Saturday Magazine

The Committee is holding its first day of hearings from civil society organisations into the review of the 2022 federal election. The Committee’s terms make specific reference to ensuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are able to easily enrol and vote, introducing election spending caps, increasing the transparency of political donations, and introducing truth in political advertising laws.

The Human Rights Law Centre has made 25 recommendations, covering:

1. reforms to reduce the influence of harmful industries in Australian politics, including making political donations more transparent and capping election spending;
2. prohibiting inaccurate or misleading electoral matter; and
3. removing barriers to voting for different communities, including for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living on homelands, people with disability, people in prison, people aged 16 and 17, and permanent residents and New Zealand citizens residing long term in Australia. “Political integrity and the health of our democracy were front-and-centre issues in the 2022 federal election. This Committee has a strong mandate to recommend ambitious reforms that will secure a more robust democracy for generations to come.

“We urgently need limits on election spending and laws to prohibit candidates from misleading voters, to ensure election debates are balanced and fair. The government must ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on homelands can easily enrol and vote. We need the government to address the barriers to voting commonly experienced by people with disability. The Committee has an important opportunity to protect and strengthen the right to vote in Australia. The right to vote is at the heart of our democracy.”