Maurice Hayes (Independent)

I welcome the Minster of State. Like Senator Quinn, I believe this is the quintessential non-party, non-partisan issue because it is in everybody's interest to have a proper voting system in which the public can have confidence. I, too, favour electronic voting. I hope it can be brought in and that it will be introduced in a way that will preserve the theatricality of the count. Watching the broadcasts of the counts on television contributes greatly to educating young people, in particular, about politics. We do not want to have such a desiccated system that people will feel dehumanised or separated from it. That is one of the difficulties with an electronic system. On the one hand we are calling for transparency in all activities, but there is a danger in handing over the voting system to a procedure in which there is no transparency. One presses the button and that is it until the result comes out the other end. That is why it is so important to ensure there is validation at all levels and all stages of the procedure and that there is a person present to confirm that what a voter intended to happen when voting has happened and will be carried through. That elevates the importance of the commission and the validating mechanisms.

I do not want to go into any of the detailed sections of the Bill.

However, there is one general matter on which the Minister of State might provide some assurances. I have not yet found the provision in the Bill for assisted voting. I am hopeless when confronted with an ATM because I find the display extremely difficult to read. Not only must we consider those who are blind or partially sighted, there are those who are congenitally incapacitated when faced with electronic machinery. It is important that the needs of such individuals should be catered for.

A great deal of the pressure has been taken off the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government as a result of the commission's report. The compulsion to have the Bill passed by a certain date has disappeared. It is now more important to get matters right rather than pushing through the legislation in one particular form or other. Like Senator Quinn, I had a fairly disastrous and painful experience when trying to introduce major computer and electronic systems. Many trials and much work is required when putting in place such systems and they need to be run in parallel with other systems. Unless people can be assured that the instrument finally chosen will be 100% dependable and correct, it undermines what one is trying to do.

It is fortuitous that the Bill, as drafted, does not commit the Government to any particular system. Nevertheless, as a result of the report of the commission, it may be necessary to make changes. We may have to consider doing so, even in terms of the procedures that are being proposed. I appreciate that it is necessary and desirable to place the commission on a statutory footing. Rather than us wracking our brains about various matters, the commission should be responsible for resolving the difficulties involved. I suggest that a commencement clause be inserted into the Bill. This would enable the Minister to immediately commence Part 3 and the various desirable miscellaneous provisions in Part 4. Parts 1 and 2 could then be implemented by order in the ordinary way when the nuts and bolts of the matter have been dealt with by the commission. I commend this to the Minister of State as a means of satisfying people's concerns.

While there is considerable enthusiasm on both sides of the House for the idea of electronic voting and a great desire to help the Government put it in place, there are reservations about the current state of knowledge relating to it. If the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government could accept a situation in which the commission could be placed on a statutory footing and then wait until it has reported on further trials, what changes might be made etc., before proceeding, he would avoid having to return to the Houses with amending legislation in the future.