Andrew Murray (WA, Australian Democrats) Share this | Hansard source

I think the minister’s memory is accurate. I think it is a $10,000 threshold for reporting dodgy transactions under that act. Turning to schedule 1, item 36, which we seek to oppose, the item concerned would insert a new section 99B—I am taking this from the explanatory memorandum—into the Commonwealth Electoral Act which provides that, if a person has been notified by the immigration department that they are eligible for Australian citizenship and will become Australian citizens between issue of the writs and polling day, they are entitled to apply to the AEC for provisional enrolment before 8 pm on the day of the close of rolls—that is, the third working day after the issue of the writ.

That sounds like a generous concession. In fact, it is a concession in terms of what the government proposes. But, in terms of the existing law, it in fact reduces the period that new Australian citizens can register from seven days to three days following the calling of the writs. For that reason we think it is consistent, since we do oppose the changes to the closure of rolls, to oppose this particular provision.