Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That these bills be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading speeches incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speeches read as follows—

ELECTORAL LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (COUNTING, SCRUTINY AND OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES) BILL 2021

I am pleased to introduce the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Counting, Scrutiny and Operational Efficiencies) Bill 2021.

This Bill amends the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 to respond to the evolving electoral environment, with note to technological progress and changes in the scale and complexity of federal elections. These measures build on the Government's investment in assisting the AEC to stay at the forefront of electoral technology, whilst also helping to make the voting process more efficient for Australians.

The measures in this Bill respond to recommendations of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters (JSCEM), as well as submissions by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) to support the continued modernisation of the AEC's operational processes.

Modernising postal voting procedures

The Bill enables postal voters outside Australia to complete certain procedural steps electronically if they are unable to comply with authorised witness requirements, for example where lockdown conditions are in place. This amendment does not allow a voter to submit their postal vote electronically.

The Bill also introduces a vote-saving provision for postal votes that are received outside a sealed postal vote certificate. This amendment prevents a postal vote from being excluded from the count solely because it was received alongside, rather than inside, the voter's postal vote certificate.

Pre-polling period

The Bill introduces a fixed pre-poll voting period of up to 12 days prior to election day. The timeframe balances voters' opportunity to participate in elections with the benefits that a more clearly defined pre-poll period provides to the AEC and participants in the electoral process.

Increased candidate scrutineers for Senate elections

The Bill increases the number of scrutineers permitted to observe the computerised scrutiny of Senate elections. The amendment will allow candidates to be represented by one scrutineer for every second tier data entry operator conducting exception checks, in addition to the existing entitlement to be represented by one scrutineer for every AEC officer present.

This promotes transparency and confidence in the integrity of electoral counting processes, whilst balancing this with the physical capacity limitations of counting centres.

Early opening and sorting of pre-poll ballot papers

This Bill will give the AEC the option to open and sort, but not count, ordinary pre-poll ballot papers for the House of Representatives from 4pm on election day.

Given the significant increase in the number of pre-poll votes in elections, this will support the AEC in ascertaining a timely result on election day.

Scrutineers will observe the initial sorting process, and their release of any information about opening and sorting prior to 6pm will be prevented by law. Counting and formality checks of ballot papers with the oversight of scrutineers will then occur from 6pm, as is currently the case.

Early extraction of declaration votes

The Bill allows the AEC the option to extract declaration votes from their envelopes in the five days prior to polling day, and place them in a ballot-box by themselves for further scrutiny. Scrutineers will have the right to witness all aspects of the extraction process.

This amendment will assist the AEC in its processes to complete the initial count and deliver a timely result on election day.

Technical operational efficiency measures

The Bill also makes a number of changes to electoral processes that are necessary to keep pace with modern technology, and will contribute to the AEC's operational efficiency.

The Bill amends how records of paper-based postal vote applications are managed. This recognises that the majority of the applications are now submitted online, and therefore do not require forwarding to the Divisional Returning Officer for the Division in which the applicant is enrolled.

The Bill removes the requirements for pre-poll declaration envelopes to carry a distinguishing number, and for the name and address of printers who printed electoral matter to be included in electoral authorisations.

And finally, the Bill aligns the handling of envelopes containing 'spoilt' or 'discarded' ballot papers with broader ballot paper handling requirements.

Conclusion

These amendments will assist the AEC in the responsibility of delivering efficient and timely elections, promoting continued public confidence in a key democratic institution.

______

ELECTORAL LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (PARTY REGISTRATION INTEGRITY) BILL 2021

Today I introduce the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Party Registration Integrity) Bill 2021.

This Bill amends the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 to strengthen the integrity of party registration by ensuring there exists a genuine base of community support for political parties, and reduce the risk of voter confusion.

This Bill responds to reports of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters (JSCEM).

Political Party Membership Requirements

The Bill amends the Electoral Act to ensure that registered political parties are built on a genuine foundation of community support.

It does this by increasing the minimum membership requirements for non-parliamentary parties from 500 members to 1,500 members, as recommended by JSCEM's Report on the conduct of the 2013 federal election and matters related thereto.

This provision will apply from the date of Royal Assent for new political parties applying for registration.

