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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 6 Hansard (15 June) . . Page.. 1933 ..

MR STANHOPE (continuing):

I really cannot see the basis on which this is the sort of thing that should be delegated to an official; namely, determination of whether the name Sun-ripened Warm Tomato Party is unacceptable. There are other political party names around that some of us scoff at that are regarded as quite legitimate and mainstream. Who is it that has the right to decide those sorts of questions, and why do we delegate that sort of basic right to a statutory official? There are other ways of deterring frivolous applications.

Question put:

The Assembly voted-

		 Ayes 6  		Noes 9

 Mr Berry  	Mr Wood  	Mrs Burke  	Mr Osborne
 Mr Corbell    			Mr Cornwell  	Mr Rugendyke
 Mr Quinlan    			Mr Humphries  	Mr Smyth
 Mr Stanhope    		Mr Kaine  	Mr Stefaniak
 Ms Tucker    			Mr Moore  

Amendments negatived.

Clause 15 agreed to.

Clauses 16 to 19, by leave, taken together and agreed to.

Proposed new clause 19A.

MR STANHOPE (Leader of the Opposition) (9.29): Mr Speaker, I move that proposed new clause 19A, as in amendment 2 circulated in my name. be inserted in the bill [see schedule 6, part 1, at page 1990].

The purpose of this amendment is to insert into the legislation a provision that allows an application form for declaration of voting papers for postal voting to be physically attached to, or part of, other written material issued by any person or organisation.

As members would be aware, this is a provision that applies to federal elections and most, if not all, state elections. It is a provision that allows any person or any organisation that wishes to be involved in the political process or in an election to attach these forms to any written material, most often electoral material or material that a party or member might choose to distribute in an electorate to their constituents. They are attached as a service to constituents, particularly those who might be seeking an application form for a postal vote.

It is a system that currently works here in the ACT. It is utilised in every federal election. In every federal election, including here in the ACT, candidates, political parties and others distribute throughout the electorate declaration forms for postal votes. It seems to the Labor Party that there is absolutely no reason why, if candidates

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