PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

3.25 p.m.

The Minister for Law and National Development (Mr E. W. Barker): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

The amendments contained in this Bill are mainly designed to simplify the method and procedure for the revision of the registers of electors so as to facilitate the process of revision and enable revised registers to be prepared within a much shorter time than is at present possible. It has been found that the present method and procedure of revising the registers of electors causes unnecessary delay because of the requirement laid down by section 16 of the Parliamentary Elections Act that, apart from the revised registers, two additional lists referred to as "List A" (dealing with deletions from the registers) and "List B" (dealing with additions to the registers) must also be prepared. The preparation of both these Lists takes time but serves very little purpose as they are hardly known to the public, most of whom are merely interested in finding out whether their names are in the revised registers or not. Clause 10 of the Bill, therefore, dispenses with this requirement.

It has also been found that the existing section 15 of the Act is unduly rigid as it imposes a mandatory requirement to revise the registers of electors every year even though there may not be any real need for such revision. Clause 9 of the Bill, therefore, seeks to amend section 15 so as to introduce greater flexibility by empowering the Minister to require the registers of electors to be revised from time to time but in any case not less than three years after the last general election.

As a result of the shorter time that will be needed in preparing revised registers of electors, the cut-off date for the inclusion of names in the registers can be extended from 1st February at present to 1st July in any year in respect of which registers are prepared. Clause 2 of the Bill, which amends section 5 of the Act, seeks to do this.

In the past it has also been the practice to amend section 10 of the Act whenever fresh registers of electors (as distinct from revised registers) are required to be prepared for a general election. This method is somewhat unsatisfactory and cumbersome, and clause 3 of the Bill now simply provides that, whenever a notification is made under section 8 of the Act to specify the names and boundaries of the electoral divisions for purposes of a general election, the Registration Officer will prepare fresh registers of electors for that year.

The Bill contains one other important amendment which seeks to increase the amount required to be deposited by a candidate for election from $500 to $1,200. The amendment, which is contained in clause 14, will also empower the Minister to vary the amount of deposit up to a maximum of 10 per cent of the total allowances payable to a Member of Parliament in each year. This amendment is necessary because the present amount of deposit was fixed as long ago as 1954 and is therefore somewhat unrealistic by present day standards.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. -[Mr Barker].

Bill considered in Committee.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Clauses 1 to 14 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 15 -

The Chairman: There is a correction to be made:

In page 6 (Form 3), to insert line 14 below line 15.

This will be done.

Clause 15 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Bill reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.