Page 1099 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 20 April 1994
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MS FOLLETT (Chief Minister and Treasurer) (5.26): I move Government amendment No. 36, Madam Speaker, which is as follows:
36. Page 50, line 18, proposed new section 130, omit "170", substitute "129".
This is a technical matter that was picked up by the Standing Committee on Scrutiny of Bills and Subordinate Legislation. The amendment is to correct an incorrect cross-reference.
MR HUMPHRIES (5.27): Madam Speaker, I am glad that we are correcting this. My reading of the unamended section would be that the only place where one would be able to cast a secret ballot would be Antarctica.
Amendment agreed to.
MR HUMPHRIES (5.27), by leave: Madam Speaker, I move together my amendments m. and n., which read as follows:
m. Page 57, line 14, proposed new paragraph 147(1)(a), add "and".
n. Page 57, lines 15 and 16, proposed new paragraph 147(1)(b), omit the paragraph.
Madam Speaker, we come here to a critical issue in the Electoral (Amendment) Bill, and that is the question of how-to-vote cards. I do not propose to argue this point at great length at this juncture because I believe that the point where it is most pertinent is when we consider my amendment to proposed new section 296, the prohibition of canvassing near polling places. That is the point where the issue will be resolved one way or the other. However, my amendments m. and n. are consequential on that. I will, however, argue that it is appropriate for even the people who are proponents of how-to-vote cards to consider whether these amendments should not be allowed to succeed. At the moment polling within certain institutions, hospitals and aged persons homes, and so on, is not allowed. What proposed new section 147 does is allow the polling officer who visits such places to take to that place all the voting paraphernalia - the voting box, ballot-papers and so on, including how-to-vote cards made available by candidates for the purposes of an election.
Madam Speaker, the contention of my party is that how-to-vote cards will be bad for a number of reasons, but particularly because they will be extremely confusing. Ordinary voters going in to cast a vote will find great difficulty in working out what difference there is between the how-to-vote card and the ballot-paper, and why there is a difference. This problem will be particularly acute, particularly severe, in aged persons homes, where many people have had generations of voting in a particular way and will have some difficulty in adjusting to this new system. Secondly, they are in an environment where there are no party workers to assist them to understand what is involved in casting a vote in this fashion.
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