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

I table an explanatory memorandum to the bill and move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

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

Leave granted.

The speech read as follows—

I am pleased, as Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, to present the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Ensuring Voter Choice Through Optional Preferential Voting and the Robson Rotation) Bill 2021, to amend the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918.

We are blessed to live in one of the oldest and most successful democracies in the word. The strength of our electoral system works because over a century a lot of people, paid and unpaid, have worked to make it so through blood, sweat and tears.

Our system relies on openness and transparency, that is upheld in the expression of voter choice and intent. Elections should not only be fair, open, and transparent, but seen to be so. We must always work to fine-tune our electoral system.

This Bill works to improve our electoral system and responds to the final report of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters inquiry into the conduct of the 2019 federal election and matters related thereto, which was tabled on 10 December 2020.

The Bill adopts Recommendation 2 of the JSCEM report by introducing optional preferential voting to replace the current system of compulsory preferential voting, and by introducing the Robson Rotation of candidates' names on ballot papers in federal elections.

The Bill proposes to:

Part 1 - Optional Preferential Voting

The JSCEM identified a rise in informal votes in the 2019 House of Representatives election, with New South Wales having the highest rate of vote informality. The committee concluded that the increase in informal votes was due to a variety of factors including English as a second language, number of candidates on the ballot paper, and the proximity to state and territory elections that have differing voting systems.

This indicates that the current system is complex, can be confused with other voting systems in Australia, and requires simplification. This Bill will introduce optional preferential voting to replace the existing system of full or compulsory preferential voting.

This will simplify the voting process and reduce voter confusion, while also enhancing voter choice.

Under optional preferential voting, voters will have greater choice at the ballot box. Upon choosing their preferred candidate, voters will now have the choice as to whether or not they wish to preference other candidates.

If yes, voters may wish to preference some or all of the candidates and their vote will be formal. This amendment removes the compulsory requirement for voters to number every box. If the voter decides not to preference other candidates, their vote will be formal for their preferred candidate.

The purpose of this Part is to enable voters to vote for their preferred candidate and optimise their ability to choose who they vote for. The system enhances voter choice by providing the option for a voter to actively decide when their vote exhausts if their preferred candidate or candidates are excluded in the counting process. The voter has the opportunity to choose not to vote for a candidate.

The right to not vote for a candidate that a voter does not support or does not know is fundamental to a voter's right to take part in elections, upholding the notion that the voter is the primary determinant of who they vote for and the electoral outcome.

Vote Saving Provisions

This Bill will enhance voter participation and reduce vote informality by making the voting process less complex, and introduce vote saving provisions to ensure voter choice.

These provisions allow for a vote to remain formal despite having missed or repeated a preference allocation. The voter's preferences will be counted up until the error occurs, which is the point where the voter's intention is no longer clear. With votes to remain formal, despite the ballot papers being marked incorrectly, more votes will be formal—something that the current system fails to achieve.

Taken together, the introduction of optional preferential voting and the preference saving provisions will improve transparency and simplify the voting system, thereby enhancing the number of formal votes, and supporting the democratic process.

Part 2 - Robson Rotation

To increase fairness in the electoral process, this Bill introduces the Robson Rotation for House of Representatives ballot papers, where the order of candidates' names is randomised from one ballot paper to the other. The existing system of using one ballot paper allows for candidates who position favourably in the ballot draw to benefit from 'down the ballot', 'linear' or 'donkey' votes.

This Bill introduces a methodology where ballot papers are printed in batches, which broadly reflects the methodology used in Tasmanian elections. This Bill provides for the determination of the order of candidate names on ballot papers, and the printing and distribution of ballot papers. It maintains existing measures to reduce voter confusion if there are similarities in the names of candidates.

Overall, the randomisation of the order that candidates appear on ballot papers promotes fairness in the democratic process, as it removes the advantage associated with candidates being positioned in more favourable positions.

Favourable positions are those that are traditionally advantageous if drawn in the ballot including the top, the bottom and sometimes the middle position on the ballot paper. These are the positions that campaign managers get excited about.

These changes to the ballot papers will increase fairness of the electoral system, by removing any real or perceived advantage. This will more evenly distribute the benefit from 'down the ballot', 'linear' or 'donkey' votes between all candidates.

Conclusion

This Bill further improves the voting system and upholds the open and transparent voting system, which provides greater voter choice.

Part 1 of this Bill provides for optional preferential voting and preference saving provisions to enhance voter choice, intent, and participation by reducing the number of informal ballots. Part 2 introduces the Robson Rotation for House of Representatives ballot papers, to remove the effect of advantageous or favoured ballot positions and improve the fairness of the electoral process.

This Bill seeks to improve Australia's democratic process by enhancing voter choice and promoting the transparency, openness, and fairness of our elections.

I commend the Bill to the Senate.

I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.