State MPs stage parliament protest as row over proposed phone voting laws escalates

Dozens of MPs will converge on state parliament today – even though it’s not sitting – as a row escalates over proposed laws to allow people isolating to vote on the phone.

A majority of MPs will gather in state parliament on Wednesday to try to convince the Premier to recall the lower house so proposed laws about phone voting in the election can be passed.

Speaker Dan Cregan wrote to Steven Marshall on Monday, imploring him to recall the House of Assembly on Wednesday to pass the Electoral (Assisted Voting) Bill.

The Bill would give the State Co-Ordinator the power to enable people isolating due to Covid-19 to cast their vote via the phone.

Concerns were raised last week that thousands of people may not be able to exercise their right to vote on polling day due to Covid isolation rules.

It prompted calls for parliament to be urgently recalled to resolve the matter however Premier Steven Marshall at the time resisted the requests, saying there was not enough time to pass legislation before the government entered caretaker mode ahead of the election.

In his letter to the Premier, Mr Cregan urged Mr Marshall to bring parliament back, saying Covid rules “may disenfranchise many South Australians”.

Premier Stephen Marshall talks to speaker Dan Cregan during parliament question time. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Brenton Edwards

“…Many South Australians are deeply concerned that they will be unable to vote because, on polling day, they may be subject to a direction to isolate under the Emergency Management Act,” he wrote.

Mr Cregan stressed the matter could not be resolved through the use of emergency powers and the only appropriate forum to deal with issue was parliament.

As such, he said a majority of lower house MPs – 25 of them – would assemble in the House of Assembly at 10.30am on Wednesday “so as to be available to consider any Bill as may have passed the Legislative Council relating to these matters”.

Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas said a majority of lower house members were ready to pass the legislation.

“Nothing is more sacrosanct in our democracy than every last eligible Australian having the ability to vote, to have a say on the future of their country, of their state,” he said.

“But at this election that potentially will be compromised because laws aren’t in place to facilitate phone voting for those people that are in isolation or are Covid-positive.”

The upper house late in November last year passed the Bill, with amendments. It now needs to be approved by the lower house for it to become law.

The Legislative Council is sitting this week, from Tuesday afternoon.

A government spokesman said new legislation was not the answer as the State Coordinator already held the powers required to implement phone polling.

“The constraint is it would not be feasible to have the proper IT systems in place for the March election,” he said.

Mr Marshall said on Tuesday that MPs had “run out of time” to get phone voting up and running.

“Going back to parliament tomorrow will not allow phone voting. That’s something that should have been decided last year,” he said.

“The Covid-Ready Committee has been looking at a large number of options.

“I think we’ll have a solution in the coming days.”

Incumbent Upper House president John Dawkins. Picture: File

Meanwhile, a new deputy Upper House president will be elected when state parliament’s Legislative Council resumes for the first time in 2022 on Tuesday.

Incumbent president John Dawkins has been forced into seven days’ home isolation after being identified as a close contact of a Covid-positive case.

This means he will miss his final sitting week before he retires at the March state election after 25 years in parliament.

There is no deputy president so the MLCs will need to elect one to oversee the remainder of the sitting week.

It is understood it is the first time since 1993 that such an situation has occurred.

If only one person is nominated, they will automatically assume the chair, however if there are multiple candidates, a secret ballot will determine the winner.

Mr Dawkins told The Advertiser on Monday afternoon that he was isolating at his Hayborough home and was yet to receive his Covid test results.

“It is disappointing (to miss my last sitting week) but it’s no one’s fault and that’s the way of the world,” he said.

“There’s far more people going through greater disappointments than that in the world.”

Mr Dawkins sparked controversy in September 2020 when, as a long-time member of the Liberal Party, he broke ranks to run for the role of President against the party’s pick, Jing Lee.

He was subsequently temporarily suspended from the party and has been an independent president since.

The presidency became vacant after former president Terry Stephens resigned from the position in the wake of the country members allowance scandal.