Committee activities (inquiries and reports)

Inquiry into all aspects of the conduct of the 1996 federal election and matters related thereto

The Committee tabled its report The 1996 federal election: report of the inquiry into the conduct of the 1996 federal election and matters related thereto in both houses of Parliament on 16 June 1997. A copy of the report is available in PDF format (607KB) or from the Committee Secretariat.

(To view or print the PDF document, you will require the Acrobat PDF Reader, which can be downloaded free of charge from Adobe.)

List of submissions

List of public hearings

Media release

Government response to the Committee's report was tabled on 8 April 1998

Content of report: The 1996 federal election

FOREWORD

TERMS OF REFERENCE

MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMITTEE

ABBREVIATIONS

CHAPTER SUMMARY AND LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS

CHAPTER ONE - INTRODUCTION

• THE 1996 FEDERAL ELECTION
• THE INQUIRY

• MEASURES TO PREVENT FRAUD
  • Witnessing Requirement on the Enrolment Form
  • Documentary Proof of Identity for Enrolment
  • Cross-checking of Electoral Data Against External Databases
  • Verification of Citizenship
  • The Close of Rolls Period
  • Subdivisional or Precinct Voting
  • Separate Inquiry on the Electoral Rolls
  • Multiple Voting - "Wilfully"
  • Public Availability of the Rolls
  • Address-based Roll Management System (RMANS)
  • Continuous Roll Review
  • Investigation of Offences
• OBJECTION ACTION
  • Objection Action After the Issue of the Writ
  • Objection Action - Change of Address
  • Objection Action - Unsound Mind
  • Objection Action - Roll Deletions in Western Australia

• COMPULSORY VOTING
• ALBERT LANGER AND SECTION 329A OF THE ELECTORAL ACT
  • The Preferential Voting Provisions of the Electoral Act
  • "How to Vote for Neither!" - the Albert Langer Campaign
  • Integrity of the Preferential Voting System - Solutions
  • Alternative Voting Systems for the House of Representatives
• PREFERENTIAL VOTING FOR THE SENATE
  • Optional Preferential Voting
  • Multiple Group Voting Tickets
  • Display of Senate Tickets at Polling Places
  • Influence of Minor Parties

CHAPTER FOUR - ENROLMENT AND VOTING BY CERTAIN GROUPS

• VOTERS IN THE TERRITORIES
  • The Snowdon Petition to the Court of Disputed Returns
  • Adjourned Polling in the Northern Territory
  • Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands
  • The Australian Capital Territory and Norfolk Island
• ABORIGINAL ELECTORS
  • Abolition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Electoral Information Service
  • Assisted Voting
  • Conduct of ATSIC Elections on Polling Day
  • Multiple Enrolments
• OVERSEAS ELECTORS
• PRISONERS
• SILENT ELECTORS
• RESIDENTS OF NURSING HOMES
• THE DISABLED

• DECLARATION VOTING
  • Pre-poll Ordinary Voting
  • Use of Postal Vote Application Forms by Political Parties
  • Splitting of Postal Vote Envelopes
  • Postal Voters in Remote Areas
  • The Return of Postal Votes
  • Availability of the Marked Roll
  • Electoral Integrity - Postal Voting
• BALLOT PAPERS - LAYOUT AND METHOD OF MARKING
  • Computerised Voting
  • Method of Marking the Ballot Paper
  • Ballot Paper Layout
• THE SCRUTINY OF VOTES
  • Computerisation of the Senate Scrutiny
  • The Two Candidate Preferred (TCP) Count
  • The Preliminary Scrutiny of Declaration Votes
  • Provision of Results to the Media
  • Live Broadcast of Results to Western Australia
• QUEUING AT POLLING PLACES
• AEC PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN
  • The Voting Guide
  • Statutory Newspaper Advertising

• SECTION 44 OF THE CONSTITUTION
  • Sykes v Cleary
  • Free v Kelly
  • Senator Jeannie Ferris
  • Clarification of Section 44
• DEPOSITS AND SIGNATURES
• NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES: OTHER ISSUES
  • Close of Nominations and the Declaration
  • Frivolous or Politically Significant Names
  • Place of Senate Nominations
• ENDORSEMENT OF CANDIDATES BY POLITICAL PARTIES
  • Disendorsed Candidates
  • Similar Party Names on the Ballot Paper
  • Endorsement of a Candidate by More Than One Party
• REGISTRATION OF PARTY NAMES

CHAPTER SEVEN - ELECTION CAMPAIGNING

• TRUTH IN POLITICAL ADVERTISING
  • Possible Sanctions Against Misleading Advertising
  • Method of Enforcement - the "Election Complaints Authority"
  • Definition of "Electoral Matter"
• THE AUTHORISATION PROVISIONS OF THE ELECTORAL ACT
  • Section 328 of the Electoral Act
  • Section 331 of the Electoral Act
  • Section 332 of the Electoral Act
• POLICING IMPROPER CAMPAIGN PRACTICES
  • Penalty Levels
• PROVISION OF ELECTOR INFORMATION TO POLITICAL PARTIES AND MPS
  • Alleged Unauthorised Release of Information
  • Provision of Gender and Age Details
  • Computer Technology and Commercial Use of Roll Information
• OTHER ISSUES
  • How-to-Vote Material
  • Electoral Bribery
  • The Internet
  • Canvassing at Hospitals and Nursing Homes
  • Canvassing at Pre-Poll Voting Centres
  • Co-ordination Between the States and the AEC

CHAPTER EIGHT - ELECTION FUNDING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

• THE FUNDING AND DISCLOSURE PROVISIONS
• PROPOSED AMENDMENTS
  • Reporting Thresholds - Amounts Received
  • Disclosure by Donors
  • Annual and Election Returns
  • Total Expenditure Report
  • Tax Deductibility of Donations
  • Penalties
  • Election Funding
  • Annual Returns by Commonwealth Departments
  • Other Disclosure of Donations
  • Associated Entities

CHAPTER NINE - OTHER MATTERS

• THE AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION
  • The Divisional Office Structure
  • Co-location of AEC and Members' Offices
• ELECTION LITIGATION
  • Delivery of Ballot Papers by Post or by "Other Means"
  • Decisions "as Quickly as is Reasonable"
  • "Splitting" of Petitions
• FOUR YEAR TERMS
• BY-ELECTIONS
• ONGOING INQUIRIES
  • Redistributions of Electoral Boundaries
  • Industrial Elections
  • ATSIC Elections
  • "Regionalisation" and the Performance Audit of the AEC

• SENATOR S CONROY, MR L FERGUSON MP AND MR R MCCLELLAND MP
• SENATOR A MURRAY

APPENDICES

1. RESOLUTION OF APPOINTMENT
2. LIST OF SUBMISSIONS
3. LIST OF EXHIBITS
4. LIST OF HEARINGS AND WITNESSES

Media release

The following media release was issued by the Chairman of the Committee, Mr Gary Nairn MP, on the tabling of its report:
16 June 1997 Reform of the Commonwealth electoral system

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