Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Feeney, sometimes I talk a lot about amendments and they still do not get up. If that were the only criterion, I could do a lot more talking. I do not think I will be so fortunate in relation to these amendments, which relate to misleading or deceptive conduct.

When it comes to casting a vote Australians should be provided with as much truthful and accurate information as possible in the lead-up to polling day and on polling day itself, which is when many voters make their decision on who they will vote for. At last year's South Australian state election, in four key seats Labor party volunteers donned blue T-shirts and handed out how-to-vote cards that read 'Put Your Family First', adding 'and send your preferences to Labor' in smaller print. The Family First candidate was listed in the top spot but then the Labor candidate second without party affiliations. It was clearly intended to lure Family First voters to vote for Labor. That should not be allowed to be repeated, given that Family First gave their preferences to the Liberal Party in their official how-to-vote cards. That is not casting a judgment; it is a question of what was the party intending to do. Clearly, it was misleading in that they were not officially endorsed by Family First.

This, sadly, was not an isolated incident. In the 2006 Victorian election the Liberal Party had handed out how-to-vote cards that resembled the Greens' how-to-vote cards. The amendments will make it an offence for any person to engage in or authorise another person to engage in any conduct which is misleading during an election campaign. The current act is inadequate in dealing with this issue. It states:

(1) A person shall not, during the relevant period in relation to an election under this Act, print, publish or distribute, or cause, permit or authorise to be printed, published or distributed, any matter or thing that is likely to mislead or deceive an elector in relation to the casting of a vote.

But it does not include the potentially misleading T-shirts worn by Labor Party vol­unteers who handed out how-to-vote cards that read 'Put Your Family First" at the 2010 state election. Many Australians make their final decision on who to vote for at an election as they walk towards the school hall polling station, and having handed out how-to-vote cards myself I can attest to that. The information they collect on the way can make up their mind. That is why it is crucial that any representations to them are truthful and accurate, and the amendments will en­sure that. note that both the Special Minister of State and the shadow special minister of state say that this is more appropriate. This matter ought to be the subject of a specific reference to an inquiry by JSCEM, the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters. I would be grateful, in the absence of support for this amendment, to obtain confirmation by both the government and the opposition that it is their intention to do so.