Australian Electoral Commission Workshop
| Dr Sev Ozdowski OAM, Acting Disability Discrimination Commissioner Sydney |
 |
Welcome
May I commence by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet today.
Welcome all of you to HREOC and to this workshop run by the Australian Electoral Commission. May I particularly thank Deputy Electoral Commissioner Andy Becker and his staff for making this process available today.
And may I welcome AEC staff and representatives of disability organisations, who will participate in this process.
Secret ballot - important human right
Visiting a polling booth and having a secret ballot are basic human rights
which have been available to us as Australians for over a hundred years.
Sadly, they have not, and are still not, available to all Australians:
a fact of which most Australians would not be aware.
I hope that this workshop is a further step in the process of redressing this serious flaw in our democratic process.
Access to the electoral process has been a focus of HREOC since the early days of the DDA. Elizabeth Hastings, the first Disability Discrimination Commissioner, work with the AEC to develop some access guidelines in the mid 1990s. They were a good start to the process, but access issues have progressed quite a deal since that time.
In 1999 HREOC ran an inquiry into the electoral process, and focussed it on the Australian Electoral Council, the joint body of Federal and State Electoral Commissioners. It would be less than honest to suggest that this inquiry was one of our glowing successes. Whilst individual members of the council, including the AEC, took some issues forward, the council as a whole did not seriously engage with the process - little progress was made.
Role of AEC
However, I am more confident that the current actions of the AEC will be more successful. And I hope that those State jurisdictions which are lagging behind will follow a good example.
Why do I think this process will bring greater success? Well, for a number
of reasons.
- Firstly, the AEC have already demonstrated their commitment to the issue with the percentage of poling booths where some level of physical access has been achieved.
- Secondly, the AEC have developed an Action Plan, and an organised approach to taking the issue forward.
- And thirdly, and most importantly, they are engaging in discussions with organisations representing people with disabilities.
In my view, all of these are pointers to success, and I congratulate the AEC for following them.
I will go further, and indicate that HREOC staff will be happy to continue working with you on these processes. In fact, we have already done so by making suggestions for the updating of the AEC's accessibility checklist.
International trends
This is an issue of importance also in other comparable countries.
For example, in 2002 the US President signed into law the Help America Vote Act.
Important provisions in the Act include:
- Requiring at least one voting machine that is accessible to people with disabilities at each polling place;
- Providing funding to replace punch-card and lever voting machines with more user-friendly ones;
- Earmarking $100 million for creating polling place access for voters with disabilities;
- Funding research for new voting technologies; and
- Funding state protection and advocacy systems' work to help individuals register to vote, access polling places, and cast votes.
Another example, in May 2003 a settlement between National Organization on Disability and the City of Philadelphia was reached in relation to accessibility of voting in local elections. The settlement requires that, by January 1, 2006, at least one electronic voting machine in each polling place in Philadelphia will provide for accessibility for persons who are blind or visually impaired to enable them to vote independently and with privacy. The settlement also requires the City to take specific steps, by no later than May 1, 2006, to increase the number of polling places that are accessible to voters with mobility disabilities. These steps may include using portable ramps, relocating polling places to accessible locations, and making temporary modifications to public buildings.
Further, Canadians voting in Local elections next Monday will have the option to vote over the internet or by telephone- not just Canadians with disabilities, but any Canadians who register to do so.
Other democracies against who we would rank ourselves are moving on these issues, and we need to remain part of that movement.
The Productivity Commission draft report
Closer to home, the Productivity Commission in its draft report on the DDA, released two weeks ago, said:
- Standards of physical access and independent assistance at polling places are not uniform. Given the importance of voting, it is inappropriate to rely on individual complaints to improve access.
- The Australian Government should amend the Electoral Act 1918 to ensure polling places are accessible (both physically and in provision of independent assistance) to ensure the right to vote of people with disabilities."
This comment provides excellent leverage for all of us with politicians, who will have to be lobbied to achieve success across all of the areas which are currently not accessible.
Conclusion
I gave you only few examples and I am sure you, as the experts, are aware of many others. So, I shall let you get to work to develop means of addressing these issues through co-operative effort.
I am unable to stay with you throughout the day, but members of the DRU will certainly be participating and advising me of the outcomes.
Thank you.