Lee Rhiannon (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I did notice that Senator Muir did comment about the problems with group voting tickets. It is very important that that continues to be a central part of what we are addressing here. Amendments (1) and (3) do try to delay the commencement of the bill until January 2017. It has been well-established time and time again in the consideration of this bill, that the Senate voting reform needs to be in before the next election. So that is why the Greens will not be supporting these.

Senator Muir also proposes some below-the-line amendments that he proposes commence the day after royal assent. We oppose those because they are not necessary. The whole act should commence then. The below-the-line amendments he refers to are all associated with numbering 1 to 6 below the line. The Greens oppose them as they will create poorer preference flow, and numbering 1 to 12 is a big improvement in terms of not having to number every candidate and ensuring voters allocate preferences to a reasonable degree. So we will not be supporting these amendments.