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

The purpose of the bill, as well as addressing a range of practical issues that the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters has identified, is to ensure that the conduct of federal elections, nationally, on a nationally consistent basis, is governed by federal electoral laws and the conduct of state elections, as is consistent across relevant state jurisdictions, is governed by state electoral laws. We think that that is an entirely straightforward proposition, and we can't see where the contention is in that very straightforward proposition.