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The Greens and Democrats have so far blocked attempts by the Commonwealth Government to seek an exemption which would have allowed debate of the Electoral Act Amendment containing a clause to remove prisoner voting rights.
With the long-awaited support of the ALP, the issue then became hung and would have been yet another issue left for Harradine to decide. Only the battle was won, as the debate was simply deferred to a future sitting.
The proposed ban on prisoner's voting rights is likely to be contrary to Australia's obligations under the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1991 Article 25(b) and the United Nations Universal Declaration on Human Rights 1948 Article 21(1) - only recently re-signed by the Howard Government.
Senator Bob Brown has called the legislation racially discriminatory. Indigenous Australians are vastly over-represented in prisons. With incarceration rates some 20 times higher for Aboriginal Australians that of the general population, it's clear who will suffer most from this legislation.
The Coalition first flagged their intentions to remove voting rights for all prisoners in a 1996 Federal parliamentary committee report. The ALP members issued a dissenting reporting stating "Currently persons serving prison sentences of five years or longer have no enrolment or voting entitlement. This is a reasonable balance between conflicting concepts". They went on to sharply criticise the Coalition proposal to remove all prisoners voting rights. The Democrats made no recommendation either way. The Greens were not represented on the committee. The Federal Government has confirmed their intention to debate the issue when parliament next resumes.
Chairman of the Standing Committee of Electoral Matters, Gary Nairn, says the feeling of the Committee is if people have offended the community to the point where they lose their freedom, they should also lose their right to vote. At the same time that the Coalition government is attempting to place a blanket ban on prisoner's voting rights, the Queensland Opposition is considering a private member's bill of their own. In Queensland, while Independent Wellington may support the Beattie government, on confidence votes, he is expected to side with the rabid elements on law and order issues.
The Commonwealth Coalition efforts to repeal prisoner voting rights will receive a big boost if the new Queensland government sets this precedent.
*Prisoners Legal Service in Queensland are campaigning around this issue and need national support. They can be contacted at: pls@lrvnet.org.au tel 07 3846 3384, fax 07 3844 2703.
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