Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Shall I sit down and you two can continue?

The TEMPORARY CHAIRMAN: Senator Wong, resume your seat. Senator Wong, like any senator, is entitled to be heard in silence. I request senators to please observe that courtesy.

Thank you. I am indebted to my very good adviser, Mr van Bavel, for providing me with this. The section in the South Australian act is section 126. As the minister probably knows—I know he has been engaged on this for some time—the South Australian legislation has quite extensive savings provisions, not just in the upper house but in the lower house. However, one of the counterbalances to the savings provisions, which are even more effective or extensive than what is proposed here, is a prohibition against advocacy. Section 126 of the South Australian legislation prohibits advocacy of forms of voting inconsistent with the act. Subsection 1 says:

A person must not publicly advocate that a voter should mark a ballot paper otherwise than in the manner set out in section 76(1) or (2) …

Subsection 2 says:

A person must not distribute how-to-vote cards in relation to an election unless each card is—

(a) marked so as to indicate a valid vote in the manner prescribed in section 76(1) or (2); or

(b) identical to a card submitted for inclusion in posters under section 66.

I understand the position that the minister has just put in relation to misleading conduct. This is a different provision, because it does not require a mislead; it is simply a prohibition against public advocacy of forms of voting inconsistent with the act. My question is: is there any provision of the bill before us which has the same legal effect as section 126 of the South Australian act?