Ben Morton (Tangney, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister and Cabinet) Share this | Hansard source

Ordinarily I would thank those in the chamber who have contributed to this debate, and, of course, I do that overall. But I do want to reflect on some of the comments that've made against the Australian Electoral Commission and the hard-working members of the Australian Electoral Commission, and ask that members of this House do reflect on their words used in this chamber when talking about hardworking members of the Australian Public Service that serve the Australian people appropriately, as they should. I do thank those opposite for their support. I thank the member for Indi for her support for these bills. I acknowledge that she has put me on notice in relation to matters that are important to her moving forward.

These bills have come about as a result of the hard work of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters. I thank them for their consideration of electoral laws and practices. The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 is one of the oldest pieces of legislation in Australia and it requires continual review to harmonise electoral law and administration of the evolving environment. The reforms in these bills are important and are necessary to modernise Australia's electoral system and strengthen the integrity of our electoral framework. They will benefit the Australian voting public through enhanced service delivery and enhanced voter confidence in election processes.

The bills recognise the changing electoral environment and safeguard Australia's electoral system by responding to public expectations regarding access to prepoll and postal voting; modernising the Electoral Act to provide the AEC with flexibility on how it delivers elections; providing the AEC with the ability to commence the opening and sorting, but not counting, of prepoll and postal votes prior to the close of polls on election day; supporting the AEC to deliver a timely election outcome while maintaining electoral integrity; enhancing party registration requirements to ensure that parties are built on a genuine foundation of community support; mitigating the risk of voter confusion in an election due to political parties being registered or continuing to be registered with very similar names; providing additional options for the AEC to combat and prevent the rare instances of multiple voting in Australia; and ensuring that voters can participate in the electoral process free from harassment and intimidation, while strengthening our electoral system's defence against instances of multiple voting. Not only will these reforms assist the AEC to deliver effective and timely electoral events; they will promote public confidence in the democratic process and the resulting outcomes of electoral events.

The Australian electoral roll is in the greatest shape it has ever been in, largely due to the ongoing efforts of the AEC and its hardworking staff. We have the best roll since Federation. Every area of the roll has increased, including for Indigenous Australians. It is therefore odd, against this backdrop, to see such criticism raised by some participants, particularly in the way they have done so. It is incredibly important that Australians from remote and Indigenous communities can exercise their franchise. Electoral participation is of vital importance.

The issue of Indigenous underenrolment is not new but rather an enduring challenge. Improving electoral participation among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people has been a long-term focus for the AEC and our Indigenous Electoral Participation Program. The AEC is working to build engagement with the electoral processes and enrolment of Indigenous Australians. This includes through partnerships with organisations already operating in Indigenous communities, the extension of the AEC's digital footprint into more remote areas, locally targeted activities, and building on the success of the FDEU program. This change in strategy is directly attributable to the increases that I am about to outline.

It is important that what hasn't been noted is that the government announced in the 2020-21 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook a further $5.6 million to expand the AEC's presence in the Northern Territory to ensure that we can enhance electoral enrolment and participation, particularly for Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory. While the enrolment rate among Indigenous Australians still needs improvement—and I accept that—the enrolment rates are increasing at a steady pace, and in some jurisdictions faster than the national estimate. The estimated Indigenous enrolment rate has been increasing year on year, with an encouraging, positive trend, increasing in the years 2018-19 to 2019-20. The latest estimate of the Indigenous enrolment rate as at 30 June 2021 is in the final stages of analysis, and early indications are that Indigenous enrolment continues to rise, as has been the case for the last few years since the AEC changed its strategy to focus on partnerships. Early analysis also shows the Indigenous roll continues to rise at a faster rate than the non-Indigenous roll.

The current strategies implemented by the AEC and their staff over the last few years are working. Where they need to do more, they will have my support, they will have this parliament's support, they will have the support of the shadow minister for electoral matters and they will have the support of all Australians. We should support the AEC in this important work. We should support them and encourage them to do more and not call into question their motivations. Once again, I thank my colleagues for their contribution and I commend this bill.

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