Inquiry Into the 2016 Act Election and the Electoral Act
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INQUIRY INTO THE 2016 ACT ELECTION AND THE ELECTORAL ACT S ELECT C OMMITTEE ON THE 2016 ACT E LECTION AND E LECTORAL A CT NOVEMBER 2017 REPORT INQUIRY INTO THE 2016 ACT ELECTION AND THE ELECTORAL ACT COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP Ms Bec Cody MLA Chair Mr James Milligan MLA Deputy Chair Ms Tara Cheyne MLA Member Ms Caroline Le Couteur MLA Member Mr Andrew Wall MLA Member SECRETARIAT Mr Andrew Snedden Secretary Ms Josephine Brown Senior Research Officer Ms Lydia Chung Administration Officer CONTACT INFORMATION Telephone (02) 6205 0199 Post GPO Box 1020, CANBERRA ACT 2601 Email [email protected] Website www.parliament.act.gov.au ACCESSIBILITY The Committee has made every effort to ensure that this document is accessible. If you are unable to read this document, please contact the Committee Support Office. i INQUIRY INTO THE 2016 ACT ELECTION AND THE ELECTORAL ACT RESOLUTION OF APPOINTMENT AND TERMS OF REFERENCE On 15 December 2016, the Legislative Assembly for the ACT passed the following resolution: “That: 1) a select committee be established to review the operation of the 2016 ACT election and the Electoral Act and other relevant legislation and policies in regards to election-related matters, and make recommendations on: a) lowering the voting age; b) improving donation rules and donation reporting timeframes; c) increasing voter participation in elections and encouraging political activity; and d) any other relevant matter; 2) the select committee shall consist of the following number of members composed of: a) two Members to be nominated by the Government; b) two Members to be nominated by the Opposition; c) one Member to be nominated by the Crossbench; and d) the Chair shall be a Government Member; 3) the select committee be provided with necessary staff, facilities and resources; 4) the select committee is to report by the last sitting day in 2017; 5) if the Assembly is not sitting when the committee has completed its inquiry, the committee may send its report to the Speaker or, in the absence of the Speaker, to the Deputy Speaker, who is authorised to give directions for its printing, publishing and circulation; 6) the foregoing provisions of this resolution, so far as they are inconsistent with the standing orders, have effect notwithstanding anything containing in the standing orders; and 7) nomination for membership of the committee be notified in writing to the Speaker within two hours following conclusion of the debate on the matter.”.1 1 Legislative Assembly for the ACT, Hansard, 13 December 2016, pp. 255-256. iii INQUIRY INTO THE 2016 ACT ELECTION AND THE ELECTORAL ACT TABLE OF CONTENTS Committee Membership ................................................................................................ i Secretariat ..................................................................................................................... i Contact Information....................................................................................................... i Accessibility ................................................................................................................... i Resolution of Appointment and Terms of Reference ...................................................... iii Abbreviations ............................................................................................................... vii R ECOMMENDATIONS .......................................................IX 1 I NTRODUCTION ......................................................... 1 Conduct of the Inquiry.................................................................................................... 1 Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................... 1 Structure of the Report .................................................................................................. 2 2 B ACKGROUND TO THE 2016 ACT E LECTION .......................... 3 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 3 The Hare-Clark System ................................................................................................... 4 The Function of the Legislative Assembly ........................................................................ 5 Legislative Changes ........................................................................................................ 6 2016 ACT Election Trends ............................................................................................... 6 3 R EVIEWS OF THE O PERATION OF THE 2016 ACT E LECTION .......... 9 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 9 ACT Electoral Commission’s Report............................................................................... 10 ACT Auditor-General’s Report ...................................................................................... 14 Observation from Submissions on the Electoral Commissions Report on the ACT Legislative Assembly Election 2016 ...................................................................... 14 4 L OWERING THE V OTING A GE ......................................... 19 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 19 Compulsory vs. Voluntary Voting .................................................................................. 19 Eligibility for Candidacy ................................................................................................ 21 Financial Implications ................................................................................................... 22 v SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE 2016 ACT ELECTION AND ELECTORAL ACT 5 I MPROVING D ONATION R ULES AND R EPORTING T IMEFRAMES ...... 25 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 25 Communications Allowance ......................................................................................... 25 Political Donations ....................................................................................................... 27 Donation Reporting Timeframes ................................................................................... 32 6 I NCREASING V OTER P ARTICIPATION AND E NGAGEMENT ............. 35 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 35 Civics and Citizenship Education for Young People ........................................................ 36 Access to Electoral Material.......................................................................................... 38 7 O THER M ATTERS ...................................................... 41 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 41 Corflutes ...................................................................................................................... 41 Electronic Voting .......................................................................................................... 44 100-Metre Limit ........................................................................................................... 48 Pre-poll Voting ............................................................................................................. 52 Third-Party Campaigners .............................................................................................. 54 Timeline for closure of nominations and appeal ............................................................ 57 8 C ONCLUSION .......................................................... 59 A DDITIONAL/DISSENTING C OMMENTS BY M S L E C OUTEUR MLA ...... 61 A PPENDIX A S UBMISSIONS R ECEIVED .................................. 69 A PPENDIX B W ITNESSES A PPEARED .................................... 71 A PPENDIX C ACT E LECTORAL C OMMISSION R EPORT ON THE ACT L EGISLATIVE A SSEMBLY E LECTION 2016 – N OTIFIABLE F EATURES . 73 A PPENDIX D ACT E LECTORAL C OMMISSION R EPORT ON THE ACT L EGISLATIVE A SSEMBLY E LECTION 2016 – R ECOMMENDATION AND G OVERNMENT R ESPONSE ............................................. 75 A PPENDIX E ACT A UDITOR- G ENERAL R EPORT ON THE 2016 ACT E LECTION – R ECOMMENDATION AND G OVERNMENT R ESPONSE ..... 79 vi INQUIRY INTO THE 2016 ACT ELECTION AND THE ELECTORAL ACT ABBREVIATIONS ACT Australian Capital Territory ACT Electoral Commission Report Report on the ACT Legislative Assembly Election 2016 ACT Labor ACT Labor Party Acting Commissioner Acting ACT Electoral Commissioner Assembly Legislative Assembly for the ACT Commission ACT Electoral Commission Committee Select Committee on the 2016 ACT Election and Electoral Act ECANZ Electoral Council of Australia and New Zealand ECQ Electoral Commission Queensland EFED Act Election Funding, Expenditure and Disclosure Act 1981 (NSW) Electoral Act Electoral Act 1992 (ACT) eVACS Electoral Voting and Counting System ICAC NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption ICAC Inquiry NSW Liberal Party Electoral Funding for the 2011 State Election Campaign and Other Matters JACS Justice and Community Safety Directorate MLA Member of the Legislative Assembly NSW New South Wales PRS Proportional Representation Society of Australia (ACT Branch) Self-Government Act Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988