Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Amendment Bill 2022, which provides the framework for how referenda are conducted, and we welcome many of the reforms in this bill to update that framework. We will be supporting this bill, but we would like to see that framework strengthened and we'll be moving amendments to strengthen it in many very important ways.

I want to say at the outset that this bill presents an opportunity to improve franchisement, particularly for First Nations communities, and that is an opportunity that should not be missed. On-the-day enrolment with provisional voting and expanding remote polling programs and phone voting for those unable to get to a polling booth will increase the number of people who are able to cast a vote. That's why the Greens are moving amendments to do all of those things. We want First Nations people to have the maximum opportunity to have a vote on whether they have a voice. I'll talk more about this shortly, but all referendum decisions are historic, and engaging the highest number of people in decision-making is an outcome that we should be striving for when it comes to historic reforms. Let's get this right, starting now. This is not about stacking the deck for an outcome on the Voice referendum; it's in fact a timely opportunity to redress the decades of First Nations disenfranchisement and to ensure that people who have a clear stake in the outcome of a referendum are able to exercise their right to vote.

Now to the details of this bill. In the past 10 years the parliament has conducted several inquiries into constitutional reforms and referenda. Those inquiries have recommended a comprehensive suite of reforms, including aligning referendum laws with broader electoral laws, removing the restriction on government's funding of education and promotion campaigns, modernising the way information about the 'yes' and the 'no' case is distributed, and establishing an independent expert panel to advise on the wording of referendum questions and information campaigns.

This bill does only some of those things. Many submitters to the earlier inquiries emphasised the need for comprehensive, objective review of referendum machinery, separate from the rush of an impending referendum, and the Greens strongly agree. But here we are. Referendums are about constitutional change and about fundamental democratic reforms. Beyond giving a voice to First Nations people, future referenda will determine whether Australia becomes a republic and whether we remove the restrictions on running for parliament that ignore the multicultural background of so many Australians.

So, the Greens believe that we do need more-comprehensive reforms to the Referendum Act to make it fit for the challenge of those future referendums. But, for now, we would like to see improvements proposed in this bill and the amendments proposed to it enacted before the upcoming referendum. We welcome the introduction of donation disclosure provisions for referendum campaigns. This bill would align referendum disclosure obligations with the Commonwealth Electoral Act obligations. However, the government has failed to acknowledge that those existing Commonwealth Electoral Act obligations are woeful. They are incredibly inadequate. We have long called for political donations of more than $1,000 to be disclosed in real time so that voters can see who is funding campaigns. The last time I checked, that was in fact Labor's own policy. We'll be moving an amendment to lower the disclosure threshold to $1,000 and to increase the frequency of disclosure. We hope the government supports us in improving transparency for all political donations.

I said earlier that referendum machinery reform should be considered not only on the eve of a referendum. We also can't ignore the timing and the context of this bill. Alongside progress towards treaty and truth, the upcoming Voice referendum is a generational opportunity, and it will be critical in order to maximise the participation of all Australians in the vote. The Voice referendum is about giving First Nations people a say in the policies and programs that affect their lives. Without reforms, there is a real risk that many First Nations people may not get the chance to have their say on the Voice referendum itself. We want to give the Voice referendum the greatest chance of success. First Nations people will be the most directly affected by the outcome, so it's imperative that we do everything possible to ensure that their voices are heard in the vote.

This is not about giving anyone any new rights; it's simply about giving people the best chance to exercise their rights. And whilst enrolment amongst First Nations people has been increasing, it remains lower than in the non-Indigenous population. Many First Nations people who are not currently on the electoral roll and who may not have participated in recent elections could try to vote in the referendum and be turned away. On-the-day enrolment and provisional voting options like those proposed in the Greens amendments—which we'll come to in the committee stage of this bill—would allow voters, including but not only voters in First Nations communities, to attend a polling place, apply for immediate enrolment, and cast their vote. The vote would be done by declaration and added to the formal count only once the usual checks are made and the AEC has verified the enrolment is lawful.

