Senator REYNOLDS (Western Australia) (18:13): I rise to speak on the third interim report of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters. As the chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, I was very proud of this bipartisan report that the committee presented. I believe that in every functional and robust democracy an effective electoral management body is essential to conduct free and fair elections. Australia is absolutely no exception to that. The Australian Electoral Commission serves as our electoral management body and, by virtue of this, holds a crucial role in maintaining and supporting our representative democracy.

Today I speak on the tabling of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters third interim report on the last federal election. As the chair of the committee, I am extremely proud of this bipartisan report. It will ensure that the AEC, as the democratic institution responsible for maintaining an impartial and independent electoral system, is equipped with the necessary tools and resources to ensure the efficient maintenance of our elections. Regardless of whether voters like or dislike the outcome of an election, they must have ultimate confidence in the process itself. Even if they don’t like the outcome, they should be able to trust and understand that it represents the majority will of Australian voters and that the results, declared by the AEC, accurately represent the votes cast by Australian voters.

The AEC’s mandate is to maintain an impartial and independent electoral system. It is therefore imperative that the health, capabilities and resources of the commission never be taken for granted or held hostage to partisan politics in this parliament. Throughout the conduct of this inquiry, it was brought to the committee’s attention that various aspects of the Electoral Act are inadequate in keeping pace with and regulating the current political environment. Additionally, with the rapid and continual evolution and development of modern technology, the AEC’s capability to monitor and oversee elections has, at times, been insufficient to keep pace with the change in society.

The committee was of the view that there is a significant scope for technological improvements and to replace many of the very time-consuming and inefficient manual handling processes. Additionally, upgrades to the AEC’s core IT systems are long overdue and pose potential risks to the integrity of elections. Indeed, we heard that some of the Electoral Commission’s systems are still DOS based. Successive governments have not pursued reform and modernisation of the AEC, and consequently the commission today has had limited capacity to modernise and to evolve with evolving times. The committee heard that change is now imperative to maintain confidence not only in the AEC but also in the integrity of the conduct of our democratic elections. Quite clearly, the AEC needs additional resourcing to keep pace with changes.

The committee was particularly conscious of recent events both domestically and overseas, including the denial-of-service attacks on the Australian Bureau of Statistics and speculation on attempts to influence the United States’ last federal election by foreign actors. These attacks clearly indicate that the threat of cybersecurity attacks is very real and is an issue that we must deal with. Such threats to the Australian electoral processes must be effectively identified and mitigated as much as possible.

In addition to the committee’s inquiry, the AEC also recognised the necessity of reviewing the commission’s election-planning processes and its delivery, but also of seeking new opportunities for modernisation and innovative reforms to deliver elections.

This interim report provides a suite of recommendations for reform to assist and supplement the AEC to address some of the most urgent impediments to its ability to implement organisational change. The committee does, however, acknowledge that, while these forms will provide much-needed improvements, they will not in and of themselves create an organisation that is genuinely transformational in nature. The task of transforming the AEC into an organisation that is able to continuously adapt to meet its mandate in a rapidly-evolving world will take ongoing bipartisan support and oversight. The committee’s five recommendations are all designed to provide the AEC with that immediate support.

Whilst the recommendations represent the starting point, the committee understands that modernising the AEC will be a continuous and ongoing process. There are evolving challenges such as the influence of foreign actors, the changing landscape of political campaigning and cybersecurity threats that now require much closer scrutiny. To ensure that these recommendations achieve the objectives and set out targets, the committee has further recommended that the commission update the committee biannually to monitor developments on a more ongoing basis. The committee commends the AEC for its willingness to adopt the Keelty reforms and for its proactive efforts in identifying ways of transforming culture and processes. As the AEC is limited by outdated legislative requirements, it is now the parliament’s responsibility to support legislative change to achieve this.

In concluding my remarks on this report, I also thank all of those who made submissions and the secretariat staff, and I also acknowledge all of the members of the committee for their very good will and their genuine commitment to ensuring the stability and strength of the Australian electoral processes and the AEC. I acknowledge the contributions of my colleague Senator Ketter as one of the members of the committee in that process.

In concluding my comments, I will just note that the committee has now moved from this report into its fourth interim report on elections and donations. As chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, I was dismayed to see that a motion of the Greens to establish a Select Committee into the Political Influence of Donations was passed by this chamber today. I see no redeeming features in this particular select committee. It is, I believe, an attempt to undermine the processes of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters and our bipartisan inquiries, and, up until today, our very strong bipartisan approach to the very important issue of reforming the Australian political donations system here in Australia.

I would also note that the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, which has successfully resulted in many, many bipartisan recommendations for reform, including this third report, has Senator Lee Rhiannon from the Greens as a member. While Senator Rhiannon and I might not very often agree on policy, I commend Senator Rhiannon for her commitment, dedication and willingness to look into and to support the best interests of the Electoral Commission and the integrity of our electoral processes.

When I saw this select committee today, I was aghast that the Greens would, I believe, use a joint Senate select committee to so egregiously bring whatever fighting is going on with the Greens and with Senator Rhiannon into this chamber and to this process. No good can come of having a select committee on at the same time and on the same issue as the bipartisan Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters. I would like to seek leave to continue my remarks on that report.

Leave granted.