Page 542 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 19 May 1992
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The fact is, Madam Speaker, that we do have here a system with certain essential features and those features are mentioned in the description sheet. They do indeed refer to a system which is described here but which, in shorthand, Mr Moore has described as the Robson rotation. He referred also to the countback. I think I said "Fightback" earlier today in some reference. It is not quite as good as Fightback, but countback is very good nonetheless. Of course, it has some other features as well.
Mr Moore made reference to the use or non-use of how-to-vote cards. I might make reference to what is done in Tasmania. They do not actually ban how-to-vote cards, although they go some way towards that. What the Electoral Act in Tasmania says is that a person shall not within 100 metres of a polling station canvas for votes, solicit the vote of an elector, or induce or attempt to induce an elector not to vote for a particular candidate or particular candidates. That is in section 133 of their Electoral Act. So, it is fairly prescriptive there. What you cannot do within 100 metres of the polling booth is probably not worth very much.
It is also, as set out later in that same section, an offence to display or leave in any booth a card or a paper which has on it directions or instructions as to how an elector should or might vote at the election. So, we have to consider in due course, Madam Speaker, how much of that we pick up in the ACT; whether that provision is appropriate or is not. That will be something for us to consider in due course. I imagine that the parties and others in this chamber will have to decide what they think about that issue.
The thing which is important about this debate today is to emphasise the degree of urgency which this matter, I think, appropriately has. We have here an electoral system which will define the way in which the next Assembly looks. It will define the way in which we as members in the next Assembly, assuming we are all back here, act.
Mr Kaine: All of those present will probably be back.
MR HUMPHRIES: Probably, yes; I would not be surprised. We have to bear in mind that under the new arrangements there will be electorates. We will have local electorates representing members of the ACT community and we will be much more responsible, in this very real sense, for those local constituents, much more than our present responsibilities, which are very much broader.
I think that I can say without any hesitation, Madam Speaker, that the Opposition views the question of getting this electoral system in place as soon as possible as a matter of some concern. We would urge the Government to quickly address the issues that it needs to address and come to the position to which it needs to come to issue the appropriate instructions. How it does so is a matter, Madam Speaker, that I think the Opposition would prefer to leave to the Government. Having impressed on its mind the need for some speed in the matter, I have to say that I think it is up to the Government to decide exactly how it proceeds with that.
I have some concern about the proposal that the Australian Electoral Commission is necessarily responsible for deciding what format that legislation should take. I have no doubt that the commission has very great expertise in these areas. Involved as it is in the Tasmanian elections, it would have some capacity to advise us in the ACT on how we should proceed; but how exactly that is done is,
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