CANBERRA - 25 August 2021
Deputy Speaker, I will be supporting the legislation and making some other comments as my comrade from the Northern Territory, the Member for Lingiari, has done.
Because there are things that we need to continue to bring to the notice of this House and the members when it comes to the AEC’s performance and the effect that that's having on democracy in our Northern Territory.
But I do want to support the elements of this bill that were articulated extremely well by yourself, if I can say so, Deputy Speaker.
The Member for Oxley pointed out that the legislation, when it comes to the naming of parties or the increase to the number of people that are required in parties before they're taken seriously, are good changes.
As is the 12 days of pre-polling, and I support those elements and there's no need for me to go over that ground again.
There are other elements of the AEC’s performance and this legislation that I wanted to bring to the House's attention.
And I also want to emphasize how important the role of the Standing Committee on Electoral Matters is, and the work that it does.
It's incredibly important as a member for Indi and many others have said; we’re all here because we believe very much in democracy, so I thank that committee and its important work.
However, I do also need to bring the House's attention to the contribution from the Member for Perth and the commentary that he made about Clive Palmer in particular, being supported by the WA Libs.
Now, I'm not saying that every member of the WA Liberal Party in this place needs their head read, but what I what I will say is that I've heard over the last couple of days from them a lot that makes me incredibly disappointed.
Whether it be yesterday, a member of that political organization from the West trying to politicize paedophilia and trying to claim that those on this side were not for the kids, but were for the paedophiles, it's just disgusting and unbecoming of people in this place.
So they best leave, they best resign, if they're not going to uphold the high standards of integrity that should be demanded by people in this place, then they should resign.
Likewise, if they are going to mislead the media in part of a protection racket to make excuses for those whose incompetence or worse led to our interpreters from Afghanistan being left at the airport and not allowed to get onto flights, when members of the WA Liberals, veterans themselves, say that that's not happening, say that every combat interpreter has been able to get on the plane.
And that's the sort of people from that organisation that instead of backing the WA people back the bloke like Clive Palmer.
So wake up to yourselves. It's noted.
Now, returning to the bill, Mr Deputy Speaker, the proposed government changes to the Electoral Act have many glaring omissions.
Members would remember me highlighting the unconscionable behaviour of those opposite, the Federal Government, in relation to the AEC office in the Northern Territory.
The AEC office in the Northern Territory had 15 employees, and part of that group of Australian public servants’ job was to go out into the communities of the Northern Territory, where all honourable members know we've got the lowest enrolment the country by far, and do electoral education and enrolment.
So 15 employees in total, that team going out into the communities of the Northern Territory, signing people up onto the roll, educating them about the electoral process and how to have their voice heard, which has been largely ignored by those opposite for ever.
They cut the staffing of the Australian Electoral Commission office from 15 employees to three. To three.
Move the team that does the electoral education and enrolment in the Northern Territory – big place, bigger than Texas.
They sent them to Brisbane and said, “no, they can do that job from over there”.
And even before COVID, it was a team of people in Brisbane enrolling and educating people in the remote communities in Northern Territory about our electoral process, about our democracy.
How is that going to happen?
It was another deliberate attempt by those opposite, the Coalition Federal Government, who are deliberately disenfranchising the First Nations vote in this country more broadly, but in the Northern Territory specifically.
And the Member for Lingiari pointed that out, and the evidence that shows that that is exactly what is occurring.
Now, as the Member for Lingiari pointed out, it took until 1962 to give First Nations people the right to vote.
But as we've seen from the actions of those opposite, they're not happy with that.
They want as few people in the Northern Territory – particularly in the seat of Lingiari, but also in my seat of Solomon – to be enrolled, making it as hard as they possibly can.
Now, the Member for Hughes just mentioned before about the need for ID.
A lot of First Nations people don't have ID, and when they do have ID because they're involved in government services, Medicare, Centrelink, if there's no work, then there's direct enrolment which connects that First Nations person through direct enrolment to have the ability to vote.
But those opposite – that the Member for Hughes was part of until very recently – deliberately through the AEC, stopped that from happening again, deliberately disenfranchising it, and in a second, I'll tell you exactly why they're doing that.
