Question – Electoral Act Review
Questions asked by the Hon Meg Webb MLC on 2 June 2022 and answered by the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice on 21 June 2022
With regard to the Final Report of the Electoral Act Review, released in February 2021, can the government please:
- Confirm the modelling and analysis “to inform the final detail of the model”, as specified by each of Recommendations 3, 4 and 5, was undertaken;
- Confirm the “modelling and further analysis [to] be undertaken in relation to resourcing and implementation,” as specified by Recommendation 10 was undertaken; and
- Provide a copy of all modelling and analysis undertaken in accordance with Recommendations 3, 4, 5, and 10 of the Final Report of the Electoral Act Review.
Government Response:
The Electoral act Review, and the subsequent development of the Electoral Disclosure and Funding Bill 2022 and the Electoral Matters (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2022, has involved a significant body of work.
An Interim Report on the Review was released on 20 December 2018. The Interim Report was prepared in consideration of the submission received, research into electoral laws applying in other Australian jurisdictions and relevant international comparisons.
The Interim Report contained 19 consultation issues seeking feedback to inform the recommendations in the Final Report.
In response to the High Court decision in Unions NSW & Ors v NSW [2019] HCA I, an addendum to the Interim Report was released on 18 February 2019. The addendum provided an overview of the High Court decision and posed a further consultation issue for feedback. The period of consultation on the Interim Report was extended to 15 April 2019 to allow feedback on the Consultation Issue.
The Tasmanian Government released the Final Report, along with its response and all submission made to the Review that are required to be published in line with the Government’s Public Submissions Policy, on 16 February 2021.
At the same time, the Tasmanian Government formed an Inter-Departmental Committee (IDC) to provide further modelling and advice in line with the Final Report recommendations as a matter of priority.
The IDC has provided advice to the Government in relation to the development of the reforms.
Considerable research has been undertaken by the IDC, including:
- comparisons and analysis of various Australian legislative frameworks;
- research into the policy drivers of electoral reform across the country;
- analysis of the various relevant recent High Court decisions; and
- an analysis of the funding models used across Australian jurisdictions and their suitability in the Tasmanian context.
This work was undertaken to provide advice to Government on options for reform in the State. It is routine practice not to release all briefings, advice and information provided by the IDC.
The Tasmanian Government released draft Bills for public consultation based on the advice of the IDC and this is standard practice when considering and developing legislation.
The Electoral Disclosure and Funding Bill 2022 and the Electoral Matters (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2022 have now been tabled in Parliament and submissions published as per government policy.
