Senate

Second Reading Speech

Senator Kemp (Minister for the Arts and Sport)

I table revised explanatory memoranda relating to the Age Discrimination Amendment Bill 2006 and the Electoral and Referendum Amendment (Electoral Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2006 and 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 Electoral and Referendum Amendment (Electoral Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2006 (the bill) contains reform measures arising from some of the Government-supported recommendations of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters' report on the 2004 federal election, which was tabled in the Parliament in October 2005, and additional reform measures considered a priority by the Government. The bill amends the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (the Electoral Act), the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984 and the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.

The amendments cover a number of broad areas including enrolment and timing of the close of rolls, provisional voting, financial disclosure requirements in non-election periods, access to the electoral roll and its use, political party registration and the disclosure of political donations. The most notable amendments in the bill include those that will:

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increase a number of the disclosure thresholds to above $10,000 (with legislated Consumer Price Index (CPI) increases) with effect from date of introduction of this bill;

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reduce the close of rolls period to provide that, in general, the roll will close at 8.00 pm on the third working day after the issue of the writ. However, persons who are not on the roll (with two exceptions, set out below) will not be added to the roll in the period between 8.00 pm on the day of the issue of the writ and polling day. The exceptions are for persons who are not on the roll who are either: 17 year olds who will turn 18 between the day the writ is issued and polling day; or who will be granted citizenship between the issue of the writ and polling day. Persons in these categories can apply for enrolment up until the close of rolls at 8.00 pm three working days after the day on which the writ is issued;

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introduce a proof of identity requirement for people enrolling or updating their enrolment by requiring that they provide their driver's licence number on their enrolment application. If they do not have a driver's licence, the elector can show a prescribed identity document to a person who is in a prescribed class of electors and who can attest to the identity of the applicant. If an elector does not have a driver's licence or a prescribed identity document, then they must have their enrolment application signed by two electors who can confirm the applicant's name and who have known the applicant for at least one month;

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establish a proof of identity requirement for provisional voting. An elector (other than a silent elector) who wants to cast a provisional vote on polling day will need to show either their driver's licence or a prescribed identity document (of the same type required for enrolment proof of identity) to an officer either at the time of casting the provisional vote or by close of business on the Friday following polling day. If the elector cannot show the document in person, they may post, fax or email an attested copy to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC). Ballot papers will only be admitted to the count if the provisional voter has provided suitable identification and, if they were not enrolled, if their omission from the roll was the result of an AEC error;

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abolish the requirement for broadcasters and publishers to lodge disclosure returns;

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require that paid electoral advertising on the Internet be authorised in the same manner as printed electoral advertisements;

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require third parties (people other than registered political parties, candidates, Members of the House of Representatives, Senators, Senate groups and Commonwealth departments and agencies) to complete annual disclosure returns if they incurred expenditure for a political purpose, or received gifts to enable expenditure to be incurred for that purpose. This includes expressing public views by any means on specified participants in the political process, namely a political party, a candidate in an election or a member of the House of Representatives or the Senate;

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increase nomination deposits for election candidates to $500 for candidates for the House of Representatives and $1,000 for Senate candidates with the threshold for returning the nomination deposit remaining at four per cent;

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provide for access to the roll by persons and organisations that verify, or contribute to the verification of the identity of persons for the purposes of the Financial Transaction Reports Act 1988 and provide that such use is not subject to the commercial use prohibition;

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require that, in the future, divisional offices must be located within divisional boundaries unless otherwise authorised by the Minister;

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provide for the automatic deregistration of all currently registered political parties six months after Royal Assent, with exceptions for parliamentary parties and parties with past representation in the Federal Parliament. Any political party that is deregistered will be required to re-apply for registration, and must comply with the current requirements in the Electoral Act, including the existing naming provisions. Political parties that re-apply for registration within 12 months of deregistration under this scheme will not be required to pay the $500 application fee;

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extend the definition of 'associated entity' to include entities with financial membership of a registered political party and entities on whose behalf a person exercises voting rights in a registered political party;

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amend the voting entitlement provisions so that all prisoners serving a sentence of full-time detention will not be entitled to vote, but may remain on the roll, or if not enrolled, apply for enrolment;

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expand the AEC's demand power in subsection 92(1) of the Electoral Act to enable access to information held by State and Territory Government agencies for the purpose of preparing, maintaining and revising the rolls; and

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amend the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to increase the level of tax-deductible contributions and gifts, whether from an individual or corporation, to political parties and independent candidates and members from $100 to $1,500 in any income year.

