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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 6 Hansard (13 June) . . Page.. 1678 ..

MR STANHOPE (continuing):

ballot sheet but then, once elected, revert to being Independents for the opportunities and loss of obligations that go with that status.

This is an issue that the Labor Party has raised consistently, as I said. We believe that the inclusion of ballot groups to enhance the position of sitting Independents as against non-sitting candidates who seek to run is a form of positive discrimination in favour of sitting Independents that we do not believe is justified and we do believe that it is a reflection of a desire by incumbent Independents to have the best of both worlds. We believe that it actually affords them a privilege and a status which discriminate to such a positive extent in their favour that, in terms of just straight fairness and equity as against other Independent candidates, cannot be justified or supported. We simply do not accept that it is a position which should be supported. There are candidates in this place who choose to have two bob each way in this regard. The Labor Party will be supporting an amendment which Ms Tucker has circulated on this issue. We will be supporting Ms Tucker's amendment in relation to ballot groups and, with interest, I will engage in the debate which I anticipate on that matter when we get to it in the detail stage.

The Labor Party also will not be supporting the amendment proposed to section 76 (3) (b) which would automatically apply the provisions of the Commonwealth Electoral Act to the witnessing of an enrolment application. This is also an issue, in terms of the matter of principle involved here, that the ALP has strong views about. We do not believe it appropriate to seek to adjust or, as it has been described, tighten provisions in relation to the witnessing of applications for enrolment in the way that has been imposed federally. We simply do not accept that there is any demonstrated need for those adjustments.

An interesting proposal has been suggested by the government in relation to this provision. It is almost a case of saying that the Commonwealth law might change if the federal Liberal Party can actually get its regulations through the Senate and that, in anticipation of a possible change to the Commonwealth law, we should amend this act so that we are in a position to adopt the Commonwealth's electoral roll should that be the result from the Senate. There is an interesting debate to be had about that, I must say. I do not think the ACT would be interested in developing its own electoral roll. That is not a position we support or propose. We would hope that it would not come to that, and it is not something that we support; but, were the regulations which are, as I understand it, currently stalled in the Senate to pass, I think we should debate again at that stage what is our approach to the issue of the appropriateness of narrowing the class of electors or citizens who can witness an application for enrolment.

We simply do not accept that there is any need to narrow the class of witnesses in the way that has been proposed, and we would want to have that debate at that time should that come to pass. We are not inclined, through these amendments in this bill, simply to send a signal to the Commonwealth that they can actually do what they will in relation to the electoral roll and we will blithely roll over and accept anything that they propose. I think that is not a good signal to send. The Labor Party, as I say, certainly has major reservations about the Commonwealth government's position in relation to this matter. It is a position which the Commonwealth government has not been able to formalise, as a result of difficulties it is having within the Senate, where it does not have the numbers.

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