In several substantial ways, the AEC is using its discretion – prompted by the Federal Government, those opposite – to prevent enrolment and voting by First Nations people.
And as a result, in 2021, we have both an effective gerrymander as the Member for Lingiari said, against First Nations people and voter suppression of First Nations people.
That's disgraceful, isn't it? That's Australia in 2021, but that's what this tired eight-year-old Government is trying to do to win federal seats, to win enough seats, to win local government seats.
Now, we know that the Government has failed to sufficiently close many gaps.
Three out of seven Close the Gap targets are on track, we heard that recently in this place.
But it's also willing and is actively working towards not closing the gap in First Nations’ voting opportunity, ie. a participation in our democracy.
And it's obviously doing this because it sees an electoral advantage for itself.
We've seen it in the NT elections last year: several of the electorates in the Northern Territory at that NT election last year, the result came down to a handful of votes.
You know what happens when you've got the lowest enrolment of First Nations people in the country, disgustingly low rates? You win by a handful of votes instead of losing by a handful of votes.
So the Government’s deliberate attempts through the Australian Electoral Commission is achieving its outcome in that they are deliberately disenfranchising First Nations people, and they're just picking up seats where they wouldn't normally if the First Nations people had a vote.
We're coming up to by election in the Northern Territory in a place called Daly.
I won't get into politicking around who's a better candidate. I know them both.
I think what the people of that electorate deserve is the best possible candidate that the majority of the people in that seat think will represent them well.
We've got some big Aboriginal communities in that electorate, and we've got some big non-Aboriginal communities in that electorate.
So we know that because of deliberate attempts, and successful attempts to disenfranchise the First Nations vote, the vote will be a lot higher in the non-Aboriginal areas.
So let's see the outcome of that election.
But don't we hope that every single eligible voter in that electoral area has a vote?
Because that person representing them in the NT Parliament should have the confidence of all the people that are eligible to vote in that in that electoral area?
Well, let's see what the results are.
But we know that there's about 50,000 people in the Northern Territory who aren’t enrolled to vote.
So I don't know what that team in Brisbane are doing, but they're not effectively getting people on the roll in the Northern Territory.
As the Member for Lingiari said, the AEC is cooperating with the Government to suppress that vote, that First Nations vote, and in the process, it is discriminating against them in a way that may very likely break federal laws.
So that's one of the reasons why some Territorians have made complaints to the Human Rights Commission, and we hope that their complaints are taken seriously.
And I congratulate those Territorians for taking that step and giving a voice to their constituents.
Now, if the AEC was prepared to stop discriminating and just get on with direct enrolment, which facilitates eligible Territorians from being enrolled and able to vote, then we would be doing a lot better, and it would be very quick and easy to correct the huge electoral injustice that is now been going on for almost a decade.
It's imperative that these complaints that have been made regarding this AEC policy about direct enrolment and update and actions are resolved well prior to the upcoming federal election, because Territorians – no matter whether they're First Nations or non-Indigenous – deserve an electoral voice, and a voice that is not suppressed by this Government, those opposite, and their accomplices.
First Nations people will be able to work with us to close all these gaps so that they can join in determining their own futures.
And I think what you'll find is when that respect of being an Australian citizen is honoured by making sure that they've got the ability to have a voice, that we’ll see all sorts of gaps starting to close, because we'll be doing things as the Government likes to say, with Aboriginal people rather than to Aboriginal people.
These electoral act changes that are needed need to happen right now, because these oversights in large parts of Australia, including my electorate of Solomon, see large amounts of First Nations people under-enrolled.
And it's simply not good enough.
The existing Electoral Act does not sufficiently provide machinery that could not be rigged by bureaucrats who conveniently back the Government that appoints them.
Now, it is a serious issue, and these loopholes that the AEC – with the support of the Federal Government continues to exploit – need to be fixed.
We clearly must expect a lot better out of the AEC.
And I just want to thank and encourage the work of the Shadow Special Minister for State, Senator Don Farrell, the work that he's doing to assist the AEC to get back on the path to on a direct enrolment for First Nations Australians.
Thank you.
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ENDS
