Northern Territory Second Reading Speeches

[Index] [Search] [Bill] [Help]

LOCAL GOVERNMENT LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL 2015

The Local Government Act and the Local Government (Electoral) Regulations establish the legislative framework for local government in the Northern Territory including the system for the election of local government council members. The majority of the amendments in this bill relate to the local government electoral regime. The bill also transfers jurisdiction to hear and determine matters under the legislation from the Local Government Tribunal to the new Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal. This bill is another example of how this government is continually listening to the people and working to improve the framework for local government in the Northern Territory.

The majority of this bill implements recommendations from the Northern Territory Electoral Commission’s 2012 NT Council Elections Report. It also addresses proposals from councils identified during consultation which aim to improve the scheme of local government elections. The amendments will make efficiencies, improve the administration of elections, increase voter participation and provide options to reduce the costs incurred by councils when conducting elections.

The most recent general elections for local government were held on 24 March 2012. Those elections were the first to be conducted for all councils in the Northern Territory on the same date under the current legislation. The Electoral Commissioner was appointed as the returning officer by all councils. There were 156 vacancies. Of 64 possible elections, 40 were contested. A total number of 237 candidates stood for election.

After those elections the Northern Territory Electoral Commission produced the 2012 Northern Territory Council Elections Report. The report examines and records the arrangements and processes used by the councils and the commission. It contained various recommendations aimed at improving practices and procedures for future elections. On 4 December 2013 the report was tabled by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, and on 19 December 2013 the then minister for Local Government and Regions directed my department to consult with the local government sector on the recommendations made in the report.

Submissions were received from councils and the Local Government Association of the Northern Territory. A committee of representatives from my department, the Electoral Commission and LGANT considered the various submissions and other proposals which arose during consultation. The Electoral Commission proffered various ways in which the preparation, administration and conduct of elections could be announced in reducing costs and streamlining practices and procedures.

I extend my thanks to the Electoral Commissioner for the time and effort that has been put into the report and into discussing the proposed reforms. Whilst some measures will be implemented simply through the altering of the organisational and administrative practices and procedures over time, other changes can only be effected by the amendments contained in the bill.

During the months of November and December 2014, officers from my department visited every council at meetings across the Territory to explain and discuss the changes that are contained in this bill, which I will now set out in detail.

Firstly, the date of the next general elections for local government will be moved to the last Saturday in August 2017. Subsequent elections will be held every four years after that. This is a change from the current scheduled date in March 2016.

The change of date was recommended by the Electoral Commissioner because there could be three major elections due to be held in 2016. These would be the local government general elections, the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly election and a likely Commonwealth government election. The national census will also be held in 2016. Given all these factors, it is preferable that the local government elections be held in a different year.

Apart from changing the year, consideration was given as to whether March was an appropriate month for local government elections. Councils submitted that holding elections in March posed problems. Firstly, when elections were held in March new council members did not have sufficient experience or familiarity with council matters to competently frame a budget for the ensuing financial year.

Secondly, because of the frequent public holidays in March and April there has, in the past, been difficulty in satisfying the requirement to hold the first council meeting within 14 days of an election. Thirdly, disruptive weather in March can hinder polling and reduce voter turn-out, particularly, for regional councils in the Top End. I am advised that the average rainfall in March, for Darwin, is 390 ml, however, it is only 5 ml in August. We are all aware of the havoc of the wet season.

Finally, the current system, where the polling day is unknown until fixed by the minister, has made planning difficult for the Electoral Commission and a set date will give certainty for planning purposes.

The new date, the fourth Saturday in August every four years, commencing in 2017, will ensure there is adequate time and resources to be allocated to both local government and Legislative Assembly elections. It will ensure that new council members have time to acquaint themselves with financial matters well before they are required to set a budget. There will be a better chance of fine weather, accessibility to polling stations and planning will be more certain. Thus, the amendments proposed by this bill will result in the next local government general elections being held on 26 August 2017. Sitting council members and their terms of office will continue until the new election date.