There is no downside to this proposal. There is only an upside of enabling people to have their say on a policy that will affect them. This system has worked well in the Northern Territory for years, and it's had a positive impact on voter turnout. On-the-day enrolment, along with automatic enrolment and the current mailbag program to allow automatic enrolment for communities with centralised postal services, will maximise the number of people who are eligible to vote—and in a democracy we must constantly work towards ensuring that everyone can have their voice heard.

But even with efforts to increase First Nations enrolment, many voters, particularly in remote areas, may be effectively disenfranchised by the unpredictable, limited availability of mobile polling services. During the last election, some remote communities were visited by remote mobile polling units for only a few hours, and some missed out altogether. Communities received very little information about when polling places would be open, and many people missed out on voting as a result. We need to do better than that.

The government is moving amendments to extend the mobile remote polling period from 12 days to 19 days, and we welcome that as a positive first step. The AEC has confirmed to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, on which I sit, that this extension of time would significantly enhance their capacity to get to remote communities and give those communities enough notice of the opportunity to vote. The NT Electoral Commission report on the Daly by-election noted that, where a polling place in the Wadeye community was open for five days, there was a nearly 40 per cent increase in voter turnout compared with the previous by-election, when the polling place was open for only two days. Giving people in remote communities the best chance to have their say is an investment that we need to make.

The phone voting service trialled during COVID proved a very successful way of enfranchising voters who had no other way of casting their vote. The Greens support extending that option to provide a way for people at risk of missing out on voting to have their say, including voters in remote areas who can't get to a polling place, people with an unreliable postal service, people in care facilities or who are unexpectedly in hospital on referendum day, people impacted by climate disasters and overseas voters who can't get to an embassy. Phone voting would be used in rare circumstances only, but, particularly when it comes to foundational decisions about constitutional reform, Australians should be given the widest possible range of options to ensure their voices can be heard. That's why I'll move amendments to that effect as well. The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters has made similar recommendations, and the AEC has supported those calls. The government needs to act. We're pleased that they'll extend mobile remote polling, and we urge them to support on-the-day enrolment, provisional voting and phone voting so that all Australians can have a say. If the AEC is supportive, it's not clear what is stopping the government from acting.

There also needs to be a concerted effort to engage interpreters to assist voters at polling places to understand the voting process and to make sure that their vote can be counted. Interpreters play a critical role in translating material but also in reducing distrust in the process. Despite the clear benefits, the last election saw many communities without interpreters. The AEC needs to be funded to ensure that that situation is not repeated for the referendum, nor for any future elections. The Greens also believe that constitutional reforms are generational changes that will affect the lives of all Australians. Young people, particularly First Nations young people, will be impacted by the outcome of this upcoming referendum and deserve to have a say. We estimate that an additional 32,000 First Nations people would be able to vote if the voting age were lowered to 16. The Greens have a bill to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote, and we urge the government to get behind that.

Lastly, I want to briefly talk about the pamphlet, which the government has now agreed to prepare. The Greens support some form of independent, objective information outlining the 'yes' and 'no' cases being made available to the voting public. However, we acknowledge the many submitters who have questioned whether the pamphlet and the archaic way that it will be developed meet this objective. It's critical that all Australians are given access to resources to inform their decision. This is true of both elections and referendums. Any time we go to the voters and ask them to choose, the options must be clear. We've already seen the danger of misinformation and missing information in the current debate. Resources on any referendum must be accurate. Resources on this referendum must ensure that they don't misrepresent the implications of a voice, that they don't fearmonger or spout racist or discriminatory talking points and that they don't undermine the democratic process. We want a vote informed by robust discussion, where people can trust the information they get about the alternatives and where we get a result with integrity. We will be supporting measures called for by our crossbench colleagues to ensure that the pamphlet is clear, factual and developed in consultation with experts. We'll also support measures to ensure materials are available in appropriate formats and languages to reach all voters and continue to support calls for truth in political advertising campaigns in all elections going forward.

The Greens believe in democracy, and we want to see referendums conducted fairly and openly with transparency and respect. This bill goes some way towards that, and we will keep the pressure on the government to go further in electoral reforms in this term of parliament. We again urge the government to support Greens amendments that would actually allow First Nations voters to vote in this historic referendum about whether they have a voice to this parliament. Please don't miss that opportunity to increase the chances for people to have their voice heard, particularly on a matter that affects them, and to get this done in a timely way.