House of Representatives Committees

Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters

1998 Federal Election and Matters Related Thereto
Media Releases

Media release, 26 June 2000

REPORT CARD ON THE CONDUCT OF THE 1998 FEDERAL ELECTION

Prospective political parties will face tough new requirements for registration if recommendations made in a report by the Electoral Matters Committee tabled in parliament today (Monday 26 June) are adopted.

'The Committee's report into the 1998 federal election proposes that political parties will have to pay the administrative costs of registration with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) and will only be able to register if they have a federal member of parliament or 500 legitimate members,' said Committee Chairman, Mr Gary Nairn MP, Member for Eden-Monaro.

'The AEC will also be empowered to conduct reviews of political parties after each federal election to ensure they still fulfil the requirements of registration'.

Mr Nairn said: 'Federal elections are amongst the most significant public events conducted in this country. Electoral Matters Committees have inquired into the conduct of every federal elections since 1983, encouraging steady reform to the electoral system. This report into the 1998 federal election is no exception.'

One of the most significant issues addressed by the inquiry is the accuracy of the Commonwealth Electoral Roll. Advances in technology and administrative changes have significantly improved the accuracy of the Roll over recent years.

For this to continue, the Committee is recommending changes to the process for re-enrolling voters who have been removed from the Roll because they no longer live at their enrolled address. In future, voters will be re-enrolled for their correct address when they cast a provisional vote.

In addition, the Committee is recommending that enrolment be made on the basis of address, rather than the current Division.

Mr Nairn said: 'These changes should enable the AEC to use the address based enrolment system to create a much more accurate Commonwealth Electoral Roll.'

'Public concern at political party campaigning practices is another significant issue pursued in the report. Changes we are proposing will make the origin of campaign materials more transparent so the public will be able to judge the origin of such campaign materials more easily,' stated Mr Nairn.

Other recommendations addressed in the report include:

targeted improvements to the AEC's public education campaign especially in the reduction of assisted voting levels in remote areas and in the promotion of the House of Representatives full preferential voting system;
improving training for the Officers in Charge of mobile polling booths to ensure good management of mobile polls.
improving public access to the Commonwealth Electoral Roll by recommending limited access to the Roll over the internet and on CD-Rom;
improving the efficiency of the postal voting system;
preventing enrolment using offensive names;
streamlining the processing of political party funding disclosure to allow political party annual disclosure returns to be lodged electronically; and
allowing political parties to appeal the location of polling booths.

'Australian voters can be assured that we have an electoral system that deserves its distinguished reputation. Implementation of the 59 recommendation contained in this report should continue to enhance that reputation,' concluded Mr Nairn.

Ends
26 June 2000

Further information:
Gary Nairn MP (Chair) 02 6277 4939 (Parliament House)
Bev Forbes (Secretary) 02 6277 2374

A copy of Mr Nairn's tabling speech is attached

For a copy of the Committee's report see:

internet: (http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/em/elect98/report.htm)
or contact the Committee secretariat at:

The Secretary
Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Tel: 02 6277 2374
Fax: 02 6277 4710
Committee E-mail: JSCEM@aph.gov.au

Membership of the Committee

Mr Gary Nairn MP (Chair)
Mr Laurie Ferguson MP (Deputy Chair)
Senator Andrew Bartlett
Senator the Hon. John Faulkner
Senator Brett Mason
Senator Andrew Murray
Senator the Hon. Ron Boswell
Mr Michael Danby MP
Mr John Forrest MP
Hon. Alex Somlyay MP

TABLING SPEECH: GARY NAIRN MP, CHAIRMAN

Mr Speaker, this first report of the Electoral Matters Committee in this Parliament addresses aspects of the conduct of the 1998 federal election. This report is a significant addition to the established body of work by this Committee's predecessors that has steadily improved Australia's electoral system.

Federal elections are amongst the most significant public events conducted in this country. The 1998 federal election was no exception, involving 12,056,625 voters, 60,000 temporary staff and 7,775 polling places. Managing the logistics of such an event is no small feat.

The fact that the Australian Electoral Commission was able to deliver a result by 8.00pm Eastern Standard Time on election day indicates that Australia's distinguished electoral reputation is well earned.

Despite these achievements there is always room for improvement. In its report the Committee makes 59 recommendations, most of which are unanimously supported. Mr Speaker, I will highlight four significant themes of those recommendations.

First, the accuracy of the Commonwealth Electoral Roll. Between the 1996 and 1998 federal election the AEC introduced continuous roll updating and an address based roll management system to improve the accuracy of the Roll. In order to continue this process, the Committee is recommending changes to the process for re-enrolling voters who have been removed from the Roll because they no longer live at their enrolled address. In future, people will be re-enrolled for their correct address when they cast a provisional vote.

Second, the Committee is keen to ensure that political parties seeking to register federally are in fact legitimate political parties. Accordingly, the Committee recommends a series of improvements to the regulation of registered political parties. These include:

creating a definition of a member of a political party for registration purposes;
increasing the fee for registration of a political party to cover the costs of registration;
restricting the registration of parties to those parties that have either a federal member of parliament or 500 party members; and
empowering the AEC to conduct regular reviews of the eligibility of political parties to remain registered.

Third, a number of changes to election campaigning practices to improve the transparency of political party campaign materials are recommended. The changes include:

specifying a definition of address for authorisation purposes;
creating a specific authorisation regime for How To Vote cards including second preference How To Vote cards; and
improving the accuracy of postal vote information provided to voters by political parties with their campaign material.

Finally, a surprising outcome of the inquiry for the Committee was the level of misunderstanding of the election process in sections of the community. Evidence indicates that a significant majority of voters in many remote communities require assistance to cast a valid vote. The Committee is recommending the AEC report back to it on options for providing an effective integrated enrolment and education service for remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

The Committee also received a large number of submissions from voters who clearly did not understand as well as they might the House of Representatives full preferential voting system. Accordingly, the Committee has recommended that the AEC conduct a targeted public education campaign prior to the next federal election to explain the House of Representatives full preferential system.

Other matters addressed by the report include:

improving training for the Officers in Charge of mobile polling booths to ensure good management of mobile polls.
improving public access to the Commonwealth Electoral Roll by recommending limited access to the Roll over the internet and on CD-Rom;
improving the efficiency of the postal voting system;
preventing enrolment using offensive names;
streamlining the processing of political party funding returns to allow political party annual disclosure returns to be lodged electronically;
allowing political parties to appeal the location of polling booths;
improvements to declaration and pre-poll voting;
four year terms for the House of Representatives;
aspects of political donation reporting; and
the design of the Senate ballot paper.

One of the important functions of election inquiries such as the one the Committee has undertaken is to provide the public with a forum in which to raise their concerns with the electoral system. This inquiry was no exception, with over 260 submissions received, as well as over 100 letters submitted.

I would like to thank the AEC and members of the community who contributed to this review. I would also like to thank all the members of the Committee and the Committee secretariat for their contributions to this inquiry and report.

Throughout the inquiry, the Committee operated with a spirit of co-operation, particularly in relation to some of the more intractable matters. This has ensured agreement on most of the recommendations contained in this report, and has resulted in a report that will enhance Australia's already robust electoral reputation.

I commend the report to the House.