The bill also seeks to extend the period during which casual vacancies may be filled by appointment rather than holding a by-election. The time period will extend from 12 months to 18 months before a general election. A by-election generally occurs where a casual vacancy has arisen due to an elected council member ceasing to be a member prior to the expiry of their term of office.

Councils, particularly those in the regions, have identified that the frequency of casual vacancies requiring by-elections has placed significant strain on their resources. Currently, if a casual vacancy arises within 12 months of the next general election, a council does not hold a by-election. Instead, councils are permitted to leave the position vacant or appoint a person to the vacant office until the next general election.

The legislation does not stipulate how councils choose a person to appoint to a vacancy, but in the past councils have used various means. Some choose to appoint the person who came in second during the previous elections and others have put out an expression of interest requesting potential candidates to state why they want to join the council.

Extending the time period during which vacancies may be filled by appointment to 18 months was presented by the Electoral Commission as an option to reduce costs. This option was supported by LGANT and most councils. The measure aims to achieve a balance between reducing the frequency of by-elections as a mechanism for filling casual vacancies, and ensuring appointments are made in sufficient proximity to general elections so as not to corrupt the democratic process. The changes in this bill will mean during the current term, members’ appointments - instead of by-elections - will be available on 27 February 2016.

In the future, councils will have the flexibility to choose to conduct by-elections themselves or choose an electoral service provider other than the Electoral Commission. Alternatively, councils may still engage the Electoral Commission to conduct by-elections. Currently, the responsibility to prepare for and conduct local government general elections and by-elections rests solely with the Electoral Commission.

Prior to 1 May 2012, councils were permitted to appoint the returning officer who was responsible for elections. As mentioned, councils have identified that the frequency of casual vacancies resulting in by-elections has placed significant strain on resources. During consultation, councils wanted the ability to run their own by-elections which engage a private electoral service provider. Giving councils flexibility to conduct by-elections themselves, or to select the most appropriate electorate service provider, may result in more competitive pricing and lower costs associated with by-elections.

LGANT is playing an increasing role in assisting councils to comply with obligations under the local government legislation. Part of LGANT’s increased functions and responsibilities will include assisting councils to find and select a service provider for by-elections. LGANT will also produce a manual on how to run by-elections. Under the new system, the default position will be that the Electoral Commissioner will be responsible for by-elections, unless the council appoints another person as a returning officer. Once a vacancy occurs, if a council wishes to use a provider other than the Electoral Commission, the council must appoint another person as returning officer and have a service agreement in place within two months of the vacancy. If this does not occur, the Electoral Commission will run the by-election.

The option for a council to run its own election, or to use an alternative service provider, only applies to by-elections. The Electoral Commissioner will be the returning officer for general elections. I am pleased the bill will be introducing a completely new way in which Territorians will be able to vote in an election in the Territory. These amendments will allow municipal councils to reduce to conduct by-elections, by means of postal voting alone. If a municipal council decides that a by-election is to be held by postal voting only, the council will need to have a willing electoral service provider, and the decision must be made and agreements in place within two months of a relevant vacancy.

The municipal sector is supportive of councils being provided with the choice to conduct by-elections by way of postal votes only. Municipal councils believe that full postal voting by-elections will reduce the cost of by-elections, as well as enhance the democratic process by ensuring greater voter participation.

There is a sound theory behind full postal voting. South Australia and Tasmania have already adopted a model for local government elections to be held by means of postal voting only. Furthermore, Victoria currently allows each council to choose its preferred method before each election. There are indications that Victoria is considering a transition to mandatory full postal voting for all councils in future. I hope the Northern Territory government currently uses postal voting services provided by the Electoral Commission in enterprise bargaining negotiations.

Full postal voting is not considered appropriate for non-municipal councils which do not have the infrastructure or postal services required to conduct the elections on this basis. Allowing the municipal councils to conduct by-elections by post, however, would provide the opportunity to test the system and allow councils and the public to evaluate the risks and benefits. This will inform the feasibility of full postal voting into the future.

