Electoral commissioner’s warning over new laws

The Electoral Commission of Queensland has warned its independence could be threatened from new laws introduced by the Premier that could undermine public confidence in their perceived ability to conduct free and fair elections.

The flagged changes are contained in an extensive piece of legislation introduced to parliament last month by Annastacia Palaszczuk. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

The Electoral Commission of Queensland has warned its independence could be threatened from new laws introduced by the Premier that would subject the election watchdog to reviews ordered by ministers.

Electoral Commissioner Pat Vidgen has claimed the proposed changes could result in a “chilling effect” on the ECQ, and undermine public confidence in their perceived ability to conduct free and fair elections.

The flagged changes are contained in an extensive piece of legislation introduced to parliament last month by Annastacia Palaszczuk as part of a major push to modernise public sector laws.

The laws will allow a minister to request a “reviewing entity”, such as a special commissioner, to conduct “public sector reviews” into state government entities.

The reviewing entity would have the power to access official documents, to enter official public sector premises, and to interview public sector employees.

Queensland Electoral Commissioner Pat Vidgen. Picture: Cameron Bates

Core integrity bodies, such as the Crime and Corruption Commission and the Audit Office, are excluded under the laws from being subject to such reviews – but the ECQ is not.

In his submission to the parliamentary committee examining the proposed laws, Mr Vidgen called for a rethink of the legislation to ensure the ECQ was treated like the other integrity bodies.

“The ECQ supports and welcomes appropriate external scrutiny of its operations, and notes that provisions for administrative reviews currently exist under the Public Service Act 2008,” Mr Vidgen wrote.

“However, the review powers under the Bill are significantly more intrusive than current provisions.

“And, in certain circumstances, granting powers to the Minister or the Public Sector Governance Council to commence a public sector review of the ECQ could present a real or perceived threat to the ECQ’s independence.”

Mr Vidgen warned that an inappropriately timed public sector review could lead to a “chilling effect” on the ECQ’s ability to carry out its compliance duties, or even undermine public confidence in “the ECQ’s perceived ability to conduct free and fair elections”.

“The ECQ must also conduct audits of political party preselection ballots for state elections,” he wrote.

“This involves the collection and detailed examination of sensitive documents regarding the political activities of ordinary Queenslanders, as well as elected representatives and other candidates.

“Given the sensitivity of these audits, there must be confidence they are conducted with independence and impartiality.”

A spokesman for the Premier pointed out that the legislation was still before the parliamentary committee, and that all submissions would be considered as part of that process.

Opposition legal affairs spokesman Tim Nicholls at Parliament House in Brisbane. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Opposition legal affairs spokesman Tim Nicholls said the proposed powers to initiate a review of the electoral watchdog could provide a risk to Queensland’s ability to hold “free and fair” elections.

“One of the great fears, of course, is that under the proposed provisions, government officers – bureaucrats – will be able to walk into the Electoral Commission of Queensland and demand the production of sensitive and confidential records and documents,” he told reporters on Monday.

“Documents about fundraisers; documents about donors; documents about pre-selection processes; who the candidates were for pre-selection; what the votes were of those pre-selections – that all has to be recorded and held by the ECQ.

“To have any government have the right to be able to walk in and demand production of those documents is what Mr. Vidgen was telling the committee about and what his submission was about in relation to having a chilling effect on democracy in Queensland.”

LNP integrity in government spokeswoman Fiona Simpson insisted the independence and the impartiality of the ECQ was critical.