Ricky Muir (Victoria, Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move amendments (4) and (5) on sheet 7887:

(4) Amendment (2), item 42A, omit "1 July 2016" (wherever occurring), substitute "5 August 2016".

(5) Amendment (3), item 95, omit "1 July 2016" (wherever occurring), substitute "5 August 2016".

I will speak very briefly. This amendment omits 1 July 2016 and substitutes it with 5 August 2016. It is delaying the implementation till a general election or the possibility of a general election. This is a very serious change to our electoral system. It is very vague as to whether the AEC would be able to make the appropriate implementations in time. It is all but mitigating risk. Essentially, as things are with the current date, the Greens are handing the government a double dissolution, or the potential for a double dissolution trigger. But, most importantly, there is the risk of administrative errors, which would of course raise constitutional issues at the time of the election if votes were not counted properly, if the implementation that the AEC put in place was not successful.