Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party, Assistant Minister for Children and Families) Share this | Hansard source

Firstly, I'd like to thank all those in the chamber who have contributed to the debate on the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Assurance of Senate Counting) Bill 2021. I'll also take this opportunity to recognise and thank the members of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters for their continued consideration of matters relating to electoral laws and practices.

The measures in this bill respond to recommendation 3 of the JSCEM Report on the conduct of the 2016 federal election and matters related thereto. These amendments will provide confidence in the security, accuracy and transparency of the computerised scrutiny of Senate votes. This bill will require the Electoral Commission to arrange a security risk assessment of the computerised systems used for the scrutiny of votes and an independent accuracy assessment of the counting software.

These independent assessments will enhance the integrity and the transparency of the electoral system and provide electors with confidence in Senate election results.

To further support transparency and accountability in Senate elections, this bill grants candidate scrutineers the right to request the recall of a physical ballot paper during the computerised scrutiny of Senate votes. This will allow the challenge to be resolved on the original physical ballot paper. The amendments clarify the process for candidate ties and removes the unnecessary requirement for bulk exclusion when computerised scrutiny is undertaken.

The bill also requires the Electoral Commissioner to publish detailed data on votes received by candidates in a Senate election. These changes are necessary for the continued strengthening of Australia's democracy to support voter confidence in the election process and the legitimacy of election results. Once again, I thank my colleagues for their contribution and commend this bill to the House.

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