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| Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time. Since the last general election there have been a number of developments relating to the electoral process. The Northern Territory Electoral Commission prepared a report into issues arising from the 2012 election, the first under the new fixed term provisions. This report, which was tabled in May 2014, raises legislative and administrative issues and makes a number of recommendations in regard to the Electoral Act. Following receipt of that report the government commissioned a separate report into the regulation of political donations in the Northern Territory. This report titled, the McGuiness report, was tabled in April 2015. In May this year the Electoral Commission issued a further report entitled Compliance review with focus on Political Disclosure Returns in relation to election contributions and annual political party returns. Work to address the issues raised in these reports will take some considerable time. The issues are complex and considerable research and discussion needs to take place. Much of what is recommended in the reports will not be ready in time for implementation for the scheduled general election in August 2016. Given this situation the government proposes to proceed with a limited number of amendments to the act and regulations as set out in the bill before the House. The intention in regard to this bill is to seek comment and suggestions whilst it lies on the Notice Paper until this Assembly reconvenes in the new year. Any legitimate issues of concern can then be addressed at the committee stage. This process has the advantage that honourable members and the public can see exactly what is being proposed and how the amendments will be implemented. Before going to the specific amendments proposed it is useful to take a step back and look at the main challenges the democratic electoral process faces in the Territory. On the basis of the Australian Bureau of Statistic population data, there is estimated to be a considerable disparity between the numbers on the roll in the Northern Territory and those thought to be eligible to be enrolled. This data suggests that the current roll captures only about 81.6% of the eligible population, a shortfall of some 24 169 people, a significant number in the context of the Territory jurisdiction. Considerable efforts are being made by both the Australian Electoral Commission and the Northern Territory Electoral Commission to improve the rolls and this disparity is being reduced. These efforts include direct field operations, public campaigns and direct enrolment measures using other databases. The trend is up. The figures show that the percentage thought to be captured in the roll has improved from 76% in 2010 to the mentioned figure of 81.6% in 2014. This is encouraging; however, more must be done to boost voter enrolment. The second big picture issue is the level of participation by those who are on the roll. In the 2012 general election the Electoral Commission’s report notes that of the 123 805 on the roll only 95 215 voted, a shortfall of 28 590, or a participation rate of 76.9%. This recognises that some of those shown as not participating will be due to errors on the roll. The Electoral Commission’s data also shows that of the 95 215 voters at the 2012 general election 3.2% of these were informal. Informal vote rates are the highest in remote and regional parts of the Northern Territory largely due to the lower levels of numeracy and literacy. For example, the electorate of Stuart experienced the highest informal vote rate of 5.9% in 2012 in the Northern Territory general election, which is 2.7% above the Territory’s average. This parliament should strive to do the best it can in regard to improving processes, reducing informality and removing restrictions on people’s capacity to vote. We must turn our focus to increasing voter participation, including by providing voters with more flexibility as to how to vote and reducing voting informality. On that note, I now turn to the first substantive amendment proposed. The amendment to section 21 aims to increase enrolment by inserting a reference to the requirement that, for eligible people, enrolment and changing address details is compulsory. Section 279(1) of the act already provides that a person entitled to vote must vote, but it does not contain an express provision saying enrolment is compulsory. Enrolment is currently compulsory, but to reach that conclusion you have to refer to the provisions in section 101 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act. This act is applicable because the Northern Territory uses the Commonwealth electoral roll. It is appropriate to have an express reference to the requirement to enrol in the Northern Territory legislation, even though the provision does not change the existing statutory requirements. The next substantive amendment deals with section 41 of the act, which currently provides that the draw for the order of candidate’s names on the ballot paper is to be made by lot in public at the Electoral Commissioner’s office, in the Northern Territory’s capital of Darwin. The proposed amendment will allow the Electoral Commission discretion as to where to hold this public draw. For example, the commission might determine that the draw for Central Australian seats should more appropriately be held in Alice Springs or Tennant Creek. Improving the public’s access to the democratic process is a worthwhile objective. As honourable members are aware, the voting system for the Legislative Assembly is currently what is known as full preferential. With some limited exceptions for a person’s vote to be valid, it must show a number in every candidate’s box. The proposed amendment to section 50 changes the voting system to optional preferential. Under the proposed scheme a person may place a one in the candidate’s square to indicate their first preference and then can, but need not, place consecutively increasing whole numbers in the candidate squares for some or all of the other candidates. Hence, a person will be able to vote in exactly the same way they have in the past by giving a preference to each candidate, or only mark some preferences after their first preference, or simply give a first preference only. These amendments should give voters greater freedom of choice in regard to indicating their preferences and will likely result in a decline of informal votes. As a result of this amendment some minor modifications are necessary to the way in which votes are counted, if preferences need to be distributed, and to the sections that deal with saving votes from informality. Under the proposed system, if a voter does not wish to vote for any particular party or candidate, there is no obligation. It does not require them to make a preference for every single candidate on the ballot paper. The current section 94 of the act saves certain votes from informality, where a tick or a cross is used to indicate a person’s first preference rather than the number one. The proposed amendments to this section retain the essence of the current savings provisions, but a number of minor adjustments are necessary to accommodate an optional preferential voting system. In addition to that, new subsections are added which provide that where a voter has placed the same number in two or more candidate squares, those votes and any