Electoral and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2019
Plain English Summary
Overview
This bill reforms Queensland's electoral laws to improve donation transparency, modernise voting operations, and align with four-year fixed parliamentary terms. It implements recommendations from the Crime and Corruption Commission's Operation Belcarra inquiry into local government corruption risks and an independent review of the 2016 elections.
Who it affects
All Queensland voters are affected by changes to postal vote deadlines and absentee voting. Political donors must now disclose the true source of gifts and loans, and prisoners serving less than three years regain the right to vote.
Key changes
- Donors must disclose the true source of political gifts and loans of $1,000 or more, with all disclosure returns published online by the ECQ
- Postal vote applications must be submitted at least 12 days before polling day (previously the Wednesday before) to account for slower postal services
- Absentee voters can now cast ordinary votes at advertised polling booths instead of needing to use declaration envelopes
- Prisoners serving sentences under three years regain the right to vote, aligning Queensland with the Commonwealth position after the High Court's Roach decision
- Returning officers are now appointed by the ECQ instead of the Governor in Council, and must notify the ECQ if they join a political party
- Penalties for false or misleading disclosure returns doubled from 50 to 100 penalty units, and the prosecution window extended from 3 to 4 years
Bill Story
The journey of this bill through Parliament, including debate and recorded votes.
▸Committee1 May 2019View Hansard
Referred to Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee
The Economics and Governance Committee examined the bill over seven weeks, receiving seven submissions and holding a public hearing in Brisbane. The committee recommended the bill be passed without amendment, finding the reforms to electoral integrity, transparency and operational efficiency were sound. The bill implemented recommendations from both the CCC's Operation Belcarra report on local government corruption risks and the Soorley Report reviewing the conduct of the 2016 local government elections. A statement of reservation was filed by non-government members, though its content was not available in the extracted report text.
Key findings (5)
- The bill implemented three key Belcarra Report recommendations at the state level: expanding the ECQ's compliance functions, requiring disclosure of the true source of political gifts, and introducing new offence and penalty provisions
- Stakeholders including the Electoral Commission of Queensland, the Environmental Defenders Office and the Queensland Law Society broadly supported the reforms, though the QLS raised concerns that some penalty provisions were broad enough to capture minor misconduct
- The committee found that provisions allowing prisoners serving sentences of less than three years to vote were justified, aligning Queensland with the Commonwealth position and ending Queensland's status as the only jurisdiction to ban all prisoner voting
- Privacy concerns were raised regarding the release of elector information to political parties, but the committee found the safeguards (silent elector protections and a 200 penalty unit offence for misuse) were adequate
- The ECQ estimated implementation costs would be 'in the millions' primarily for updating IT systems, with additional costs for public awareness campaigns and training
Recommendations (1)
- The committee recommends the Electoral and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2019 be passed.
Committee report tabled
▸Second Reading15 Oct 2019View Hansard
▸6 members spoke5 support1 mixed
Introduced the Electoral bill as Attorney-General, outlining reforms to electoral integrity including ECQ function expansion, donor disclosure requirements, postal vote processing improvements, and prisoner voting alignment with Commonwealth law.
“Queenslanders expect and deserve an electoral system that they can have confidence in. The Palaszczuk government has a strong record of enhancing electoral integrity, transparency and accountability in Queensland.”— 2019-10-15View Hansard
Found the Electoral Act amendments relatively uncontroversial but raised concerns about prisoner voting and the shift in postal vote application deadline from 2 days to 12 days before the election, which may disadvantage rural voters.
“The opposition does not support this proposal and is of the view that no prisoner should have the right to vote. This is because the opposition believes that those who break the law should not have the right to participate in deciding who makes the law.”— 2019-10-15View Hansard
Supported the bill, focusing on the implementation of Belcarra recommendations 31 and 6 concerning ECQ statutory functions and true source disclosure of donations, and the introduction of mandatory candidate training.
“One cannot be expected to be paid as a professional, to be addressed as a professional and to be respected as a professional if one does not possess the required education, skills, knowledge and understanding of the responsibilities and accountabilities that come with that role.”— 2019-10-16View Hansard
Supported the bills as continuing the government's commitment to integrity, highlighting the donation transparency measures and contrasting Labor's approach with the LNP's record of hiding donations.
“Unfortunately, there are no refunds on elected officials. If, after the election, the community finds out we did not get what was advertised, there is nowhere to return them or exchange them for something more like we were after.”— 2019-10-16View Hansard
Supported the bills as building on the Palaszczuk government's electoral integrity reforms, highlighting the true source donation disclosure provisions and improvements to postal voting processes.
“We cannot take our electoral system for granted and we need to be vigilant about any threats to the integrity of our democracy.”— 2019-10-16View Hansard
As Attorney-General, defended the prisoner voting provisions as directly aligning Queensland with Commonwealth law, corrected the member for Broadwater's claims, and highlighted the true source donation disclosure requirements.
“Queensland only prohibited prisoner voting to align its laws with those of the Commonwealth, which moved to prevent prisoner voting in 2006. In 2011, the Commonwealth changed its laws as a result of the High Court case of Roach v Electoral Commissioner.”— 2019-10-16View Hansard
▸In Detail16 Oct 2019View Hansard
Government amendments to the Electoral and Other Legislation Amendment Bill, including technical corrections to postal voting provisions, donation disclosure requirements, and elector information provisions.
Assent date: 30 October 2019