Page 4821 - Week 15 - Thursday, 8 December 1994
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As a consequence of the haste with which the Bill has been drafted, it contains numerous technical errors. I understand that the Bill will require substantial amendment before it can be effective. I would like to draw some of those matters to attention. I know that Mr Humphries has a series of amendments to move to his original Bill. One problem is that several of the "principles" of the Hare-Clark system listed in the Bill, strictly speaking, are not consistent with the ACT's current Electoral Act. I think that is a big problem. There is no suggestion that the Electoral Act has not provided for an effective Hare-Clark system. I have not heard that from any member here. It is this Bill of Mr Humphries's which, I consider, does not accurately reflect the Hare-Clark system provided for in our Electoral Act.
The second problem with the Bill is that it is not clear what legal effect it will have, because it seeks to entrench principles rather than specific provisions of law. The Attorney-General's Department has advised me as follows:
... it is not certain whether principles, rather than enactments or provisions in enactments, can be entrenched. Even if it were possible to entrench principles, the proposal is fraught with danger and uncertainty. Any laws which might affect the principles would need to be considered from a legal point of view at first instance to determine whether they, in fact, did affect the principles. Such a process would be time consuming and could be subject to constant challenges on the issue of interpretation.
In other words, Madam Speaker, the Bill may not achieve its desired aim if it could not be enforced in the courts. On the other hand, it may have the unintended effect of leading to unnecessary court challenges because of the lack of clarity in the language that is used.
The third problem - and this is by far my biggest problem with the Bill - is that Mr Humphries has been very selective in the principles of our electoral system that he has sought to entrench. If it is the majority view of the Assembly that the Bill should proceed, I have indicated that the Government will propose that at least two other aspects of the ACT's electoral laws also be entrenched. The first of those is compulsory voting. The Government proposes that compulsory voting be entrenched so that voluntary voting could not be introduced by a future Assembly without the approval of a majority of voters or a two-thirds majority of Assembly members. It is well known, Madam Speaker, that voluntary voting is supported by various members of the Liberal Party interstate and, of course, in the Federal Parliament. It is the Government's view that compulsory voting is a key feature of our democratic process. Voting is not only a right and a privilege, but also a civic duty. Compulsory voting brings many benefits. It ensures that each parliament is truly representative of voters from all walks of life. It also ensures that political parties and candidates must appeal to voters from a wide cross-section of the community rather than to those special interest groups who can mobilise support under a voluntary system.
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