Non-parliamentary parties that are already registered will be provided three months from the date of Royal Assent to demonstrate they have at least 1,500 members nationally.

This Bill also clarifies the existing requirement that an individual who is a member of more than one party can only be counted once for purposes of demonstrating a party's minimum membership requirements.

This in no way precludes candidates contesting elections as Independents.

Political parties with same words in names or logos

The Bill amends the Electoral Act to minimise the risk that a voter may be confused, or potentially misled, in the exercise of their choice at an election due to a political parties being registered with very similar names.

The amendment guards against this risk by requiring the Electoral Commissioner to refuse an application to register a political party if the applicant party's name replicates a word in the name of an existing registered party.

This will include commonly accepted variants of a word, and will also apply to the proposed abbreviation of the applicant party's name.

Common sense exceptions will apply—

The provision will not apply to words that are collective nouns, like 'alliance' or 'party'.

It will not apply to country or place names, or their variations - like 'Australia' or 'Australian'.

It will also not apply to function words like 'the', 'for' and 'of'.

Further, where an applicant provides written consent from an existing registered party with a similar name, the Electoral

Commissioner will be able to accept the applicant party's name even if it contains the same words as the existing registered party.

The Electoral Commissioner may also refuse to register the logo of a political party on the grounds that it contains a word or abbreviation of an existing political party.

Amendments are made to Section 134A of the Act to ensure consistent application to all existing registered political parties.

The Electoral Commissioner's decisions in these matters will be reviewable by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

Together, these provisions will enhance the integrity of the electoral process by reducing the likelihood of voters inadvertently associating or confusing political parties with similar sounding names.

This amendment responds to a recommendation of the JSCEM in its Report on the conduct of the 2019 federal election and matters related thereto.

______

ELECTORAL LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (ELECTORAL OFFENCES AND PREVENTING MULTIPLE VOTING) BILL 2021

I am pleased to introduce the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Offences and Preventing Multiple Voting) Bill 2021. This Bill amends the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 to strengthen the integrity of our electoral system.

These amendments will help guard against instances of multiple voting and clarify circumstances that may constitute an offence of interference with political liberty under the Electoral Act. The amendment also increases the penalty associated with this offence.

Designated electors

While Australia is fortunate as a democratic nation to experience very few instances of voter fraud, this amendment will help strengthen our electoral system's defences against instances of multiple voting.

Schedule 1 to this Bill amends the Electoral Act to introduce the category of 'designated elector'.

The amendment empowers the Electoral Commissioner to declare an elector a 'designated elector' if the Commissioner reasonably suspects that the elector has voted more than once in the same election. This conclusion could be drawn from data and investigations from previous electoral events.

If the Electoral Commissioner declares a person to be a designated elector, the Commissioner must give the elector written notice of the decision and set out the elector's rights of review. These rights include having the decision reviewed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

A designated elector will be protected in their entitlement to vote, only they will be required to cast a declaration vote. This means the elector will have to cast their vote through postal voting, pre-poll declaration voting, absent voting, or provisional voting.

The amendments prohibit the disclosure of a person's status as a designated elector. This is to maintain the privacy of a person's status as a designated elector.

A designated elector's declaration vote will not be withdrawn from its envelope until after the close of the poll. This provides a safeguard to ensure that, if the designated elector casts multiple votes in the election, only their declaration vote received first can be accepted into the count. This ensures that no voter is disenfranchised, but that nobody can vote more than once.

This amendment strengthens the integrity of our electoral system and maintains voter confidence in elections. It also aligns with other state jurisdictions that have taken similar steps to overcome instances of multiple voting.

Interference with political liberty

Schedule 2 to the Bill amends the Electoral Act to clarify what may constitute interference with political liberty, which is an offence under the Electoral Act.

This clarification notes that violence, obscene or discriminatory abuse, property damage, and harassment or stalking with relevance to an election are examples of what can be considered interference with political liberty.

Further, the penalty for 'interference with political liberty' will be brought in line with the penalty in the Criminal Code for 'interference with political rights and duties'. The penalty will be increased from:

'Imprisonment for 6 months, or 10 penalty units, or both', to

'Imprisonment for 3 years, or 100 penalty units, or both'.

Conclusion

These amendments will promote continued public confidence in the electoral process and ensure voters can participate in the electoral process free from harassment and intimidation.