I will now address the change that will provide municipal councils with the option to choose to fill their officer principal member by way of appointment or election. Elected council members fall into two distinct categories; namely ordinary members and principal members. Principal members are usually known by the title of mayor or president. Principal member responsibilities include chairing council meetings, being council’s principal representative and carrying out other ceremonial functions. Currently, the method for filling the office of the principal member is dependent on whether the relevant council is a municipal council.

Councils other than municipal councils have been able to choose whether to appoint a member to be the principal member or to allow the electorate to elect the principal member. Municipal councils have not had this option. Up until now, the principal member of the municipality must be elected to office. A number of municipal councillors have expressed a preference for the ability to decide on the same bases as other councils the manner in which principal members are installed. The amendments being introduced today will make this possible.

I now move to the change provided by this bill which limits absentee voting on polling day to designated polling places. In certain circumstances, voters are permitted to cast votes in locations outside the council area or ward in which they are enrolled. This is known as absentee vote. The provision of absentee voting services of local government elections is currently consistent with practices for Commonwealth and Territory government elections. This means that an absentee vote may be accepted at any polling place.

As local government elections involve such a large number of polling places, making absentee votes possible at every single polling place is very expensive. The Electoral Commission identified that the number of absentee votes that were cast on polling day in the general elections in 2012 was only 5740. Despite the low number of absentee votes, the Electoral Commission was required to print an additional 350 000 ballot papers to accommodate possible absentee voting at all polling places. This resulted in the Electoral Commission and, ultimately, councils incurring unnecessary costs. Furthermore, absentee voting service places significant strain on staff and administration on polling day.

To reduce unnecessary costs and simplify the administration of elections, the amendments will allow the returning officer to decide which polling places will offer absentee voting services. This was one of the recommendations in the Electoral Commission’s 2012 NT Council Elections report. Returning officers will be able to decide on the appropriate absentee voting centres after taking into account geographic and demographic factors. Returning officers will be required to advertise where absentee voting centres will be located.

This amendment will allow absentee voting to continue into the future, but at targeted locations. People wishing to cast absentee votes will need to attend the advertised polling places to do so. Of course, there will still be other options such as early and postal voting available.
Another change brought in by this bill will be a slight change to the deadline by which postal votes must be received. It will change from 6 pm on the sixth day after polling day to 12 noon on the same day. One of the reasons for imposing a time limit within which postal votes must be received is to ensure that the count and the determination of elected candidates occur within a reasonable time frame. The report of the Electoral Commission highlighted some avoidable administrative issues that arose during the 2012 election in relation to the 6 pm deadline. This included the need for vote counters and scrutineers to commence counting outside normal working hours adding to the cost of the election without significant benefit.

Furthermore, the 6 pm deadline has previously led to delayed declarations and announcements of elected candidates at an unreasonably late hour as a full distribution of preferences for all polls may take some time. Changing the deadline by which postal votes must be received into the count to 12 noon on the sixth day after polling day will address these administrative issues and reduce the cost incurred by councils without impacting the outcome of elections.

Where the commissioner has been appointed returning officer for a by-election the commissioner will be able to determine appropriate polling hours for polling places. Currently polling hours must be between 8 am and 6 pm on polling day for general elections and by-elections. However, for a number of by-elections in remote areas with low voter numbers this requirement has proved to be an administrative burden and unnecessary cost.

It was recommended the commissioner be given the ability to determine the hours for polling places in by-elections. The Electoral Commissioner advises that the hours will be set according to an analysis of expected voter turnout, the number of postal and early vote applications received and other relevant practice such as past experience.

While the amendments give this discretion to the Electoral Commissioner, who has particular expertise in the administration of elections and special circumstances of the Territory, it will not be given to other returning officers.

A direct result of being able to set more appropriate polling hours will be that the results for a by-election may be declared earlier and councils will be able to save on operational costs on polling day.

