DARWIN - 16 November 2021
SENATOR DON FARRELL, SHADOW SPECIAL MINISTER OF STATE: I'm here with my very good friends from the Northern Territory: Senator McCarthy, whose office is just around the corner; Marion Scrymgour, who is our candidate in the seat of Lingiari; and, of course my very good friend Luke Gosling, from the seat of Solomon.
We're calling today on the Morrison-Joyce government to withdraw their un-Australian voter ID laws.
These are laws that are designed to suppress Australians from voting. In 120 years of federal elections, Australians have been able to go to the polling booth, get their name crossed off and vote. If this legislation goes through, then for the first time in our electoral history, you will be required to prove your identity at the polling booth.
Now, the Australian Electoral Commission says that the issue of voter fraud is "vanishingly small". Out of 16 million people who voted at the last election, not a single person was prosecuted for voting more than once. Of the 2000 people who did vote more than once, almost all of them were over 80 years of age or English was their second language. They'd simply forgotten that they'd voted earlier. Australia doesn't have a problem with multiple voting.
This American-style voting system, to suppress the vote, of course, affects every Australian. Sixteen million Australians will now be required to identify themselves, for the first time in Australian electoral history. Can you imagine the queues that are going to occur now, on Election Day? This legislation doesn't just affect Indigenous groups, domestic violence victims, homeless people, multi-cultural people, this legislation affects every single Australian.
The idea that in the middle of a pandemic – the worst pandemic in Australia's history – you'd be introducing laws that would make you spend more time in queues at the polling booth on election day is just crazy. We can all remember the queues last election. Well, this is going to double the length of the queues. Why would you do that? Why would you do that in the middle of a pandemic? There's no reason whatsoever to introduce this legislation, unless your objective is to suppress votes, and in particular, suppress votes in the Northern Territory.
Now, you might recall, we ran a campaign last year to keep two seats in the Northern Territory, we were successful. One of the objectives of the Morrison-Joyce government is to ensure that as few people vote in the Northern Territory as is possible. This is all designed not to increase participation, not to increase transparency, but to suppress votes in Australia, at the next election.
So, thanks very much for coming along today. My colleagues will say a few words, and then we'll answer questions.
LUKE GOSLING MP, MEMBER FOR SOLOMON: Thanks, Don. It's great to have Don Farrell here in Darwin once again – a big supporter of the Territory, a big supporter when the territory was going to be forced into just having one seat, so less representation for the Territory.
What the Morrison-Joyce government is trying to do now with these laws, is to make it harder for Territorians to vote, when the AEC says that we haven't got a problem with incorrect voting in Australia. In fact, they say it's "vanishingly small". So, what we're going to have here in the top end and around the Territory is longer waits on polling day, just because the Morison government wants to make it harder for Territorians to have their say at the election. This isn't electoral reform.
What we've seen from the Morison government is that they've cut the number of AEC staff, Australian Electoral Commission staff, here in the territory. They've cut the Indigenous electoral participation program that was getting out there and getting more people on the roll. We know in the Territory, we've got the lowest enrolment in the country. So, if the Morrison-Joyce government wants to do something about electoral reform, they should be making it easier for people to get on the roll and to have their say, not bringing in some Trump-style voter ID laws that are addressing something that is just not a problem.
What we've seen from the Morrison-Joyce government is multiple attempts over multiple years to make it harder for people to enrol to vote. Now they're trying to make it harder for Territorians – in particular, vulnerable groups and First Nations Territorians – to have their say on polling day.
So, it's great to be here with my colleagues and we call on the federal government to scrap this bill. It's unfair and it's going to lead to poorer turn-out when we already have difficulties, in this massive Northern Territory, giving everyone a voice. Thanks for coming down.
MALARNDIRRI MCCARTHY, LABOR SENATOR FOR THE NORTHERN TERRITORY: Luke is right. The Morison government must withdraw this bill. We see the problems that we have here in the Northern Territory about enrolments. If the federal government could focus more, and the Australian Parliament, on enrolling First Nations Australians – our rate is very, very low. It's something that we've been trying to do for quite a number of years - unfortunately, without the assistance of those extra staff that were in the AEC. If we talk about a referendum one day – which is certainly what the Labor Party would like to see – with a voice to Parliament, it's First Nations people who need to be a part of that referendum. If the enrolment of First Nations people across the country is around 70, 76 per cent, then shouldn't that be where the focus is? Not on deterring people from getting to the voting booth.
FARRELL: All right. Okay. Questions.
JOURNALIST: Marion, do you think they brought this in because they're trying to pick up the seat that you're standing in at the federal election?
MARION SCRYMGOUR, LABOR CANDIDATE FOR LINGIARI: Absolutely. Both Senator Farrell and also Senator McCarthy talked about the assault on the seat of Lingiari and where the federal government made approaches to try and remove Lingiari and go back to one seat. I think it was Luke Gosling that actually mentioned that. I think that this has been an assault for a long time, Matt, where the federal government has wanted to do these laws. It's more apparent now, I think, in terms of trying to win the seat of Lingiari. To do that, they need to isolate the very people who they know will vote particularly for the Labor Party and favour the Labor Party in that vote. So, absolutely, I see this as a direct assault on the seat of Lingiari. It's a prized seat, and it's one that they want.
