Ron Boswell (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I do not object to people voting for the Labor Party, but I do object to people being able to register for any address and not come up with proof of identity. I observed that, in the results in the seat of Richmond, up to around 80 per cent—from memory—of those provisional votes went against the sitting candidate. We all accept that provisional votes do, traditionally, favour the Labor Party, but not to such a high degree. You might get 60 per cent; you might even get 65 or 70 per cent, but, when it starts to come in around 80 per cent, you need to start saying: ‘If this is the case then let’s make it certain, by asking people to provide proof of identity when they register for a provisional vote.’ So I think this piece of legislation goes a long way, with these two particular aspects, to making the Electoral Act more fair, more reasonable and more certain. It certainly has my support.