Arnhem Land leaders lodge complaint against Australian Electoral Commission for ‘voter suppression’

A complaint has been lodged with the Australian Human Rights Commission alleging the AEC has suppressed votes by indirectly discriminating against remote Australians.

TWO Indigenous men from Arnhem Land have lodged a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission alleging the Australian Electoral Commission has suppressed votes by indirectly discriminating against people in remote Australian communities.

Matthew Ryan, the mayor of West Arnhem Regional Council, and Ross Mandi, the chairman of Yalu Aboriginal Corporation in Galiwinku, made the complaint alleging that an amendment made by the AEC in 2012 requiring voters to list a postal address was discriminatory.

“All forms of discrimination must stop,” Mr Ryan said.

“The AEC needs to take rapid action to enrol the third of Indigenous people in the NT who are not able to vote.”

Mr Mandi claimed the AEC is not doing its job properly.

“I’ve worked on elections for years,” he said.

“There’s always people turning up who are not able to vote.

“If the AEC did its job properly, this could stop right now.”

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A spokesman for the AEC said it would be inappropriate to comment on specifics of the complaint, but said “electoral participation is of vital importance”.

“ … the enrolment and engagement of Indigenous Australians in the electoral process has long been a key focus area for the AEC,” the spokesman said.

“It is incredibly important.

“The issue of Indigenous under-enrolment is not new, but rather an enduring challenge.”

Indigenous enrolments in the NT are the lowest across all jurisdictions in Australia, with the enrolment rate estimated at 68.7 per cent. The national average is 78.0 per cent.

The AEC has a direct enrolment program, which seeks to get information from other government agencies when an address is not available.

The electoral commission also has an Indigenous electoral participation program, which aims to encourage greater enrolment and voter turnout.

Several unions, including the Maritime Union of Australia have supported the complaint.

MUA Indigenous officer Thomas Mayor called on the AEC to improve enrolment rates so that all Australians can have their say.

“It is alarming that the AEC has adopted a policy that systematically reduces the voting power of Indigenous people at federal elections – the people who have the direst need to be heard in this country,” he said.

“The AEC must urgently change this discriminatory policy so that Indigenous people are better able to reach a ballot box during elections, and so they are no longer turned away at the ballot box en masse.”

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