Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Hansard source

The answer to that question is yes. This is housekeeping legislation, which should be entirely noncontentious. Indeed, it was entirely noncontentious when a much more far-reaching reform along those lines was passed by the parliament back in 2018. We want to ensure that federal elections are organised nationally on a nationally consistent basis. A state electoral law should not be able to interfere with the conduct of federal elections, and our federal candidates and federal representatives out of Queensland should not be disadvantaged compared to their counterparts in other states and territories. It is a completely and utterly commonsensical position that there should be a uniform approach through the conduct of federal elections on a nationally consistent basis, and passage of this legislation will ensure that happens. Given that the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters provided its report, this is the opportunity to deal with this.