Ricky Muir (Victoria, Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move amendments (6) and (8) on sheet 7875:

(6) Schedule 1, items 6 and 7, page 4 (lines 1 to 12), omit the items, substitute:

6 Section 210

210 Printing of Senate ballot papers

Senate ballot papers to be printed in batches

(1) Ballot papers for a Senate election are to be printed in batches with the ballot papers within a batch having the same order of candidate names.

(2) There are to be 2 sets of ballot papers printed. Each set is made up of a number of separate batches of ballot papers.

Note: The number of separate batches within a set of ballot papers will depend on the number of candidates to be listed in a column on the ballot paper.

First set of Senate ballot papers

(3) The first set of ballot papers for a Senate election must be printed so that:

  (a) the names of above the line candidates are printed on the ballot paper before the names of other candidates; and

  (b) the names of candidates by whom requests have been made under section 168 are printed on the ballot paper in groups with each group being printed in a single column on the ballot paper; and

  (c) the order of several above the line candidates across the ballot paper must be determined by the Australian Electoral Officer in accordance with section 213; and

  (d) the names of candidates who are not above the line candidates must:

     (i) unless subparagraph (ii) applies, be printed in a single column on the ballot paper; and

     (ii) if a single column would be longer than the longest column containing the names of above the line candidates, be printed in 2 or more columns on the ballot paper; and

     (iii) if the names of the candidates are printed in 2 or more columns, be printed in columns that are no longer than the longest column containing names of above the line candidates; and

  (e) where similarity in the names of 2 or more candidates is likely to cause confusion, the names of those candidates may be arranged with such description or addition as will distinguish them from one another; and

  (f) except as otherwise provided by the regulations:

     (i) a square is printed opposite the name of each candidate; and

     (ii) for candidates who made a request under section 168 that their names be grouped in the ballot papers for the election—a square is printed above the dividing line and above the squares printed opposite those names; and

     (iii) for a candidate who made a request under section 168A—a square is printed above the dividing line and above the square printed opposite the candidate's name; and

  (g) for each column containing the names of candidates:

     (i) separate batches of ballot papers are printed equal in number to the number of names in a column; and

     (ii) in the first batch of ballot papers printed, the order of the names in a column are determined by the Australian Electoral Officer in accordance with section 213; and

     (iii) in each subsequent batch of ballot papers printed, the order of the names in a column is the order specified in the table in Schedule 1A for the number of names in the column; and

     (iv) so far as practicable, the number of ballot papers in each batch for a column is to be equal to the number of ballot papers in each other batch for the column.

Second set of Senate ballot papers

(4) The second set of ballot papers for a Senate election must be printed so that:

  (a) there is a batch of ballot papers corresponding to each batch in the first set of ballot papers; and

  (b) the corresponding batch in the second set of ballot papers has the name of the candidate that was in the first position in the first batch of ballot papers printed for the first set of ballot papers, but the order of the names of the candidates below the first name are, as far as practicable, in reverse order; and

  (c) so far as practicable, the number of ballot papers in each batch in the second set of ballot papers is to be equal to the number of ballot papers in each batch in the first set of ballot papers.

Note: For paragraph (b), if the order of names on the first batch of ballot papers in the first set of ballot papers is in the order 1 to 6, the order of names on the corresponding batch in the second set of ballot papers is 1, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.

Collation of Senate ballot papers

(5) The Australian Electoral Officer must ensure that Senate ballot papers distributed to a polling place for the purposes of a Senate election are so collated that the Senate ballot paper immediately following another Senate ballot paper in the issue is in a form different from that of the other Senate ballot paper.

(8) Schedule 1, Part 1, page 14 (after line 6), at the end of the Part, add:

42A After Schedule 1

  Insert:

Schedule 1A—Order of candidates on subsequent batches of Senate ballot papers

Note: See subparagraph 210(3)(g)(iii)

1 Order of names of candidates on subsequent batches of Senate ballot papers

(1) For subparagraph 210(3)(g)(iii) of this Act, the table in this Schedule specifies the order that the names of candidates are to be printed in each subsequent batch of ballot papers.

Note: For the order of the names of candidates in the first batch of ballot papers, see subparagraph 210(3)(g)(ii).

(2) In the table in this Schedule:

  (a) the number '1' appearing in column 2 to 12 of the following table is taken to represent the name of the candidate determined for the purposes of the first batch of ballot papers to be in the first position in a column on that ballot paper; and

  (b) the number '2' appearing in column 2 to 12 is taken to represent the name of the candidate determined for the purposes of the first batch of ballot papers to be in the second position in a column on that ballot paper; and

  (c) the number '3' appearing in column 2 to 12 is taken to represent the name of the candidate determined for the purposes of the first batch of ballot papers to be in the third position in the column on that ballot paper;

and so on.

I will make a short statement before I start speaking about this. A lot of the amendments I am moving are not necessarily because I am supportive of this particular changes; I do actually acknowledge that some changes should happen. Essentially, I am moving these amendments because this is a bad bill.

This amendment relates to recommendation 9 from my dissenting report, which is in regard to the implementation of Robson Rotation. To read from my report, recommendation 9 states:

Ensure that political parties have no control over preferences within their party group by introducing the Robson Rotation

This will empower voters who choose to vote below the line. Of course, this will not be a benefit to the majors or the Greens—sorry, I should not include the Labor Party in that; the Liberal and National parties and the Greens—so I do not expect this to happen. It also rewards candidates who go out and seek their supporters to number them 1 below the line. It is kind of funny. I get singled out and told that I should not be here, but I would love to see a group photo of everybody in this Senate. Take that out into the public and ask, 'Who can you recognise?'

It does, however, take the party vote away from the party. It rewards voters and individual candidates for their effort and hard work. It eliminates the concept of a safe seat, so there will be no more of these gold and silver classes at the double dissolution election. The voters will get to decide who gets six years and who gets three years at a double dissolution election, not the party hacks. It removes backroom party deals from within the Senate group. It distributes party based votes evenly between each candidate in a group, and it works effectively in other states. That way, a party vote is truly a party vote. This is also something advocated by the Proportional Representation Society of Australia. This amendment will ensure that preference deals within a party group and between party groups are eliminated, giving the voter the power of where their preference goes.

But we know that that is not what this deal is really about. If you believe in giving 100 per cent control of the vote, you will support this amendment—but you will not. Without this amendment, these changes to preference deals are simply opportunistic politics.