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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-05-12 Daily Xml
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ELECTORAL PROCESS

The Hon. S.G. WADE (16:53): I move:

1. That a select committee of the Legislative Council be appointed to inquire into and report upon the following matters related to the general election of 20 March 2010:

(a) the use of bogus how-to-vote cards and other election day material to mislead voters and measures that may be necessary to ensure that electors are not misled;

(b) provision of voting services including voting by post and services to residents of declared institutions;

(c) the integrity of the roll, including the identification of voters presenting and measures for subsequent verification; and

(d) management of the election by the electoral commission, including the powers and resources available to the commission.

2. That standing order No. 389 be so far suspended as to enable the chairperson of the committee to have a deliberative vote only.

3. That this council permits the select committee to authorise the disclosure or publication, as it sees fit, of any evidence or documents presented to the committee prior to such evidence being presented to the council.

4. That standing order No. 396 be suspended to enable strangers to be admitted when the select committee is examining witnesses unless the committee otherwise resolves, but they shall be excluded when the committee is deliberating.

At the election on 20 March, the Australian Labor Party used dodgy how-to-vote cards to try to mislead electors. The Labor Party used its party members wearing T-shirts emblazoned with a Family First slogan to distribute how-to-vote cards also bearing a Family First slogan but directing preferences contrary to the registered Family First how-to-vote card.

In the past, there have been occasional breakouts of dodgy election tactics, but this case was unprecedented in two particular respects. First, Labor's dodgy how-to-vote cards were unprecedented because the same party that used the tactic had moved legislation to ban it only months earlier. In distributing the fake how-to-vote cards, the Rann government did exactly what it said it wanted to stop and would stop when it amended the act to insert sections 112A and 112B to deal with bogus how-to-vote cards. In then attorney-general Atkinson's second reading explanation, he said:

Although the government believes there is nothing wrong with attempting to solicit the second-preferences of voters honestly, it does not believe the same can be said where bogus cards, purporting to be issued by an independent or minor party, dishonestly direct preferences to a major party (or any party or candidate).

The Labor Party knew it was wrong but did it anyway. I do not propose to debate the government's interpretation of events around the passage of section 112C of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2009. The Liberal Party has a different understanding but, to the extent that those events are relevant to the terms of reference, that is a matter for the committee.

Secondly, Labor's dodgy how-to-vote cards were unprecedented because it was not an isolated incident. It was the most systematic, coordinated use of dodgy electoral practices ever seen. The tactic was used across four marginal electorates: Morialta, Mawson, Light and Hartley. The tactic was planned by the central campaign. The tactic was presented to local campaigns and campaigns had the opportunity to opt out.

The Labor Party had special how-to-vote cards printed for each electorate and matching T-shirts specially printed. This was not the work of a rogue party volunteer. This was a systematic organised deception involving the ALP state campaign director and dozens of party workers. After the election, the public reaction was overwhelming. The public felt cheated.

The tactic may not have been enough to change the result of the election overall on this occasion, but it was certainly seen as unethical and disrespectful to the electorate. Family First indicated that it would be moving to amend the Electoral Act to prevent the use of bogus how-to-vote cards in the future, and the Hon. Robert Brokenshire has given notice of such a bill.

Two weeks ago, the Liberal Party and Family First announced that we would be supporting a committee such as this motion proposes. Yesterday, the government announced that it would be introducing legislation to deal with dodgy how-to-vote cards. In addition, yesterday the Greens indicated that they would be moving for a ban on how-to-vote cards, full stop.

However, in moving this motion, the opposition is arguing that it is one thing to fix up the loophole but, if we do not do more than fix a loophole, we simply set the political apparatchik on the hunt to find another loophole. It is our view that the community trust in the electoral system is so important that we must act decisively to protect the public from misleading electoral behaviour. We cannot afford to have another episode of misconduct; if we do, public trust in the electoral process and the democracy that rests on it will be undermined.