The bill will amend the Electoral Act to increase the declarable limit for disclosure of all political donations from $1,500 to amounts above $10,000, and this threshold will be indexed to the CPI.

Where the threshold amount is amended due to CPI increases, the threshold amount will be rounded to the nearest $100, where amounts below $50 will be rounded down to the nearest $100 (e.g. $11,048 will be rounded to $11,000). Amounts of $50 and above will be rounded up (e.g. $11,667 will be rounded to $11,700).

Currently, section 155 of the Electoral Act provides for the rolls to close seven days after the writs for an election have been issued. The proposed amendments provide that the date for the close of rolls shall be:

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for people who are currently enrolled but who need to update their details, 8.00 pm three working days after the day on which the writs are issued (that is, if the writs were issued on a Monday, the rolls would close for such people at 8.00pm on the Thursday); and

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for new enrolments and re-enrolments (that is, persons who are not currently on the roll, irrespective of whether they have been enrolled previously), 8.00 pm on the day on which the writs are issued.

There are two exceptions to the close of rolls date for new enrolments:

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for people who have yet to enrol but who will turn 18 between the day on which the writs are issued and polling day; and

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for people who have yet to enrol but who are eligible to be granted a certificate of Australian citizenship between the day on which the writs are issued and the polling day.

For these people, the roll will close at 8.00 pm three working days after the day on which the writs are issued.

The bill proposes a proof of identity requirement for electoral enrolment, and provides for regulations to be made to implement the proof of identity scheme.

Currently, all claims for enrolment (including transfer of enrolment) must: be in the approved form; be signed by the claimant (with one exception in subsection 98(3) for people who are physically unable to sign their own enrolment form); and be attested by an elector or a person entitled to enrolment, who shall sign the claim as a witness in his or her own handwriting. The witness attests that he/she has satisfied himself or herself, by inquiry from the claimant or otherwise, that the statements contained in the claim are true.

The new scheme will provide that all claims for enrolment (including transfer of enrolment) will be subject to proof of identity requirements. The proof of identity requirement will remove the need for a witness. Instead, persons enrolling to vote or updating their enrolment must provide:

(i)

their driver's licence number; or

(ii)

if they do not have a driver's licence, a copy of their ID (such as birth certificate or passport) which must be attested to by an enrolled elector in a prescribed class; or

(iii)

if they do not have a driver's licence or ID, attestations by two enrolled electors who can confirm the applicant's name and who have known the elector for more than one month.

The bill provides for the regulations for proof of identity to prescribe additional requirements for identification for enrolment.

The current witness requirement will no longer apply once the new proof of identity scheme comes into effect.

The provisions for third party disclosure on an annual basis, rather than during an election period (the current requirement), will ensure transparency for those people and organisations involved in the political process. In this regard, the bill provides for disclosure by a third party if that third party is required to authorise an advertisement pursuant to Schedule 2 of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992. This provision will capture disclosure of political content communicated through broadcast media.

Third parties will also be required to report on expenditure incurred for the printing and publication of electoral advertisements, notices and other material that is required to be authorised by section 328 and new 328A of the Electoral Act.

The third party reporting requirements will apply to associated entities as these entities can be actively involved in the political process. Associated entities will continue to be required to provide information under the existing requirements of section 314AEA for annual returns by associated entities.

The threshold for third party reporting will be the same as that proposed for other disclosure thresholds, that is, $10,000.

Currently, prisoners serving a full-time sentence of three years or longer are not entitled to enrol or vote. These persons are removed from the roll by objection following receipt of information from the prison authorities. Prisoners not currently on the roll who are serving a sentence of less than three years are entitled to apply for enrolment, and to vote in federal elections.

The proposed amendments will apply such that all prisoners serving a sentence of full-time detention will not be entitled to vote, but may remain on the roll or enrol if they are not currently enrolled. Those serving alternative sentences such as periodic or home detention, as well as those serving a non-custodial sentence or who have been released on parole, will still be eligible to enrol and vote.

Under current law, a taxpayer cannot claim a tax deduction for more than $100 of contributions to political parties registered under Part XI of the Electoral Act. The proposed amendment to the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 will increase the tax deductibility value of contributions and gifts from an individual or a corporation to registered political parties and independent candidates and members, in relation to Commonwealth, State or Territory elections, from $100 to $1,500 in any income year. The provisions will also ensure parity of tax treatment by allowing tax deductibility for either gifts and/or contributions to both political parties and independent candidates and members.