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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 6 Hansard (13 June) . . Page.. 1677 ..

MR STANHOPE (continuing):

Mr Speaker, the Labor Party also will be supporting the greater part of the Electoral Amendment Bill 2001. We will support the provisions included in that bill that are intended to apply the same end-use restrictions to electoral rolls provided to candidates as apply to parties and MLAs and that allow a voter with a disability to vote outside a polling place. I think it is only appropriate that we do look at the adequacy and appropriateness of our polling places for people with a disability, and it is very pleasing to see the government moving to address the needs of those with a disability.

We will also support the proposal in the legislation to delay the start of the pre-poll period if it is to commence on a public holiday. I understand from a brief from the Electoral Commission on this subject that, because the statutory date of the ACT election is now the third Saturday in October and we have a public holiday that falls on the first Monday of October in most years, if not every year, this provision will be utilised at every ACT election, so the pre-poll period in the ACT will be reduced by one day as a result of this amendment, otherwise we would have to have pre-polling on the public holiday which does fall in October. Once again, it is a very practical proposal, and that is all it means, I think. It actually takes account of the fact that, with an election falling on the third Saturday of October, we are going to run into a problem at every election, unless we move the date of the election. That is for another debate. It seems easier to me simply to delay the pre-polling.

Mr Humphries: You would have that debate by yourself.

MR STANHOPE: Point taken, yes. But that is the only way through, and I am not suggesting it.

Another amendment which the government is proposing and which the Labor Party will support is one to require the name of a party, ballot group or candidate to be included in the authorisation statement. This proposal tidies up the provisions in relation to the authorisation of electorate material, and we think that it quite a reasonable and sensible thing to do.

Similarly, there is an amendment extending annual reporting requirements to all MLAs, which we think is pleasing. I foreshadow that the Labor Party will be moving an amendment to the government's amendment in this regard to reverse the amendment made last year to restrict the meaning of amounts received to gifts received as an MLA. Whilst we acknowledge that the government has moved some way in relation to this matter, we would prefer a different approach and we will be moving an amendment to which I will speak in much more detail when we get to the detail stage of this bill, understanding as I do that there is agreement within the Assembly that we will go through the in-principle stage today and then adjourn further debate until Friday.

Mr Speaker, the Labor Party will not be supporting the provisions contained in the bill allowing the registration of ballot groups. In the view of the Labor Party, it is not appropriate that members and candidates basically have it both ways, that they get two bites at the cherry. It is our view, and it is a view that we have expressed quite consistently over the last couple of years, that people who come into this place cannot become members of parties to garner what they see as the benefits of being a party on the

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