Kerry O'Brien (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Transport) Share this | Hansard source

It is interesting to follow Senator Fielding’s contribution. One of the provisions of the explanatory memorandum which I draw to senators’ attention in speaking on the Electoral and Referendum Amendment (Electoral Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2006 is a requirement that relates to the enrolment of new voters and the changing of the details of existing enrolled voters. This provision changes the identification that is required by those voters, and I think I caught a partial reference to it in Senator Fielding’s contribution. It is rather amazing that we see here a provision which, frankly, excludes members of the potential voter’s family from attesting that that person is the person they claim to be when they seek to enrol to vote or to change their enrolment. I find it amazing that a party—that is, the Liberal Party—which claims to be a party that upholds family values is saying that when a young voter seeks to enrol to vote for the first time they cannot use members of their family, people who live the same household, people who are related, to attest that they are the person they claim to be when they put their name down on the electoral roll.