Government Senators' Dissenting Report

1.1This Committee was tasked by the Senate with conducting an inquiry into the administration of the referendum into an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, with particular reference to (among other things) protections against foreign interference, misinformation and disinformation and other threats to the integrity of the referendum process.

1.2Opposition members have made three recommendations in their report, two of which go to the establishment, and public funding, of official 'Yes' and 'No' campaign entities. This echoes a proposal put forward by the Opposition prior to the passage of the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Amendment Bill 2022 earlier this year.

1.3For the reasons outlined by the Government earlier this year, the proposal to establish publicly funded ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ campaign entity bodies in the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984 (Machinery Provisions Act) should not be supported. The Government believes that non-government organisations should lead the campaigns, and that no public funding should be allocated to either campaign.

1.4Opposition Senators have also recommended that the Machinery Provisions Act be amended to require the Australian Electoral Commission to maintain a register of campaign bodies.

1.5The amendments that were made to the Machinery Provisions Act earlier this year included a range of integrity and transparency measures in relation to referendums, including a new financial disclosure framework and a prohibition on foreign donations. These changes to the Machinery Provisions Act were the subject of a comprehensive inquiry by the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters. They were also the subject of a lengthy parliamentary and public debate.

1.6Labor members are not persuaded that the proposal put forward by Coalition Senators in Recommendation 3 would enhance or build on the carefully considered integrity and transparency measures that the Parliament enacted only a few months ago and which Coalition Senators supported.

1.7Recommendation 3 should not be supported.

1.8The Government take threats posed by foreign interference, misinformation and disinformation to the integrity of electoral processes, including referendum processes very seriously. This was borne out by the considerable amount of evidence the Committee received from a range of government agencies about the measures that are currently in place to address these threats.

1.9Labor members would like to take this opportunity to commend Government agencies, including security and intelligence agencies, for the important work they do to protect the integrity of Australia’s electoral processes from the threat of foreign interference. Labor members would also like to thank government departments and agencies, and members of the public, for their contributions to this inquiry.

Senator Louise Pratt

Deputy Chair

Senator Jana Stewart

Member