Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Hansard source

I am delighted that Senator Faulkner hangs onto my every word and seeks to find out exactly what is meant. If I used terms such as ‘a lot of people’, ‘many more’ or a term to that effect, what I was pointing out was that at the moment you can only get a vote as a new Australian if you are given Australian citizenship during the seven-day period, whereas what we are suggesting is that you ought to be able to get the vote if you provisionally enrol in anticipation of that, right up to and including election day.

So, in very rough terms for ease of calculation, I would anticipate that we have the same number of residents becoming Australian citizens on a weekly basis. There are citizenship ceremonies all over the country at different occasions, and therefore one week’s worth in comparison to what might be four or five weeks worth may well mean that four or five times as many people could fit into the category of ‘a lot of people’ or ‘a lot more’. So what you have is potentially, in rough terms, four or five times as many people if they provisionally enrol. When and if they avail themselves of that, of course, remains to be seen, but it is something that, in my mind, will clearly extend the franchise for the new Australians and allow them to vote on the first possible occasion, as long as they become an Australian citizen between the issue of the writ and election day.