Gary Gray (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service and Integrity) Share this | Hansard source

I understand that. I understand that the JSCEM report on the 2007 election also contained a number of recommendations to which there were a number of objections. I am not aware of any objection by the coalition at that time to these electoral roll measures.

Importantly, the shadow minister made the suggestion that perhaps the additional funding to the AEC is in order to support this particular policy. The short answer is: no, it is not. The long version is that these particular measures are designed to harmonise the Commonwealth roll with the rolls of the most populous states. The most populous states now have enrolment technologies being actively deployed which, if we do not match them at the Commonwealth level, will create a serious mismatch between our Commonwealth roll and our state rolls. These measures will bring onto the Commonwealth roll about 100,000 electors in New South Wales but only about 10,000 in Victoria because of a differential system operating there which has also been operating over a different time line.

The sources to which we would expect the AEC to turn—bearing in mind, of course, that the AEC is independent and will independently determine the appropriate lists to go to—are the Australian Taxation Office and, yes, RTAs, and some school-leaver rolls have been considered. But, importantly, it will look to rolls that have integrity and that are approved by state electoral commissions. So we are not simply going out to any old list of people. In order to add to the integrity of the roll, the commission is creating a system to track and to support voter enrolments that is consistent with those used in the largest jurisdictions.

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