JOURNALIST: We see in the United States, these sorts of laws are racially targeted – they try to suppress votes for, for instance, African Americans. Is that an element of this legislation, do you think? Is it racially targeted, this legislation?
SCRYMGOUR: I think so. Does one of you want to talk about this, given that you're in the Federal Parliament?
MCCARTHY: You're alright. You're doing a great job!
SCRYMGOUR: Absolutely. Having been involved in a lot of the Northern Territory elections as well as federal elections, we know that Aboriginal people, where English is a second, third, fourth language. And of course, if somebody passes away, that Aboriginal person will use those pseudo names. Now, the Australian Electoral Commission, the defunding of the Aboriginal education unit – you had Aboriginal people who were well versed with all of that. The Northern Territory probably has led Australia in terms of the number of Aboriginal people who were voting in previous elections. So, if you go back over history, you will see that the decline has been in recent times, and that's been the removal of the electoral education unit. That unit, I think, at some stage, someone needs to look at putting it back. But this will certainly isolate Aboriginal people as a direct result. Someone needs to look at whether it breaches the Racial Discrimination Act. It disadvantages a group of people, and it certainly can be shown in Lingiari what will happen.
JOURNALIST: Can we just ask Malarndirri a question, not about this, but about this COVID outbreak we're seeing – a case in Robinson River, which is obviously close to your country. How concerned are you about this situation?
MCCARTHY: It's important, Matt, that people vaccinate across the Northern Territory and indeed, right across Australia. It's a message that I've certainly been encouraging as I've travelled over 3-4000 kilometres, driving through the Tanami Desert, down Papunya, Santa Teresa, and up the Stuart Highway. I'd like to certainly say to families in Robinson River and Borroloola to get yourself tested with the teams that are out there, and to make sure that you look out for one another.
I'd like to say a personal message – and that is to my sister, who is the source of the COVID infection in Robinson River – that our thoughts and prayers are with her and our family. To my uncle and aunties and cousins – who have been flown in from Katherine, who are in Howard springs – to stay strong. I'm proud of you that you're double-vaxxed, proud of you that you're there, and you're in safe hands.
But I would say, Matt, the messages by people across Australia, negative messages in terms of social media, that have discouraged people, in particular First Nations people, from vaccinating, is completely disgraceful. It doesn't help. It never has helped. And I would certainly encourage people to not listen to those messages, as I have been since this pandemic began.
JOURNALIST: So, I wasn't aware that was your sister. Obviously, our thoughts are with all of you. Have you been able to speak with her and how is she?
MCCARTHY: I have spoken to the nurse in Robinson River, and that was yesterday. Clearly, the nurse was also in a COVID room and it was difficult to speak directly to my sister at the time. I'm hoping I can do that today.
JOURNALIST: Senator, what's the overcrowding like in that community and what is the government doing to deal with that?
MCCARTHY: Look, this is another indication of the incredible challenges for First Nations people across Australia, not just here in the Northern Territory. We have 10 to 12 people to a house. We have people who have 20 people to a house, and the absolute urgency that must be placed on housing, and housing for remote homelands and outstations, with the federal government to come to the party on this. This is a serious matter. This is a case of life and death here, and unless families have an ability to be able to isolate in their own home. How can they, when you have 15 to 20 people in a house, which is the case of my families who have been flown in.
JOURNALIST: So, do you think special accommodation needs to be organized, so people can isolate?
MCCARTHY: Well, I think that's a no brainer, really. I mean, this is something that we've been talking about. Federal Labor has been pushing the federal government, the Aboriginal Affairs Minister, nationally. I've been calling on the Department of Health in terms of communications, what kind of communications they've been doing to encourage First Nations people to vaccinate as soon as possible. This was back in February, I was calling on them to do this. And I'm just absolutely devastated to see what's going on now. But there is such a greater urgency to keep encouraging people that you must vaccinate.
JOURNALIST: Senator, just a different question, sorry, if you don't mind? So, four women in the NT have died this year from alleged domestic violence related homicides, including one in Alice Springs last weekend. How do you react to that?
MCCARTHY: It's absolutely appalling. The rate of family violence is something that our country needs to keep working on, and we are trying to do that. But there also has to be the recognition that this pandemic has created far greater concerns amongst families - the enclosures of families, the fact that they can't separate from one another, whether it's in lockdowns, or lockouts. Family and domestic violence, as we know, and we've heard from police sources as well, that it has increased from not just here in the Northern Territory but right across Australia.
JOURNALIST: And also, services are crying out for funding. What can the federal government do to help?
MCCARTHY: Are you talking about services to do with domestic and family?
JOURNALIST: Yes, Senator.
MCCARTHY: Well, naturally, this is an area that we've always been pushing for is support with family and domestic violence, in particular, with the care of children. There is never enough funding that goes there. But there also has to be the education and training tools that go with being able to provide support, in particular for women leaving those situations. There's also the economic support that needs to be there. When there is economic empowerment, as much as anything else, it does enable victims to be able to leave those situations.
FARRELL: Thanks team. Thanks for coming along.
ENDS
