineligible to vote at an election will not appear on the certified list of electors that is prepared for that election.

The Bill also inserts new section 27B into the Electoral Act which is entitled 'Provision of information to Commonwealth Electoral Commissioner'. New section 27B will enable the Electoral Commissioner to provide information about prisoners serving a sentence of 3 years or more to the Australian Electoral Commissioner, who is responsible for updating the electoral rolls and roll extracts that are used in State elections.

In terms of implementing the Bill, the Electoral Commissioner will work with the Department for Correctional Services and the Australian Electoral Commissioner to ensure that the Bill is able to be implemented at the next election.

Mr President, I commend the Bill to Members and I seek leave to have the Explanation of Clauses inserted in Hansard without my reading them.

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 27B

This clause inserts a new section:

27B—Provision of information to Commonwealth Electoral Commissioner

The proposed section provides that the Electoral Commissioner may provide to the Electoral Commissioner under the Commonwealth Act any information in the Electoral Commissioner's possession related to the preparation, alteration or revision of the electoral roll.

5—Amendment of section 68—Certified list of electors

The clause amends section 68 to provide that the certified list of electors is not to include the names of electors not entitled to vote by virtue of proposed section 69(3) to be inserted by clause 6.

6—Amendment of section 69—Entitlement to vote

The clause inserts a new subsection 69(3) to provide that a person who is, as at the close of the rolls for an election, a designated person, is not entitled to vote at an election.

Designated person is defined to include the following:

a person in custody serving 1 or more sentences of imprisonment or detention for an offence against the law of the Commonwealth, a State or Territory, and the total period of imprisonment or detention is 3 years or more;

a person subject to an order for detention or released on licence under either the Sentencing Act 2017 or the Criminal Law (Sentencing) Act 1988;

a person subject to a continuing detention order under the Criminal Law (High Risk Offenders) Act 2015.

A person in custody serving 1 or more sentences of imprisonment or detention is defined to exclude persons detained under an order under Part 8A of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935, but is defined to include the following:

persons on home detention under the Correctional Services Act 1982 or the Sentencing Act 2017;

persons detained in a training centre under the Young Offenders Act 1993.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.