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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-02-08 Daily Xml
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Electoral (Control of Corflutes) 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 2, page 2, after line 12 [clause 2(1), after inserted subsection (2a)]—Insert:

(2b) Subsection (2a) does not apply to the exhibition of—

(a) an electoral advertising poster by a person holding the electoral advertising poster (either directly in their hands or by holding an implement or device to which the poster is attached); or

(b) an electoral advertising poster that—

(i) is not attached to a building, hoarding or other structure or fixture on a public road or road related area; and

(ii) is exhibited at, or in the vicinity of, a place at which a designated event or activity is being held; and

(iii) is exhibited immediately before, during or immediately after the designated event or activity, provided that the electoral advertising poster is not exhibited at, or in the vicinity of, the place for more than 6 hours; or

(c) an electoral advertising poster—

(i) of a kind prescribed by regulation; or

(ii) in circumstances prescribed by regulation.

No. 2. Clause 2, page 2, after line 16 [clause 2(3), inserted subsection (4), before the definition of electoral advertising poster]—Insert:

designated event or activity means—

(a) an assembly within the meaning of the Public Assemblies Act 1972; or

(b) an organised gathering, meeting, function or event relating to an election; or

(c) a person canvassing for votes relating to an election; or

(d) any other gathering, meeting, function or event, or class of gathering, meeting, function or event, prescribed by the regulations;

No. 3. Clause 2, page 2, lines 17 to 22 [clause 2(3), inserted subsection (4), definition of electoral advertising poster]—Delete the definition of electoral advertising poster and substitute:

electoral advertising poster means a poster, notice or sign displaying an electoral advertisement;

No. 4. Clause 3, page 3, line 5 [clause 3(1), inserted subsection (1a)]—Delete 'Without limiting subsection (1)(e) but' and substitute:

Notwithstanding any other provision in this Act, but without limiting subsection (1)(e) and

No. 5. Clause 3, page 3, line 13 [clause 3(1), inserted subsection (1a)(a)(i)]—Delete 'on behalf' and substitute 'with the consent'

No. 6. Clause 3, page 3, line 15 [clause 3(1), inserted subsection (1a)(a)(ii)]—Delete '6' and substitute '12'

No. 7. Clause 3, page 3, line 16 [clause 3(1), inserted subsection (1a)(a)(ii)]—Delete 'on behalf' and substitute 'with the consent'

No. 8. Clause 3, page 3, lines 21 to 23 [clause 3(1), inserted subsection (1a)(b)(i)]—Delete inserted subparagraph (i) and substitute:

(i) it is exhibited—

(A) in the case of a group of candidates—by a member of the group or with the consent of the member of the group whose name on the ballot paper is at the top of the group; or

(B) in the case of any other candidate—by or with the consent of the candidate; and

No. 9. Clause 3, page 3, line 26 [clause 3(1), inserted subsection (1a)(b)(ii)(A)]—Delete '6' and substitute '12'

No. 10. Clause 3, page 3, line 27 [clause 3(1), inserted subsection (1a)(b)(ii)(A)]—Delete 'by or on behalf of the group' and substitute:

by a member of the group or with the consent of the member of the group whose name on the ballot paper is at the top of the group

No. 11. Clause 3, page 3, line 31 [clause 3(1), inserted subsection (1a)(b)(ii)(B)]—Delete '6' and substitute '12'

No. 12. Clause 3, page 3, line 32 [clause 3(1), inserted subsection (1a)(b)(ii)(B)]—Delete 'on behalf' and substitute 'with the consent'

No. 13. Clause 3, page 3, lines 37 and 38 [clause 3(1), inserted subsection (1c)]—Delete 'is exhibited by or on behalf of a candidate in contravention of' and substitute:

exhibited by or with the consent of a candidate contravenes

No. 14. Clause 3, page 4, lines 1 and 2 [clause 3(1), inserted subsection (1d)]—Delete 'is exhibited by or on behalf of a group in contravention of subsection (1a) or (1b), the candidate' and substitute:

exhibited by a member of a group or with the consent of the member of the group whose name on the ballot paper is at the top of the group contravenes subsection (1a) or (1b), the member

No. 15. Clause 3, page 4, lines 6 to 10 [clause 3(1), inserted subsection (1e)]—Delete inserted subsection (1e) and substitute:

(1e) If an electoral advertising poster is exhibited within 50 metres of an entrance to a polling booth open for polling without the consent of a candidate or group required under subsection (1a), the person who authorised the exhibition of the poster is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty: $5,000.

No. 16. Clause 3, page 4, after line 10 [clause 3(1), after inserted subsection (1e)]—Insert:

(1ea) Despite subsections (1c) to (1e), if the Electoral Commissioner is satisfied that a person has contravened subsection (1c), (1d) or (1e), the Electoral Commissioner may give the person a written formal caution against further such contraventions.

(1eb) Subject to subsection (1ec), if the Electoral Commissioner gives a person a written formal caution under subsection (1ea), no further proceedings may be taken against the person for the contravention in relation to which the person was cautioned.

Note—

The presiding officer at a polling booth may (under subsection (1f)) direct or cause the removal of an electoral advertising poster exhibited in contravention of this section (whether a written formal caution is given in relation to the contravention or otherwise).

