Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Opposition Business (House)) Share this | Hansard source

I also respect that the decision is now made. The letters that you have tabled you said were on 17 May and 23 May. Had the decision been made within the time that the other by-election decisions were made, it would have been made before those letters were even received from the Australian Electoral Commission. The Australian Electoral Commission have claimed they want all candidates to know the new rules. I think that, for anyone running for these by-elections, if they don't know by now what the High Court has decided, there is nothing that will help them!

The AEC normally would not recommend a date, as you have said. On this occasion, they have recommended a date, and they have used the fact that they want this new regulation as the reason. Now, they appeared before the relevant inquiry months ago. They had their involvement with the relevant inquiry through appearing last year. The regulations and discussions with the opposition happened more than a week ago. We have a situation now where that 79-day delay, which has not applied anywhere else, is on the basis of the Australian Electoral Commission, which, if the Prime Minister went down to Yarralumla and called an election today, would be able to conduct it for 150 seats in 33 days time. Instead, they say it has to be delayed all this period and it just happens to be on the day of the Labor Party national conference. It's a what-a-coincidence moment! What a coincidence from the Australian Electoral Commission!

The decision now made—

See this speech in context