Page 873 - Week 03 - Thursday, 14 April 1994
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ADJOURNMENT
MADAM SPEAKER: Order! It being 4.30 pm, I propose the question:
That the Assembly do now adjourn.
Ms Follett: I require the question to be put forthwith without debate.
Question resolved in the negative.
ELECTORAL (AMENDMENT) BILL 1993
[COGNATE BILL:
ELECTORAL (AMENDMENT) (CONSEQUENTIAL PROVISIONS) BILL 1993]
Debate resumed.
MS FOLLETT: I believe that the consultation process was extremely helpful in clarifying the issues that are likely to be debated in the detail stage of this Bill. I would also like to thank Mr Green again for his part in that consultation process and also for his briefing of other members. I think that was a necessary process and it was one which he did extremely well.
Madam Speaker, I foreshadow to members the fact that the Government does intend to move a number of amendments to the Bill and I will advise the general areas of those amendments so that people are aware of what they are. First of all, we will be removing the provisions related to party ticket voting, as I had advised previously, and we will also be moving an amendment to reduce the term of the Assembly from the four years proposed in the Bill to three years. It is a fact that all States except one do have a four-year term and it seems reasonable to me that the Territory move the same way; but I have no strong feelings about it and I am quite prepared to stick with the three years, as I have advised previously. We will be moving an amendment also to lower the threshold for the receipt of public funding, and also the threshold for the return of candidates' deposits from 4 per cent to 2 per cent of formal first preference votes.
We will also be moving an amendment - this arose as a result of some questions Mr Humphries asked me in previous question times - which will aim to relax the formality criteria somewhat so that ballot-papers with a minimum of a single first preference will be counted as a formal vote, although of course the instructions to vote as per the requirements are unchanged. We will be moving for several changes that have been recommended by the Standing Committee on Scrutiny of Bills and Subordinate Legislation. There are also several minor changes to correct some drafting errors and to clarify the meaning of some provisions. As I said at the time that the Bill was introduced, the drafting of the Bill was hastened somewhat in order for it to be completed by
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