I am not in the habit of quoting myself, but I would like to do so to highlight that my concerns are not recent. On Tuesday 8 September 2009, speaking on the second reading of the Local Government (Elections) (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill, I said:

Whatever level of government we are talking about, it is important that election processes are transparent and accountable; in fact, it is vital to ensure a robust democracy. Voters need to be confident that elections are conducted impartially and that safeguards are in place to prevent tampering with or distorting of the election process. We are reminded of the importance of transparent elections and public faith in the processes by relatively recent events: the Iranian elections earlier this year and also the Afghanistan elections, which are currently in progress. The peace and good order of those nations is and has been jeopardised by a lack of confidence in the electoral process.

While Australia has a strong democratic process, we need to be vigilant in maintaining the transparency of the processes and ensure that there are safeguards to prevent abuse. In this context, I think it would be helpful to remind ourselves that even well developed democratic states can still have problems with their electoral processes, which undermine the credibility of the governments elected as a result. Of course, most recently, the United States had major problems with 'pregnant chats' and other electoral issues, which served to cast a pall over the election results and I think undermined the moral authority of the people who took office after those elections.

I believe that the Labor Party has put itself in this situation. It has undermined its own moral authority. Labor was elected with only 48.4 per cent of the two-party preferred vote. At the beginning of its third term, the credibility of the Labor Party and the moral authority of the Labor Party has been undermined. I have no doubt that the ALP has damaged its brand, and it will pay the price at this year's federal election. Therefore, we want to make sure that this parliament does all that it reasonably can to protect the electoral processes.

It may be that the committee will come back and recommend amendments to the Electoral Act. One option would be the Family First and ALP approach of allowing how-to-vote cards but seeking to legislate against dodgy ones. Another option would be the Greens' approach of banning how-to-vote cards altogether. As Liberals, we would want to consider the freedom of speech implications of any such move.

Other options may be put forward, such as allowing only registered how-to-vote cards to be distributed, or limiting the capacity of people to distribute material within a certain distance of the booth. We think there would be value in having a committee consider these and any other options for reform.

While the Liberal Party is not interested in a long-winded inquiry, we do consider that there are three other aspects of the election that serve to undermine the integrity of the electoral processes and need to be looked at. Term of reference (b) asks the committee to look at the provision of voting services, including voting by post and services to the residents of declared institutions. The number of postal votes at the 2010 election was approximately double the number at the 2006 state election. There were widespread delays in the processing of applications, such that there were reports that many voters did not receive ballot papers or were not able to lodge their votes in time. Concern has also been raised that there was inadequate provision for hospital patients to vote, and it has been claimed that 96 patients at the Flinders Medical Centre were not able to vote. The parliament needs to understand the cause of the delays and any disenfranchisement that may have resulted.

Term of reference (c) asks the committee to look into 'the integrity of the roll, including the identification of voters presenting and measures for subsequent verification'. A family has claimed that it engaged in systematic fraudulent voting to vote 159 times. I understand that those claims are being investigated by the Government Investigations Unit. A number of voters asserted that they were entitled to vote even though their name did not appear on the roll and that they were not provided the opportunity to cast a declaration vote. Under sections 71(1) and 71(2)(d) of the Electoral Act, a person whose name does not appear on the roll is entitled to lodge a declaration vote to allow their enrolment to be verified later.

Term of reference (d) asks the committee to look into 'management of the election by the electoral commission, including the powers and resources available to the commission'. It is not the regular practice of the Parliament of South Australia to have a committee to inquire into the conduct of elections, but it is not without precedent. I note that the federal parliament maintains a joint standing committee on electoral matters, which regularly provides reports on elections.

The Liberal Party wants this inquiry to be focused and timely. In our view, the dodgy how-to-vote card issue, in particular, needs to be resolved in time for any necessary action to be taken in time for local government elections later this year. To this end I will be seeking the support of honourable members to vote on this motion on the next Wednesday of sitting. I commend the motion to the council.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. J.M. Gazzola.

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