Roadside corflutes look set to remain a part of ACT election campaigns, after the territory government said an outright ban on the political advertisements may fall foul of the Australian constitution.
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A tripartisan committee inquiry into the 2020 ACT election recommended the roadside bans be banned in the lead up to a poll, but the ACT government said the implied right to freedom of political communication in the Australian constitution could make a ban unconstitutional.
"Specifically, we acknowledge that roadside electoral advertising on public land provides a low-cost and accessible form of electoral advertising available to a broad range of candidates," the government's response to the report from the standing committee on justice and community safety said.
"The government will undertake further work to consider the extent of remaining environmental and road safety issues and what further restrictions are appropriate and adapted to address them before bringing forward any legislative reform with due consideration of the implied freedom of political communication."
Meanwhile, the standing committee on justice and community safety will hold an inquiry into a bill introduced by the Greens that would lower the voting age in the ACT to 16.
The ACT Greens spokesman on democracy, Andrew Braddock, said a deep and genuine conversation was a vital part of the process to extend voting rights to younger Canberrans.
"As a co-sponsor of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, I hope the ACT will once again be leading the country by creating a healthier, more robust democracy that includes young people," Mr Braddock said.
"The ACT Greens believe in empowering the next generation to be involved in the decisions that impact them, which is why this inquiry is an important part of the process to partake in."
The standing committee will report on the proposal in March 2022.
The standing committee's inquiry into the 2020 ACT election recommended the voting age stay at 18, which the government noted.
"While there was significant consideration by the standing committee of the option to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to enrol and vote on a voluntary basis, the government believes further exploration of lowering the voting age within the context of compulsory voting is required," the government said in its response.
The government also noted recommendations to limit public funding to the amount a party or candidate spent during the campaign and ban donations larger than $10,000.
"The government notes that the purpose of the public funding scheme is to support parties and candidates in communicating messages on their policies to the community. It should not necessarily provide individuals with an opportunity to gain profit," the government said.
"Further consideration and analysis is required on the implications of this recommendation."
The government said there was a need to further consider the feasibility of donation caps following recent constitutional case law and precedent.
"The government also notes that donation caps can potentially fail to differentiate between collective action by a community group and individual action by a wealthy individual. As such, there is a risk that donation caps restrict the ability of community organisations to participate in the electoral process, while favouring the capacity of wealthy individuals to do so," the government said.
The inquiry also recommended the government consider a ban on political donations from tobacco, liquor and gambling entities and investigate laws to ban foreign donations. The government agreed to explore laws to ban foreign donations and agreed in principle to a ban on tobacco, liquor and gambling entity donations.
"The government has implemented legislative changes to ban political donations from property developers and will continue to consider banning political donations from other sources as necessary," the government said.
The government knocked back a recommendation to ban campaigning on election day, in line with rules in place in Tasmania, and did not agree with a recommendation to re-establish a ban on third-party campaigners.
"The government believes election day provides a valuable opportunity for political parties to communicate their platforms and policies to assist eligible voters to make an informed decision," the government said.
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The government said it did not support reinstating a ban on third-party campaigners during election campaigns.
"The government recognises and supports active participation and engagement of the community in the electoral process. Third-party advertising by community groups whose ideological views align with certain candidates and policies is a legitimate component of this process," the government said.
The ACT government agreed early voting should be made available for anyone during an election period but disagreed with a recommendation to only provide one early voting centre in each of the ACT's five electorates.
The government also agreed-in-principle to an assessment of online voting for electors overseas at the time of the territory's election, and preventing parties from running more candidates than seats available in any given electorate.
Special Minister of State Chris Steel will table the government's response to the 2020 election inquiry in the Legislative Assembly in February.
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