higher numbers are to be disregarded. If there is a break in a row of whole numbers that the voter has placed in two or more candidate squares, any preference after the break is to be disregarded. These measures have been adopted from the Queensland electoral system which currently uses an optional preferential scheme. As a result of the change to optional preferential, some modifications are required to the way in which votes are counted if one candidate does not get more than 50% of the votes on first preferences. Under section 128 under the amended arrangements, if it is necessary to distribute preference the candidate with the least number of first preference votes is excluded and their next preference, if any, is distributed accordingly until one candidate has received more than 50% of the formal votes remaining in the count. The regulations contain a form that sets out the format of a ballot paper. The form currently contains a direction to number every box to make the vote count. To provide for optional preferential, an amendment is proposed to amend this form so it will direct the voter to place the number one in the box next to the photograph of their first preference candidate and then place increasing whole numbers in as many other boxes as they wish to indicate their order of preferences for the other candidates. As mentioned earlier, to increase voter participation there are a number of amendments which can be implemented to allow greater flexibility for how people may wish to vote. To address this there is an amendment which deals with a criteria in the act for who may apply for a postal vote. Currently under section 60 to be eligible to apply for a postal vote a person’s situation must fall within one of the specified circumstances described in section 60(2). For example, during polling hours they will not be within 20 km of a polling place or because they cannot attend a polling place because of illness or physical disability. The proposed amendments will remove the need to fall within any of the listed criteria and simply provide that any person entitled to a vote may apply for a postal vote. As mentioned previously, participation levels of enrolled people is one of the major issues for the electoral process in the Northern Territory and the removal of restrictions should provide considerable assistance in this regard. We should be looking at every possible way of making voting easier, not putting limitations in the way or restricting availability. This change is also at harmony with local government elections in the Northern Territory. Currently under sections 96 and 112 of the act, for a postal vote to be included in the count it must be received by the Electoral Commission no later than 6 pm on the Friday following polling day. This is an extremely tight time frame considering the irregularity of mail services in parts of the Northern Territory. Whilst there are good governance reasons to reduce the time the Northern Territory does not have an effective government following an election, this one-week period is considered too short and acts to disenfranchise a number of people. The proposed amendment will allow the receipt of postal votes up to 12 noon on the second Friday following polling day. On a related matter the proposed amendment to section 61 will remove the requirement that a postal vote application is to be made within three months before an election is to be held. The new provision will provide that an application can be made at any time in the calendar year in which the polling day occurs. Removal of the three-month restriction should expand the availability of voting choices for the public. Currently under section 67(7), the only way that postal votes can be returned is through the postal service. An amendment is proposed to the act that will allow for the development of a system for the electronic lodgement of scanned postal vote certificates and ballot papers. This would be through the existing mechanisms of section 85A that contain safeguards in regard to secrecy, security and availability of technology. While the Electoral Commissioner has the discretion to accept electronic votes, it is rarely exercised. This government wants to increase voter participation, particularly for those living in areas where mail services are irregular such as pastoral properties or remote communities and parts of the Northern Territory. However, to cater for an increase in electronic votes the commissioner must be satisfied that there is a system which is capable of sending and receiving electronic votes securely and confidentially. The change is also consistent with the other proposed amendments to extend the availability of voting services and choices. A note is being inserted in section 67 to refer to the possibility of alternative methods of return of postal vote papers and a specific reference to the matter is being made to section 85A. The proposed amendment to section 71 is similar to the removal of the criteria for applying for a postal vote. The act currently provides that only those who expect to be unable to attend the polling place on polling day are able to vote at a pre-election voting centre set up by the Electoral Commission. The proposed amendment will remove this requirement and provide that any person entitled to vote may vote at a pre-election voting centre. This means that those who make plans on early election day are not restricted to remain in their electorate to cast a vote. Instead, if you know you are heading out on the water for a fish, attending an event away from home or going out camping for the weekend you can head to a pre-election polling centre and cast a vote. This government wants to increase voter participation and make it flexible and easier for busy Territorians who make plans on an election day which falls on a Saturday. Other parts of the act have been reformatted to make them easier to read. A specific reference to the Government Printer has been removed and replaced with a requirement that a ballot paper, which has to be in the prescribed form, has to be printed by a person or body authorised by the Electoral Commission. Section 275 of the act currently restricts canvassing type activities within 10 m of the entrance of a polling place, and there is a similar restriction on the use of loudspeakers and the like for such purposes that are audible within these 10 m. This bill proposes a 500 m exclusion zone. Under the new arrangements, Territorians will no longer be faced with the uncomfortable and often confronting prospect of having to run the gauntlet of party officials and spruikers trying to thrust how to vote material into their hands. The objective is to have elections conducted in an orderly fashion, free from undue pressure or influence. The amendments put forward in the bill remove restrictions and give voters greater freedom of choice in regard to how they can cast their vote. The objective is to have as many eligible people as possible enrolled and participating in an election. The proposed changes should assist in the maintenance of a healthy and democratic society. I encourage interested stakeholders to have their say on the changes outlined in the bill before the House. I look forward to receiving submissions on and nominations to my office on this bill. I commend this bill to honourable members and table a copy of the explanatory statement to accompany the bill. Motion agreed to: debate adjourned. |