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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-05-06 Daily Xml
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HOW-TO-VOTE CARDS

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (17:09): My question is to the Leader of the Government. Following the comments of the Premier that 'it was wrong', my questions are:

1. Does the Leader of the Government condemn the actions of his party in handing out misleading how-to-vote cards on election day 2010?

2. Will the government rule out ever using the tactic of handing out misleading how-to-vote cards in the future?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister Assisting the Premier in Public Sector Management) (17:09): My experience in relation to the use of how-to-vote cards as they relate to minor parties and preferences goes back to the 2006 election when, not being a candidate at that particular election, I handed out how-to-vote cards for my colleague Tom Kenyon in the electorate of Newland.

In that electorate, members of the Liberal Party were handing out how-to-vote cards that were directing second preferences to the Liberal Party—and I know that because I saw them afterwards. I understand that exactly the same thing happened during that election in the seat of Mawson. So, I became aware of it then.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: I am talking about my experience. One of the things I did when I became aware of the practice was to raise it with the secretary of the party because I thought it was a practice that needed to be looked at, and I also raised it with my colleague the Attorney-General. As a result, when the amendments to the Electoral Act came before this parliament last year, they included a number of measures, one of which was the new proposed section 112C—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: —which mirrored the federal provisions.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: Well, the idea of handing out how-to-vote cards—

The Hon. T.J. Stephens interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Stephens will come to order!

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: —to influence the second preference of voters is not new in Australian politics; it has been around for decades.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. T.J. Stephens interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Mr Stephens will stop making unparliamentary comments across the floor, the minister will attempt to continue to answer the question, and the council will come to order.

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: I was just setting out the history as I am familiar with it because I had noticed this practice being used at the previous election. The government sought to outlaw that practice by seeking to insert proposed section 112C when the bill came before parliament last year. History shows that it was rejected.

The conclusion I came to after that (which was one I think any reasonable person would come to) was that, given the practice in the 2006 election, it would be very likely that it would happen again. So, if a practice has been used by one party in one election, it becomes inevitable that it will be used in a future election.

To get back to the question, I agree with the Premier that this practice should be outlawed. I can assure the honourable member that we will bring in legislation very soon that will again put the measure the government unsuccessfully tried to bring forward previously.

In politics, once one particular tactic has been tried and you have tried to get rid of it by changing the law (and we did that) and it is not successful, the assumption you make is that it will be used again. So, what do you do? You have no option, essentially, but to respond.

I think there has been an enormous amount of hypocrisy about this issue. This suggestion that canvassing for second preference votes was in some way a new issue shows that some people have kept their eyes closed for the last 20 years or so in relation to Australian politics.

I know it was particularly used in relation to Family First how-to-vote cards during the 2006 election because I saw it with my own eyes; indeed, I raised the matter with the party secretary as something we should seek to get rid of. Unfortunately, we were not successful, but let's hope that we will be when the legislation comes back to the parliament, because I agree with the Hon. Mr Hood that it is a practice that is best not continued.

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