Electoral (Administration) Amendment Bill (No 2)

I intend to take only a very, very brief call on the Electoral (Administration) Amendment Bill (No 2)—

💬 Paul Quinn: You’ve said that before.

—but the more Paul Quinn interjects, the longer it will be. My contribution will be brief. I welcome the introduction of electronic voter enrolment. It is particularly relevant for younger enrolees and prospective voters. It is of huge concern to me that younger people under the age of 25 dominate the list of people who are eligible to enrol to vote but do not. I hope that allowing electronic voter enrolment will certainly go some way to addressing that.

I hope that in the next Parliament and the near future we will have a debate about whether electronic voting should be allowed in this country, because I think that would potentially also encourage more young people to vote. I know that will be a source of significant debate. I hope it is one we can address in the next Parliament, not this one. I think it should be addressed.

Overall, it is a good bill, and Labour will be supporting it.

I just want to make it clear that I totally endorse the comments of Chris Hipkins.

Some members think electoral law makes one’s eyes glaze over, but of course it is of fundamental importance and constitutional significance. I think—as Carol Beaumont, an authority on constitutional matters, said yesterday in the House on the Electoral (Administration) Amendment Bill (No 2)—that there is really nothing at all controversial about this bill. That is a testament to what this Government has done in this area. We have taken much of the heat and controversy out of electoral law matters.

This bill is the final stage of two stages of reform to amalgamate electoral agencies. It is a good measure, without controversy, and I commend it to the House.

Bill read a third time.