Page 3358 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 24 November 1992
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need to be some amendment to the Australian Electoral Commission's legislation. Rather than wait for that amendment, which must go through the Federal Parliament of course, I think it better to get moving on this matter, as a self-governing territory has the capacity to do.
I would also like to make the point that I believe that it is much more appropriate that we do establish our own body to conduct ACT elections, and that that body should be responsible to the ACT parliament, and accountable to that parliament, not to the Commonwealth Parliament, or in fact to any other jurisdiction. I think this is an important part of taking on full responsibility for governing ourselves in the Territory.
Finally, I would like to say that the Australian Electoral Commission, as I mentioned in my introduction speech, has been closely consulted in the formulation of this Bill. Where the Australian Electoral Commission was able to make suggestions, those suggestions are largely reflected in the Bill. I think it is fair to say, Madam Speaker, that the Australian Electoral Commission has been supportive of this process, for which we are very grateful. There has been no intention, and certainly no process, to eliminate or exclude the Australian Electoral Commission from this Bill; rather, as Mr Kaine says, we are forced to live with reality and get on with the task as this Assembly sees fit.
Mr Stevenson also expressed regret, if I read him correctly, that we are actually implementing here the Hare-Clark system as outlined in the referendum that was held concurrently with the last election. I find Mr Stevenson's comments a little bit at odds with his usual stance on the views of the people. Mr Stevenson told us that he had polled, I think, 934 people in the ACT and that the largest number of them had supported a proportional representation system. It is well known that my own party supported a different system. There are more than 934 members of my party. Nevertheless, like Mr Stevenson's pollsters, we were defeated on the day by the 150,000-odd voters of the ACT who quite overwhelmingly endorsed the Hare-Clark system. We just did not have the numbers there, Mr Stevenson, I am afraid, and we must live with that. I think that there is very little choice for any member of this Assembly but to implement the will of the people.
Madam Speaker, Mr Stevenson, in his comments, made the point that he did not consider that the people had been given an adequate choice. There is no indication, that I have heard of, that people were unable to choose between the two.
Mr Kaine: There were not too many informal votes.
MS FOLLETT: No, there were not a great many informal votes, Madam Speaker, and the numbers were pretty conclusive. I regret to say, Madam Speaker, that in Mr Stevenson's case his preferred outcome was not the one that the people of Canberra preferred, and, indeed, neither was my party's preferred outcome. Nevertheless, we have to deal with reality.
I would like to thank those members of the Assembly who gave up some of their time to be briefed on this Bill, and also those members who were able to join me in a discussion of the various amendments to be moved and the shape that the Bill might finally take. I would like to think that that kind of consultative and
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