The Federal Government is proposing changes to voting laws that will mean photo identification must be shown before you are allowed to vote.
Congress is strongly opposed to this proposal. The change is unnecessary, and will only add a barrier making it harder for people to vote and therefore have their needs represented in parliament. This will be especially true for some Aboriginal people, vulnerable people and those living rough.
What’s more, is that this proposed change of law is making out that the issue of voting fraud (i.e. people voting multiple times) is real problem, but this is simply not true. The rate of voter fraud at the last federal election in 2019 was only 0.03%.
In a recent ABC interview, Labor’s Warren Snowdon, who represents Lingiari here in the Northern Territory said of the proposal “It’s racist, it’s discriminatory, and it’s all about suppression,” and called it “a farce, an absolute assault on our democracy.“
If you also believe that these barriers to people having their say at election time are out of line, you can make a difference really easily. Senator Jacqui Lambie has an important vote in this issue and has asked the community what we think. You can tell her on her website.
You can also send an email to Senator Rex Patrick (Senator.Patrick@aph.gov.au) and Senator Stirling Griff (Senator.Griff@aph.gov.au) who are cross-bench Senators that, along with Senator Lambie, will be key to this vote. Just do it fast, as the vote in parliament is coming up soon.
You can read the letter Congress sent to these Senators for inspiration.
