Proposed ACT electoral laws could have a 'chilling effect' on participation

Plans to lower the real-time donation threshold to $100 have been rebuffed by a tripartisan Legislative Assembly committee.

The committee has agreed with concerns from the territory's three major political parties that the laws could lead to parties publishing their full membership lists.

The Assembly's standing committee on justice and community safety has published its report into the ACT government's Electoral and Road Safety Amendment Bill, which was introduced in June.

The bill has also proposed to ban foreign political donations in the ACT and allow voters to permanently case their ballots two weeks before polling day.

Candidates running for seats in the Legislative Assembly will also be limited to 250 corflutes and campaigners will be banned from erecting the signs on high-speed arterial roads.

The committee handed down 15 recommendations including that the government comprehensively address the risks associated with online voting systems.

The inquiry heard from three experts who said elections in the ACT are at risk of foreign interference and corruption because they heavily rely on an electronic system which cannot verify votes have been accurately recorded.

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"The committee is concerned that technology standards, both in the ACT and abroad, are insufficiently mature to comprehensively manage the risks associated with operating an online voting system," the report said.

The government's bill proposed lowering the real-time donation threshold from $1000 to $100. ACT Labor, the ACT Greens and the Canberra Liberals all expressed concern about lowering the real-time donation reporting threshold.

ACT Labor secretary Ash van Dijk told the inquiry in a submission the change "may require ACT Labor to publish the details of a majority of ACT Labor members, as the general membership fee of ACT Labor exceeds $100 annually".

The ACT Greens said the lower reporting threshold for all receipts would "transform the annual reporting into a readout of party memberships".

Canberra Liberals director Kieran Douglas told the inquiry the proposed change to donation reporting was well-intentioned but could undermine public confidence in political party transparency by creating more opportunity unintentional breaches.

The ACT Electoral Commission was also concerned at the proposal, saying it would require more staff and resources to administer.

The committee agreed with the commission and their respective parties.

"The committee is also concerned that a lower threshold may lead to an effective requirement to publish party membership lists, which would likely have a chilling effect on political participation in the ACT," the report said.

The committee comprises the Liberals' Peter Cain, Labor's Marisa Paterson and Greens' Andrew Braddock.

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