(1ec) If, in relation to an electoral advertising poster exhibited in contravention of subsection (1c), (1d) or (1e)—

(a) a person given a direction by a presiding officer under subsection (1f) to remove the poster fails to comply with a direction; and

(b) the person is also given a written formal caution under subsection (1ea) in respect of the contravention; and

(c) the failure to comply with the direction continues after the person is given the written formal caution,

nothing prevents criminal or civil proceedings from being taken against the person in relation to the contravention.

No. 17. Clause 3, page 4, line 17 [clause 3(1), inserted subsection (1f)(b)]—Delete 'on behalf' and substitute 'with the consent'

No. 18. Clause 3, page 4, line 22 [clause 3(1), inserted subsection (1f)(c)]—Delete 'on behalf' and substitute 'with the consent'

No. 19. Schedule 1, page 5, line 11 [Schedule 1 clause 1(2), inserted paragraph (caa)]—After '(or is a poster' insert 'within the ambit of section 115(2b) of that Act or'

No. 20. Schedule 1, page 5, after line 13 [Schedule 1 clause 1]—After subclause (2) insert:

(3) Section 226(5)—delete 'this section' and substitute:

subsection (2a)

Consideration in committee.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: I move:

That the Legislative Council's amendments be agreed to.

It is good to see the Electoral (Control of Corflutes) Amendment Bill 2023 come back to the house. I am happy to make a few comments in regard to the 20 amendments as a whole, having moved that they be accepted by the House of Assembly.

The amendments that have come back are, in my view, acceptable to the overall sentiment or spirit of the legislation that I was aiming to achieve. It will be interesting to see if we get feedback from the Electoral Commissioner in due course as to the workability of some of these. They might increase the threshold a little bit as to the workability or the administration of the act going forward, but it is fair to say that we have achieved a very significant win here today in regard to the banning of corflute posters on public infrastructure in particular across South Australia.

I surveyed my electorate in 2021 in regard to their views on corflute posters and in the last 24 hours I have had the opportunity to dig out that survey. There were several hundred submissions and 86 per cent of those that were returned to my office opposed having corflutes on public infrastructure. They did so for a range of reasons, from visual amenity through to the fact that they were single-use plastic, a waste of resources and energy, and in some cases ended up as pollution, either in landfill or in even less desirable places like our creeks and parks and beaches.

The community has really spoken over an extended period of time. Public polling undertaken by media outlets, as recently as yesterday by The Advertiser, showed very clearly that the community was well and truly over these corflute posters. As the member for West Torrens said yesterday, the time has come for this legislation and the time has come to end the use of corflute posters in South Australia on public infrastructure.

As I said yesterday, of course these will continue to be present where people want on private infrastructure and there are amendments that allow them to appear at political events and the like, which gives people, individuals and political parties, the opportunity to express particular views, but again not in a way that would see them plastered on Stobie poles and lampposts and other pieces of public infrastructure up and down streets and highways the length and breadth of the state of South Australia.

Today, I had the opportunity to speak on ABC Sydney to talk about this legislation. It has had some national interest associated with it, even though in most other states the situation in regard to the display of these posters is already significantly restricted. There is clearly, in some jurisdictions, a desire to see what we are doing here and to see if we are going to go a bit further than what they allow there.

It has been a fairly rapid process as far as the final conclusion of this piece of legislation goes, but it is good to see the houses and political parties working together and I look forward to seeing far fewer corflute posters spread around this state in future elections. With that, I commend this bill to the house.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: There are amendments from the upper house. We concur with the changes made by the Legislative Council. The leader is right: this is a measure whose time has come. I have been fascinated by the outpouring of grief from some on the loss of corflutes. I have to say that my office has been inundated for copies of the fat Kouts corflute that was available from 1997 to 2002 in a limited edition run. I have 500 of them left and I understand that they are now hot property, which I may or may not be selling for a fee.

I do congratulate the Leader of the Opposition. Change comes incrementally in politics. This has been an incremental movement that has been gathering pace. As I said in my remarks in the house yesterday, I do not believe that there is an ulterior motive here. I just think that people are reaching a point where they think that corflutes do not serve the purpose we think they do.

People are sophisticated. They get their news from a diverse range of methods and platforms and there will be no lack of evidence that there is an election on in Dunstan. There will be no lack of evidence that there is a fixed date in 2026 for an election. These posters have now become visual pollution and there are environmental benefits of reducing the single-use corflute, which is pretty unique to South Australia.

What we do here every election campaign is not replicated around the country. It is not done in Western Australia. It is not really done in Victoria. It is not done in almost any other jurisdiction in the world. People put things on their front lawns, as they do in the United States, or they put things on their front fences. Loyal Liberal members will put some signs on their front fences. Loyal Labor members will put their signs on their front fences. Independents and the like will do theirs. But I think the idea of putting them on Stobie poles has really gone too far.

It is also dangerous. I am surprised that no-one has been killed putting up election signs. We have a lot of young volunteers who are in a rush in the middle of the night at the time the writs are issued to go out and put up signs. They have ladders on the side of the road.

The Hon. D.J. Speirs: It's crazy.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: It is. Of course, they are climbing Stobie poles that are carrying high volts and lots of amps across our city. It is dangerous and we should not allow it, so I think this is a good improvement for the people of South Australia. It will be interesting to see how it works in the seat of Dunstan, but I think the people of Dunstan are sophisticated enough to make up their own minds without needing a piece of plastic to tell them who to vote for. With those few remarks, I commend the amendments to the house. I look forward to the bill's speedy passage.

Motion carried.

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