Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I, too, rise to contribute to the debate on the incredibly important legislation that we have before us today, the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Amendment Bill 2022. I want to make it very clear from the outset that, sadly, I'm not in a position to support this bill as it currently stands, because of Labor's complete lack of support for fairness and integrity in this bill. Instead, it is quite clear they are seeking to stack the deck in favour of their upcoming referendum question and, potentially, for future referendums. While this bill does contain many non-contentious and much-needed reforms to the machinery mechanisms, there are three issues of grave concern to those on this side of the chamber. There has been some movement by the government—and we wait to see the detail in the amendments—but there are remaining concerns.

The bill removes the requirement to provide all households with a pamphlet outlining the 'yes' and 'no' cases for changing the Constitution. I welcome the government's movement on this but, again, remain highly sceptical about what they will put forward. This information has been provided to all Australians in every referendum since 1928. For nearly 100 years, this information has been provided to assist Australians in their deliberations, including on whether they will support a proposed change to the Constitution. I also do agree with the general proposition that the parliament should treat changes to the machinery of referenda without considering what future referendum questions may actually be. The act itself has not been used since 1999, and it clearly has not kept pace with changes to the Electoral Act that have been made progressively since then. Since the introduction of the referendum pamphlet back in 1912, there have been only three occasions when a pamphlet has not been provided. It has been provided, as I said, in every referendum since 1928.

The AEC provided a lot of very helpful information to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters on this matter. The cost would be about $10 million, and it noted that, for every election, around 40 per cent of Australians rely on the printed material that the commission provides. The reasons for that are very simple. Australians trust and rely on official information from the Australian government, and that has never more important than today, in the days of fake news, social media algorithms and echo chambers, where what we see, read and learn about is fed to us in a highly sophisticated way. It has given rise to what is now called fake news. In this age of disinformation, it's important that the government take the lead and provide clear information to Australians and a strong referendum process.