Democratic rights on the chopping block : Australia's new electoral laws and the High Court

What value democracy when the established parties exclude others from contesting elections? What worth is the right to vote when the political establishment determines whom the voters can choose between? How healthy is democracy when the right to vote is stripped from hundreds of thousands of citizens, particularly those most likely to be poor, young and working class? These are just some of the questions raised by the cynically titled Electoral and Referendum Amendment (Electoral Integrity and Other Measures) Act 2006 (Cwlth). Literally behind the backs of the Australian population - with virtually no mention in the mass media or serious opposition in parliament - the Howard Government introduced sweeping electoral laws that aim to prevent or handicap ballot challenges to the mainstream political parties. The legislation automatically de-registers all non-parliamentary parties and blocks the registration of new ones, while systematically disenfranchising many thousands of ordinary voters. At the same time, it shields the rich and powerful from scrutiny as they dominate the finances and dictate the policies of the major parliamentary parties. The new laws were pushed through in June 2006 with little publicity, public discussion or debate. In one fell swoop, they will remove twenty parties from the official register. All parties not currently represented in parliament will be automatically de-registered at the end of this year, six months after the legislation commenced¹. The only exemption will be for parties, such as the right-wing One Nation and the anti-communist Democratic Labor Party, that have previously had representation in federal parliament. In the meantime, the register has been frozen, stopping any new registrations before January 2007².