Bills

Constitution (General Elections) Amendment Bill

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (16:31): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Constitution Act 1934. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (16:32): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

As members will see this is a very simple and concise bill that I introduce today on behalf of Dignity for Disability. In introducing legislation into parliament this afternoon we seek to move state election polling day from March to October in an attempt to give the state a better go at democracy. Presently, polling day or election day as we are all aware is the third Saturday of March and this simply seeks to move that day to the fourth Saturday in October.

In introducing this bill I hope that South Australians can be more engaged in the democratic process of electing our state parliamentarians every four years by moving polling day out of mad March. At this year's state election a third of voters, that is more than 320,000 people, chose to vote on a day that was not polling day. I am aware that both the government and the opposition have said that they want election day to be a snapshot of how the electorate feels on that day and it is not that now. It is instead an indication of how the electorate feels across nearly three weeks of voting.

In March we have the Adelaide Cup, the Clipsal 500, the WOMADelaide Festival, the fringe festival, and so on. It is simply, to my mind, too much of a distraction. We need to place equal weight on the festival season and democracy. We need voters to be able to analyse what is happening in the political arena rather than attending events and festivities.

Dignity for Disability would like to see a sharper focus on policies and issues affecting this state. By moving the election day clear of major events, the AFL season, school holidays and public holidays, we can see a focus on the matters truly affecting South Australians. Other politicians might feel that those events provide a good distraction and a good publicity opportunity and allow them to escape the responsibility to be accountable to their electorates. However, we in the Dignity for Disability party certainly welcome this change. I believe that we were perhaps the only party to release policies but refrained from the visual pollution created by plastic corflute posters, and I again challenge other parties to follow Dignity for Disability's lead. We will certainly continue to be very vocal on that issue in coming times.

The community has a right and an obligation to be fully engaged in the voting process. Having an election period clear of major events will allow comprehensive discussion of ideas and allow voters to make up their minds after being completely informed of what their potential politicians are offering. I am, of course, aware that we have not one but two committees in this parliament currently looking into electoral matters. I am very privileged to be a member of one of those committees. I understand that this may well be an issue that is raised by hopefully both of those committees, now that we have two.

The Hon. S.G. Wade: The other bill hasn't been to us yet.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: Of course. Ignore me! I certainly hope that in the event that we have two, this will be an issue that is very seriously considered. I do not see that as an excuse not to move forward with this important issue which is, to my mind, important in allowing South Australians to fully participate in democracy. I look forward to further discussions on this matter and other relevant matters in the realm of electoral reform with both my fellow members of this chamber and the other place, as well as members of the community. I welcome feedback on what I consider to be a very worthwhile idea. With those brief words, I commend this bill to the chamber.

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