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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 10 Hansard (23 September) . . Page.. 3083 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

This Bill provides for amendments to the Electoral Act 1992 following recommendations made by the ACT Electoral Commission in its report on the operation of the ACT's electoral legislation following the 1995 ACT election. The Electoral Commission's report, tabled on 27 June 1996, made several recommendations for changes to the Electoral Act, ranging from suggested ways to enhance the independent status of the commission, to measures to improve services to electors, and to machinery changes to clarify the intent of several provisions in the Electoral Act. Following discussions with representatives of all parties and Independent members of the Assembly, bipartisan agreement was reached on implementing the majority of the measures recommended by the commission.

Before moving on to discuss the provisions in this Bill, I would like to respond to a number of issues raised in the Electoral Commission's report that are not addressed in the Bill. The Electoral Commission recommended that the Assembly consider establishing an electoral matters committee to oversee the operations of the Electoral Commission and to review the operation of the Electoral Act. The Government supports this recommendation. However, given that the next election is due in February 1998, it would be more appropriate to defer establishing such a committee until after the newly elected Assembly meets in 1998.

The Electoral Commission also recommended that the independent status of the commission be enhanced by clarifying where the commission sits in the administrative structure. The Government considers that the commission already maintains a very independent position and that, because of its small size, it would be costly and inefficient to increase its administrative structure. However, in recognition of the commission's concerns, the Government considers that these issues should be referred to the proposed Assembly committee after the election.

Some of the other recommendations made by the commission aimed at enhancing the independent status of the commission have been agreed to by the Government. The Bill will guarantee that the Electoral Commission will submit an independent annual report to the responsible Minister for tabling in the Legislative Assembly. At present, the Electoral Commission is required to submit an independent annual report only if an appropriate direction is issued by the responsible Minister under the Annual Reports (Government Agencies) Act.

The Bill will also allow the Electoral Commission to submit reports on matters relating to elections and referendums to the responsible Minister, who will be required to table the reports within six sitting days of receipt. These reports will enable the commission to bring any electoral matters it considers important to the notice of the Assembly at any time. In addition, the Bill gives the Electoral Commission the explicit power to advise all members of the Legislative Assembly on electoral matters on an individual basis. This will permit the Electoral Commission to advise non-government members when they are preparing electoral legislation, for example.

In its report, the Electoral Commission noted that the difference between the instructions to voters on ballot papers, which instruct voters to vote for at least five candidates in the five-member electorates, and the formal voting rules, which allow a vote to be counted if it shows a preference for only one candidate, caused some confusion at the 1995 election.

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