Max Chandler-Mather (Griffith, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the following words be added after paragraph 2:

"; and:

(3) strengthen opportunities for enfranchisement and participation in the referendum, particularly of First Nations people, including by:

(a) facilitating on-the-day voter enrolment;

(b) extending the Remote Mobile Polling program;

(c) ensuring the Australian Electoral Commission has adequate funds to conduct effective awareness and education campaigns, including translation and interpretation; and

(d) removing restrictions on the voting rights of prisoners and Australians living overseas".

The Greens will be supporting this bill, the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Amendment Bill 2022, because the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984 provides the framework for how referendums are conducted, and we welcome many of the reforms in this bill to update that framework. In the past 10 years, the parliament has conducted several inquiries into constitutional referendums and reforms. Those inquiries recommended a comprehensive suite of reforms, including aligning referendum laws with broader electoral laws, removing the restriction on governments funding education and promotion campaigns, modernising the way information about the 'yes' and 'no' cases was distributed, and establishing an independent expert panel to advise on the wording of referendum questions and information campaigns. This bill does some of those things.

Many submitters to the earlier inquiries emphasised the need for a comprehensive, objective review of the referendum machinery separate from the rush of an impending referendum, and the Greens agree. Referendums are about constitutional change and about foundational democratic reforms. Beyond giving a voice to First Nations people, future referendums will determine whether Australia becomes a republic and whether we remove the restrictions on running for parliament that ignore the multicultural background of so many Australians. The Greens believe we need more comprehensive reforms to the referendum act to make it fit for the challenge of those future referendums, but for now it is critical that the improvements proposed in this bill are enacted before the upcoming referendum.

We welcome the introduction of donation disclosure provisions for referendum campaigns. The bill would align referendum disclosure obligations with the Commonwealth Electoral Act obligations; however, what the government has failed to acknowledge is that those obligations are woefully inadequate. The Greens have long called for political donations over $1,000 to be disclosed in real time so that voters can see who is funding campaigns. This is, in fact, Labor's own policy, so this bill represents a missed opportunity to strengthen disclosures. We'll be moving an amendment to lower the disclosure threshold to $1,000 and we hope that Labor supports us in improving transparency for all political donations.

I said earlier that referendum machinery reforms should be considered not only on the eve of a referendum; but we also cannot ignore the timing and context of this bill. Alongside progress towards treaty and truth, the upcoming Voice referendum is a generational opportunity, and it will be critical to maximise the participation of all Australians in the vote. Without reforms, there is a real risk that many First Nations people may not get the chance to have their say in the Voice referendum. While enrolment among First Nations people has been increasing, it remains lower than that of the general population. On-the-day enrolment options would prevent a situation where First Nations people who try to vote in the referendum are turned away.

Even with increased enrolment, many voters, particularly in remote areas, may be effectively disenfranchised by the unpredictable, limited availability of mobile polling services. During the last election, some communities were visited by remote mobile polling units for only a few hours, and some missed out altogether. Communities received little information of when polling places would be open, and many missed out on voting as a result. We need to do better. I understand that the government will move amendments in the Senate to extend the remote polling period. We welcome that as a positive first step. The Northern Territory Electoral Commission report on the Daly by-election noted that, where a polling place in the Wadeye community was open for five days, there was a nearly 40 per cent increase in voter turnout from the previous by-election, where the polling place was open for only two days.

Giving people in remote communities the best chance to have their say is an investment we all need to make. There also needs to be a concerted effort to engage interpreters to assist voters at polling places to understand the voting process and make sure their vote can be counted. Again, the last election saw many communities without interpreters, and the AEC needs to be funded to ensure that that is not repeated.

The Greens believe that constitutional reforms are generational changes that will affect the lives of all Australians. Young people, particularly First Nations young people, will be impacted by the outcome of the referendum and deserve to have a say. We estimate that an additional 32,000 First Nations people would be able to vote if the voting age were lowered to 16. The Greens have a bill to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote, and we urge the government to support that. I will be moving a second reading amendment calling for measures to address voter participation, particularly among First Nations voters. The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters has made similar recommendations, and the AEC has supported those calls. The government needs to act.

Lastly, I want to talk briefly about the pamphlet. The Greens support some form of independent, objective information outlining the 'yes' and 'no' cases being made available to the voting public; however, we acknowledge the many submitters who have questioned whether the pamphlet, and the archaic way that it will be developed, will meet this objective. It is critical that all Australians are given access to resources to inform their decision. It is critical that those resources are accurate and clear, that they don't misrepresent the implications of a Voice, that they don't fearmonger or spout racist talking points and that they don't undermine the democratic process. We will continue to call for measures that ensure publicly funded resources are clear and factual, developed in consultation with experts and available in appropriate formats and languages to reach all voters. We will also continue to support calls for truth in political advertising campaigns. The Greens believe in democracy. We want to see referenda conducted fairly and openly with transparency and respect. This bill goes some way to go towards that, and we will keep pressure on the government to go further on electoral reforms in this term of parliament.

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