The Torres Cape Indigenous Council Alliance writes to PM over voter ID concerns
The Torres Cape Indigenous Council Alliance has written to the Prime Minister expressing their serious concerns about proposed voter ID laws.
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THE Torres Cape Indigenous Council Alliance has written to Prime Minister Scott Morrison expressing its serious concerns about the proposed voter ID laws.
The federal government has proposed to change voting laws so people will have to show photo identification before they can cast their ballot.
TCICA chairman and Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire Council Mayor Robbie Sands said in the letter that the proposed legislation would discriminate against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in remote communities in the Cape York, Torres Strait and Gulf region.
“Issues such as severely overcrowded housing, population transience, the lack of access to government services, and traditional adoption practices all compound the ability of First Nations peoples to obtain and/or retain identification,” he said.
“Even meeting the requirements for getting a driver’s licence is a major hurdle for some, taking many months to meet the identification requirements.”
“In scrutinising this proposed legislation, you would be aware that the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights found the law would have a disproportionate impact on First Nations peoples.”
Mr Sands said there was no evidence to suggest the proposed legislation was needed.
“If you and your government are serious about Closing the Gap for First Nations Australians, we ask that you stop this legislation from progressing any further,” he said.
“To not do so could be read as an outright display of discrimination against vulnerable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.”
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships Minister Craig Crawford said the proposed voter ID law was discriminatory and an attack on democracy.
“I am concerned about elderly and young voters, people in remote rural regions, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with a disability, immigrants and the homeless,” he said.
“The federal government seems to have forgotten these Australians.”
Mr Crawford said the government was more focused on denying Australians the right to vote than driving the nation’s Covid recovery.
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Originally published as The Torres Cape Indigenous Council Alliance writes to PM over voter ID concerns
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