Bills

Electoral (Prohibition of Canvassing Near Polling Booths) Amendment Bill

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (15:56): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Electoral Act 1985. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (15:57): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

This particular bill that I am introducing today on behalf of the Liberal Party is obviously something that honourable members here would be very familiar with the process. It is not just as elected members and members of various political parties but also as individuals who have our own experience in and around polling booths on polling day. I think it is fair to say that times change and the way we deal with information and the like changes over time.

I would encourage people to review in particular a piece by Mr Antony Green, who is someone who I think we all highly respect for his contribution to the electoral process and his analysis. On his own election blog on 27 May 2020, he wrote quite a comprehensive piece entitled 'Should how-to-votes be banned at Australian elections?'. He talks about the history, a comparison between the various electoral systems and how-to-votes and the like, and makes the point that in times gone past people probably were not aware who the candidate was for particular parties and therefore the information printed on how-to-vote cards was incredibly important. I will not quote from it extensively, suffice to say:

…no other country compels voters to engage with such a complex voting system on pain of being fined.

Which introduces other issues related to but not addressed by this bill. He says:

Thanks to compulsory voting, polling places are the last chance candidates have to engage with undecided and disinterested voters who in other countries probably wouldn't turn up to vote.

I think we do have a very high level of engagement in Australia, and that is important, but this will not impact on that. He says further on:

There is clearly a problem when party workers engage in over-vigorous polling place campaigning. Voters should never feel intimated when turning up to do their civic duty and legal obligation.

I think that is a very valid point to make, because we are all aware, whether we have engaged in it for a short period or a long period, that increasingly voters come to the polling booth knowing who they are going to vote for. They might have an electronic how-to-vote card or instructions on their phone. There is also, similarly to the bill that has been recently passed by this parliament in relation to what are essentially single-use plastics—the corflutes—the environmental aspect of the huge amount of printing that goes on just for one single day.

I always want to have a bit of a giggle when I hear some of the booth worker volunteers say, 'Give us your how-to-vote card back, and we'll recycle it.' Usually they are printed on both sides, so they might be reused by someone else in the next 10 minutes who comes into the booth, but essentially, unless they are blank on one side, you cannot even use them for writing down notes and shopping lists. They are a huge waste of paper for one particular day—or a few weeks if we include pre-poll as well—and most people know what they are doing, know how to access information. I also note clause 66 (1) of the Electoral Act 1985, which states:

The Electoral Commissioner must have posters formed from how-to-vote cards submitted by the candidates in the election prepared for use in polling booths on polling day.

We do hear that a lot from people who know that we are involved in the political process—complaining about this wastage and about being harangued. I think in Antony Green's article he talks about 'running the gauntlet' of people enthusiastically offering voters how-to-vote cards. We are also all very familiar with, on polling day or in pre-poll, the large queues of people lining up, and they can sometimes feel a little bit harassed. We have all seen the people who do not make eye contact. They just want to go into the booth and be left alone. This bill effectively respects all of those people who wish to be left alone and who are worried about the huge amount of paper waste that is produced for elections.

This practice of canvassing directly outside polling booths, we believe, deserves a fresh look. Everyone knows you cannot campaign within six metres of the entrance to the booth. This is about the other 100 metres. It is not removing a party's ability to communicate with voters, but it is about giving voters respect, without feeling pressured, when they step within that space of 100 metres from a polling booth.

The Liberal Party believes it is a simple change to the Electoral Act which reflects what we have had as part of the feedback from many in the community. We have been very pleased that the parliament has accepted the ban on corflutes. That was a big step forward. We think the next step is banning the canvassing at the polling booth.

I have referred to the modernising of people's communications. This is about responding to that and also the frustration that many people feel in relation to the volume of material which is produced and which is thrust at voters as they go to the booth. It did take some change to convince other parties to change the laws about corflutes.

The Hon. R.A. Simms: It was that letter. The letter—very persuasive letter.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: I am reminded of the persuasive Mr Simms. The persuasive Mr Simms has reminded me about his persuasiveness in convincing the government with a single letter. He is a man with a very powerful pen. He has demonstrated that and, once we get him on board, I am sure he will convince the government that this is a good idea. I should not speculate about what his members might think, but I would be surprised if people with environmental concerns were not jumping on this to support the banning of single-use paper produced in large volumes. We have all seen the volume of boxes that are produced to prepare polling booth kits.

Information is vital in elections but information is transmitted and received much more electronically now. I have referred to clause 66(1) that exists in the act for the how-to-vote cards to be placed in there. We think this is a fairly sensible next step and in line with the expectations of South Australians, so I commend this bill to the house.

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