Melissa McIntosh (Lindsay, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is our job here, as parliamentarians, to stand up for and work hard for the democracy that many Australians in some ways take for granted as they go about their daily lives. This is so that they can vote in elections and be confident that there is no interference, particularly from foreign actors. That's why I'm rising to speak on the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Foreign Influences and Offences) Bill 2022 and the cognate bills being discussed in the House today—bills that strengthen the integrity of our electoral process to prevent these foreign actors, to prevent deceptive conduct and to provide clear authorisations.

The foreign influences and offences bill is an important bill. It ensures that Australia's electoral communication framework is not only protected, but strengthened to combat foreign actors from being able to infiltrate our electoral system and to ensure that those who attempt to mislead voters are held to account. The Morrison government is committed to ensuring that foreign donations are prevented, particularly in a time where we've seen heightened activity of foreign interference. Just this week, the ASIO Director-General unveiled a plot to disrupt an election in Australia, so now, more than ever, we need to make sure that our electoral systems are safeguarded from any threats.

The foreign influences and offences bill builds on the government's commitment to prohibiting foreign donations through a foreign donations prohibition framework. The government has already introduced legislation, and the more recent electoral legislation amendment introduced a number of restrictions on foreign donations.

Schedule 1 of the bill amends the Commonwealth Electoral Act to prohibit foreign campaigners from authorising electoral communications. It also prohibits foreign campaigners from fundraising. These measures not only ensure that only those with a legitimate connection to Australia can authorise communications but also close existing loopholes in our electoral system. By restraining foreign campaigners from fundraising, it ensures that foreign donors are not circumventing the current restrictions by conducting and funding electoral campaigning directly.

In addition to ensuring that our electoral system is clear and transparent, the bill is also aimed at strengthening the offences of misleading or deceiving electors in relation to the casting of a vote. Electoral misleading and deceptive conduct is a serious offence, and currently our laws do not reflect the scale and severity of this offence. In a 21st-century digital and telecommunication environment, where voter disinformation is a serious and real issue, providing a means to ensure that misleading and deceptive information is prevented from being circulated is of the utmost importance. By introducing this bill, the Morrison government is accordingly holding to account for the significance of their actions those who wish to disrupt elections through misleading communications. The bill displays our government's continued commitment to preserving electoral integrity in Australia by combating the rise of foreign interference and ensuring that those who try to mislead or deceive voters are in fact held to account.

I turn to the second bill, the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Authorisations) Bill 2022. This ensures appropriate disclosure of authorisations to make sure registered political parties authorise their communications in accordance with how their names appear on the ballot paper and that other disclosure entities appear as they are referred to on the AEC's Transparency Register. Under the current electoral act, political parties and other entities use their name based on their most recent AEC financial returns, and this has the potential to mismatch the entity's actual name and recent changes to the location of the entity. These changes minimise any potential voter confusion as to who is authorising electoral communications. This is important so voters are clearly aware of who is providing electoral information, further supporting our strong stance on electoral integrity and clarity.

In addition, the bill removes unnecessary duplication by allowing political parties to omit specific branches or divisions of their party, as authorisations already specify an entity's location as part of the authorisation itself. For example, state divisions of the Liberal Party might include in brackets 'New South Wales Division'. However, I know that, when I authorise my content, I still put my address for my materials as High Street, Penrith, signing off with 'New South Wales'. This legislation will also provide alignment with other acts of parliament, including the Broadcasting Services Act and the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act. Overall, this bill ensures greater accuracy in the disclosure of electoral communications by putting them in line with how they will appear on the ballot paper and other disclosure entities.

In summary, these two bills that I've spoken about specifically today ensure that our elections are protected and safeguarded. Elections, as we know, are the hallmark of a democracy. The quality of our system is defined by how we ensure that voters are allowed to make an informed choice free of interference, particularly foreign interference, and misleading or deceptive consent, and that any material received is transparent so that, when voters go to the ballot box, they can make an objective decision as to who they want to sit in this House and the other place.

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