Page 1222 - Week 04 - Thursday, 21 April 1994
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Madam Speaker, this is not to do with freedom of speech. This is the one time that Mr De Domenico has his perspective right about politics, that I am aware of. He probably thinks he has others right. You had better score that one up, Mr De Domenico. This is really about party machines being able to preselect and retaining control of what goes on in terms of their parliamentary party and, when they have been successful, in terms of government. Madam Speaker, it is for those reasons that I urge you and other members to support this very sensible amendment that has been put up by Mr Humphries.
MR STEVENSON (5.09): Mr Humphries mentioned that the effect of his amendment is to change the distance from six metres from a polling booth to 100 metres from a polling booth. That actually is not the effect; that is the detail. The effect is to ban how-to-vote cards, and he acknowledges that. It was just that the choice of words was a little bit astray. How to ban them is the answer he seeks. I say "how to ban" because I do not believe that this is totally to do with banning them. It was only inadvertent. I am sure that Mr Humphries would have been prepared to make the distance a little larger. Some of the polling booths I have been to in Canberra are on the other side of the schoolgrounds. You can park on one side, get your how-to-vote card and walk across to the booths. It might be 100 metres or further. I am sure that there are a few areas like that. As I mentioned to Mr Humphries before, you could have people handing out how-to-vote cards there simply because 100 metres does not pull in those places. The polling booths are not at the entrance to the school.
A number of members have mentioned people power. Yes, I support people power, for good reasons - for economic reasons, for democratic reasons, and for health reasons. Mr Connolly proved the importance of a breakdown of the party system when he stood up and read that appalling statement by the AMA, to which they refuse to allow a reply. I will read out the reply during the adjournment debate. My history, from Belconnen, Watson, Tuggeranong, Chinchilla, Tasmania, New Zealand and various other places, not only to encourage - - -
Mr De Domenico: Is that near Palmerston, or what?
MR STEVENSON: Sorry?
Mr Berry: Where were you saying? Tasmania?
MR STEVENSON: Tasmania? Yes. I try not only to encourage people to have more involvement in the electoral process, and with their members; but I specifically make a point of it, and, I would suggest, probably to a far greater degree than anyone else here. I suggest that they find out whom they are voting for. I suggest that they find someone who will vote for them before they vote for the candidate. That is important. I do not agree that someone should vote for a party. I do not agree with parties. The reasons are fairly obvious. The reasons are what has happened to our economy, what has happened to our democracy, and what has happened to people's health since the rise of the parties. The rise of the parties equates to the fall of the people.
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