Electoral and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2019
Bill Story
The journey of this bill through Parliament, including debate and recorded votes.
Referred to Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee
As Attorney-General, introduced and moved the second reading of the Electoral bill, describing reforms to improve integrity and public accountability of the electoral system including prisoner voting provisions and postal vote processing improvements.
“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
As Shadow Attorney-General, described the Electoral bill amendments as relatively uncontroversial but raised concerns about prisoner voting provisions and changes to postal vote application deadlines affecting regional voters.
“The Electoral Act amendments that the Attorney-General has just spoken to are relatively uncontroversial, and apart from raising a couple of concerns about prisoner voting and postal voting I do not see too many issues with that bill.”— 2019-10-15View Hansard
Plain English Summary
Overview
This bill reforms Queensland's State electoral system to improve integrity, transparency and efficiency. It implements anti-corruption recommendations from the Crime and Corruption Commission's Belcarra investigation, modernises voting procedures based on lessons from the 2016 elections, and updates electoral laws to reflect Queensland's move to four-year fixed parliamentary terms.
Who it affects
All Queensland voters are affected, particularly postal voters who must now apply earlier. Political parties, candidates and donors face stricter disclosure requirements about the true source of donations. Prisoners serving less than three years regain the right to vote.
Electoral transparency and anti-corruption
Implements key recommendations from the CCC's Belcarra Report to reduce corruption risk in elections. Donors must now disclose the true source of political gifts over $1,000, closing a loophole where donations could be funnelled through intermediaries to hide their origin.
- Donors must disclose the true source of gifts and loans to political parties
- ECQ gains power to administer and enforce funding and disclosure rules
- Penalties for false disclosure returns doubled to 100 penalty units
- Prosecution timeframe extended from 3 to 4 years for disclosure offences
Postal and absentee voting improvements
Addresses problems identified in the 2016 elections where postal ballots often arrived too late. The deadline for postal vote applications moves earlier to ensure ballots can be delivered, and absentee voters can now cast ordinary votes at designated booths.
- Postal vote applications must be received 12 days before polling day (was the Wednesday before)
- Postal vote envelopes can be processed before polling day to speed up counting
- Lost or spoilt postal ballots can be replaced with a declaration
- Absentee voters can cast ordinary votes at designated polling booths, not just declaration votes
Four-year term adjustments
Updates various timeframes and procedures to reflect Queensland's adoption of four-year fixed parliamentary terms in 2016. This includes when electoral redistributions occur, how long candidates must disclose financial information, and when by-elections are required.
- Electoral redistribution timing adjusted for four-year terms
- Candidate disclosure periods extended to match longer terms
- By-elections not required for vacancies in final three months before dissolution
- Financial record keeping extended to 5 years
Prisoner voting rights
Aligns Queensland with the Commonwealth position following the High Court's Roach decision, which found blanket bans on prisoner voting unconstitutional. Now only those serving longer sentences lose the right to vote.
- Only prisoners serving 3 years or longer are disqualified from voting
- Prisoners serving shorter sentences can vote by postal ballot
- Aligns Queensland with Commonwealth electoral law