Electoral (Contents of Writ) Amendment Bill
Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart) (11:17): I want to speak on this very strongly. I strongly support the member for Fisher on this issue. As this house knows, I have only participated in one election, but it was very clear to me from that one—
The Hon. R.B. Such: You won it!
Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Thank you. I was fortunate to participate successfully, which was terrific. This is very important in more remote regions. In the electorate of Stuart—and Madam Speaker, I am sure this is very true in the electorate of Giles as well—there are a lot of people who do everything properly with regard to registering for postal votes, get their applications in on time, do everything that is requested of them, and yet it is impossible for them to get their vote in on time.
That happens for many reasons, often because they just do not get their postal vote back to them in time. It is not really the Electoral Commission's fault; in fact it is not the government's fault. It is not anybody's fault, because the system is set up at the moment so that it is just not possible, but if we do not change this rule then it will be the government's fault. We have to change this for many reasons.
There are people who live in parts of the state where they might only get the mail once a week. They receive their mail, they put their postal vote application in on time—and in fact, in many cases I have been told of they are on the regular recurring postal vote system—they receive their postal vote in the mail, but they cannot put it back into the mail for another week because they only have a weekly delivery, and by then they have missed their chance. The timeline is just too tight.
There are people who go away for holidays. I am sure that is not just a country issue; it would be happening all over the place. People who register in advance actually say to the Electoral Commission, 'Look, we are going to be away. We are going to be overseas for two weeks.' I know there is a system where you can go to the embassy or some other designated point and place your vote, even overseas, but some holidays are not worked that way.
One of the most important issues for me in the electorate of Stuart—and I know, Madam Speaker, this would be true in Giles as well—is people who are working away. They are working in remote locations, and there are people from all over country South Australia (and, I am sure, in the city as well, but it is more a country issue) who work, very often in new mines, building powerlines or putting in generators or watering systems, and doing all sorts of remote work that is going on all over the place, and they just cannot get their mail. They put in an application for a postal vote in time, they plan ahead, they are responsible, they know that they are going to be away, but they are not near a post office, they are not in phone range, and there is absolutely nothing they can do.
This situation could be fixed if there was more time in the process. Certainly, last time around the government waited to the very last minute to visit the Governor to get the writ issued. I am not an overly suspicious person, but I have no doubt that that was quite a deliberate ploy so that some of these people would miss out and not be able to vote. One of the differences in our position is that, typically—and, certainly, I do not take anyone's vote for granted—people in the country and in the more remote areas are more likely to be voting Liberal and less likely to be voting Labor.
That might make me more passionate about this issue than you, Madam Speaker. However, I think the reality is that every single one of us here in the South Australian Parliament, whether we are Liberal, Labor, Green or Independent, regardless of our political preference should defend vehemently the right of every South Australian who is eligible to place their vote.
Becoming ineligible because the system and the timing that we have in place do not allow them to vote, even if they put an application in on time, is unconscionable. It is unconscionable that this parliament would deliberately allow that to happen. We should change the rules in whatever way we need to so that those we know are going to run into trouble, through no fault of their own, still get to vote. So, I very, very strongly support the member for Fisher in this motion.
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