Bills

Local Government (Elections) (Australian Citizen and Compulsory Voting) Amendment Bill

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (16:15): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Local Government (Elections) Act 1999 and to make related amendments to the City of Adelaide Act 1998. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (16:16): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I rise to introduce the Local Government (Elections) (Australian Citizen and Compulsory Voting) Amendment Bill, a bill for an act to amend the Local Government (Elections) Act 1999 and to make related amendments to the City of Adelaide Act 1998.

The bill is very simple and seeks to align eligibility to vote in local council elections in South Australia, with federal and state voting eligibility, and to harmonise our local government voting with other jurisdictions, including Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. At present, the broad categories for council election enrolment in South Australia are:

residents;

business owners;

students (including international students);

landlords;

body corporates; and

groups (also known as joint owners/occupiers of a facility).

Those, for example, who live in council A but own a business or own rateable land in council B are still eligible to vote in council B. This will remain the same. However, my bill amends the enrolment criteria so that all natural persons must be an Australian citizen to vote in a South Australian local government election.

This brings the voting eligibility criteria into line with the federal and state requirement to be an Australian citizen and ensures that only citizens determine the policies and procedures of local government. It protects local government elections from branch stacking or vote harvesting behaviours, such as actively recruiting non-citizens to become active in an electorate in which they happen to be temporarily living.

I have heard many stories similar to the allegations made by former Adelaide City Councillor Alex Hyde in his application to the Court of Disputed Returns to throw out the 2022 Adelaide City Council Central Ward election. Mr Hyde petitioned the court in December 2022 to declare the Central Ward election void, alleging illegal practices and voter harvesting contributed to his narrow loss.

The legal challenge came after the Electoral Commission rejected 23 ballots over suspicions they were not returned by the residents whose names were attached to the voting slips. It also came after a photo was published in The Advertiser on 1 November 2022 showing two men handling numerous ballot packs outside Vision apartments on Morphett Street. The photos became a significant piece of evidence in the case, with four CBD apartment blocks becoming the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Electoral Commission.

Electoral Commissioner, Mick Sherry, came under fire for his oversight of the election, apparently conceding that some of the additional oversight measures put in place to safeguard the poll were 'ad hoc'. I note here that Mr Sherry is still to produce his report on the 2022 council elections. This bill seeks to protect these scenarios from occurring in the future.

The second amendment makes voting in local government elections compulsory. We, in this place, often hear complaints about South Australian councils, particularly in regard to increasing rates, levies and charges imposed, planning regimes, and slow approval timeframes, so it is very important that we have input and involvement in local government elections.

I recently received complaints from two regional council areas about the extraordinary rise in rates that have been sent out to residents, in particular on Yorke Peninsula and also in Whyalla, where the councils there have changed the way that rates are determined. There are residents on Yorke Peninsula who have reported rate increases of 1,000 per cent—1,000 per cent—and in Whyalla the rates have gone up significantly.

I know that in Port Augusta people are furious at the level of rates that have now been imposed by the council there. But, as I pointed out, if you are going to whinge about what councils are doing and you want action taken, the best thing is to march to a ballot box and cast a vote. What this bill will do is ensure that people will have to do that in the 2026 elections or when that is actually called.

Local government has a huge impact in our communities in areas such as local government planning, development approvals, landcare, heritage production, the construction and operation of community facilities like swimming pools, sporting facilities and libraries, the maintenance of roads and services such as rubbish collection and waste management. We all benefit from the role local councils play so it is important, as citizens, that we have a say in who is elected to this tier of government.

Compulsory voting at the federal level was brought in by Alfred Deakin in 1915. We were one of the first countries in the world to adopt it. History shows that compulsory voting has ensured that government and opposition parties must consider the total electorate in policy formulation and decision-making. It has also ensured active participation and engagement in democracy in Australia, and I believe that we are richer for it.

My bill ensures that the very same conditions that apply in voting in federal and state elections apply to local elections, and it will be an offence not to vote without a valid reason. Voting in local government elections is compulsory in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. It is evident when visiting these states that they enjoy a hugely increased interest in their local government elections. The compulsory voting requirement has introduced a competitiveness to the process and a significantly increased voter turnout.

I believe it is very important that our local government elections have the same rigour and focus as they do in other jurisdictions. We have seen how non-compulsory voting elsewhere has turned out. It discourages voting and acts to disadvantage the already disadvantaged minority groups, the less educated or less literate individuals, and less engaged members of our society. It is important that their democratic rights and voices are heard at all levels of government.

Just a reminder of what happened in 2022: again, the voter turnout was extremely low. I think it was just over 30 per cent, and that is just not good enough. I now know that many local governments around the state and also the Local Government Association will see the benefits of having compulsory voting. I hope they get behind this legislation.

To ensure its functionality, the drafters tell me that due to the wording of the City of Adelaide Act 1988, the schedule amendments to that act are also required. As the Hon. Sarah Game highlighted in her question in this place last sitting week, and the bill coming to a vote today, issues with local government elections, their transparency and eligibility have been evident for some time. This bill seeks to address two key and critical enhancements: eligibility for and compulsory voting in local government elections. I hope members will support the bill, and I commend it to the council.

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