The next amendments I wish to discuss allow the amalgamation of ballots in single member vacancy counts. This is a technical and administrative change which will not affect the outcome of vote counting.

For Northern Territory local government elections, the single transferable proportional vote counting method is used to determine all vacancies regardless of their number. That is, whether a council area or ward has one or multiple vacancies which are to be filled, the counting methodology set out in the regulations must be strictly applied. Under the current system of counting all ballot paper transfers are done separately.

These transfers include ballot papers in excess of a quota from an elected candidate. They also include transfers from candidates who have been excluded from the count as they have the lowest number of votes. The transfer value of these ballot papers may vary from a first preference vote that has a transfer value of one to a ballot paper in excess of a quota being considerably less than one.

This currently prescribed a method of transferring votes and preferences from excluded candidates is a critical element in the single transferrable proportional vote counting method that must be retained for multi-member elections.

In single member vacancies, however, once the candidate achieves the quota, the candidate is elected and there is no transfer of votes above the quota to other candidates at a lesser value than one. The only exclusions are of candidates with the lowest number of votes and these will always have a transfer value of one. As the transferred votes will always have a transfer value of one, the ability to allow the amalgamation of votes being transferred in single member vacancies will be more efficient.

It will considerably shorten the period of time required to determine the result of an election. This particularly applies in cases where there are large numbers of ballot papers or a large number of candidates. Importantly, this will have no effect on the result. By way of example, in 2002 a by-election for a principal member of a municipal council involved 16 candidates and nearly 29 000 formal ballot papers.

Under the current system, there would have been an excess of 1 300 transfers to achieve a result. This compares with 14 transfers that will be required under the new process where the amalgamation of votes will be allowed. I am pleased these amendments will simplify the vote counting process for single member vacancies.

The next amendment I wish to speak about extends the availability of postal voting and early voting services to all electors. Voters are currently allowed to apply to submit an early vote or postal vote only if they meet certain eligibility requirements. These requirements reflect the old electoral policy that votes should be cast at polling places on polling day. In the past, postal and early voting services have been restricted to exceptional cases where voters are unable to vote in the usual way.

The risks in involved in collecting, securing and counting postal and early votes has been significantly reduced through stronger legislative provisions and better administrative practises in recent elections. This is evidenced by the dramatic increase in electors applying for and casting postal and early votes in the Northern Territory, State and Commonwealth elections.

The benefits of providing electors with the option to cast early, postal or polling booth votes are many. They include reducing polling day costs and increasing voter turnout by providing more convenient voting methods. Indeed, the Australian Electoral Commission already adopts a liberal interpretation of the eligibility criteria for early voting and allows voters to vote early without requesting a reason, either in person or by post. I am sure this amendment will be popular as it will allow any elector to vote at an early voting centre or by post, after applying to do so.

The final amendments I wish to address are those concerning transfer of the jurisdiction of the local government tribunal. These amendments are not related solely to the electoral regime. The Local Government Act currently provides for the existence and operation of the Local Government Tribunal. The tribunal has jurisdiction to hear various matters, including those relating to eligibility for council membership, conflicts of interest, electoral disputes and appeals against disciplinary committee decisions.

Consistent with government’s intention to cut red tape and create a one stop shop for single and administrative appeals, these amendments will abolish the Local Government Tribunal and transfer the jurisdiction to hear matters under The Local Government Act to the recently established Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

I also bring to your attention, amendments to the Darwin Waterfront Corporation Act. That act is administered by the Department of Lands, Planning and the Environment and currently allows appeals to the Local Government Tribunal. Accordingly, a consequential amendment to The Darwin Waterfront Corporation Act has been made so the Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal will have the jurisdiction to hear matters arising under that act.

The majority of this bill contains electoral amendments to improve the electoral framework for local government in the Northern Territory. I am pleased to have the Local Government portfolio and that I can introduce this legislation for the benefit of the sector and all Territorians. I commend the bill to honourable members and I table the explanatory statement to accompany the bill.

 

[Index] [Search] [Bill] [Help]