James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

As Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, I wish to contribute to this second reading debate on the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2020. It is a key function of committees to ensure that any proposed legislation is carefully examined and that the public has an opportunity to contribute to those parliamentary deliberations. It is also crucial that the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, in examining bills, seeks to ensure that any proposed legislation lessens regulatory burdens and red tape which can significantly impact not only on smaller parties and Independents but also on the wider voting public.

The Electoral Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2020 contains a number of amendments designed to improve clarity, enhance electoral processes and strengthen electoral integrity in the Commonwealth Electoral Act and the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act. The bill makes necessary amendments to sections 302CA and 314B of the Commonwealth Electoral Act and clarifies the relationship between the electoral laws of the Commonwealth, the states and the territories. To alleviate unnecessary administrative burdens, the bill also includes a number of practical amendments. These include changing the telephone voting method available to Antarctic electors to provide secret voting; changing staffing requirements for the Australian Electoral Commission to allow greater flexibility; allowing AEC staff to make administrative marks on ballot papers; allowing pens, as well as pencils, to be used to mark votes on ballot papers; making minor practical changes to the Senate ballot paper to mitigate excessive ballot width; and streamlining the vote-issuing process. These changes, amongst others, contribute to the Australian Electoral Commission's ability to deliver transparent, consistent and efficient elections, while removing unnecessarily prescriptive practices. The committee has therefore recommended that the bill be passed.

The committee has also recommended that the government amend the bill to clarify that the recipients of donations will be provided exclusive coverage under federal donation laws only when they place donations in a federal electoral account that can be drawn down only for federal electoral purposes. This will ensure that the banking and accounting treatment of donations aligns with the legal treatment, supporting a separation of state campaign activity from federal campaign activity. This amendment squarely addresses the main issues raised in submissions.

I'd like to thank everyone who made a submission to our inquiry into this bill, and I'd particularly like to thank my deputy chair and the other members of the committee, along with the secretariat, for their work. Thank you.