Adams AmyELECTORAL AMENDMENT BILLFirst ReadingHon AMY ADAMS (Minister of Justice): I move That the Electoral Amendment Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Justice and Electoral Committee to consider the bill and at the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be reported back to the House by 13 February 2017. New Zealand is fortunate to have a robust and efficient electoral system. This efficiency is maintained through regular reviews of the law and practices surrounding the electoral process. The reviews also ensure that electoral law and practices are regularly modernised and reflect the changing needs and expectations of voters. The Justice and Electoral Committee carries out these reviews after every general election which look into the delivery of the election and determine any potential improvements that could be made to the electoral framework. The committee then makes recommendations to the Government regarding the suitability of potential amendments.Between October 2014 and April of this year the committee undertook its inquiry into the 2014 general election. I would like to thank the committee for its careful consideration throughout the process. I would also like to thank the variety of individuals and organisations who made submissions. I understand the committee received 211 written submissions and heard 32 oral submissions. On 21 April this year the committee released a thorough report which included 28 recommendations on a range of electoral issues. I was pleased to see that all of the inquiry's recommendations were unanimous.When the Government responded to the committee's report on 4 July 2016 we set out our approach to the recommendations. Each recommendation has been carefully considered and the Electoral Amendment Bill is the result of those deliberations. This bill implements 12 of the inquiry's recommendations that can be introduced in time for the next election along with two changes relating to issues not considered by the inquiry. The changes contained in the bill will update our electoral law and further enhance the efficiency of our electoral system. In addition the Government will progress those recommendations that do not require law changes. In particular Government agencies and other key stakeholders will be encouraged to work more closely with the Electoral Commission to address the issue of low voter turnout.Four recommendations require more significant policy development and have not been included in this bill due to time frames. These recommendations will be considered for future elections. One recommendation that the select committee considered was to give greater flexibility for opening and closing addresses to give parties more choice about how they want to use their allocation of time and money. I am interested in considering this idea and I am consulting with political parties across the House on how this piece of work might be progressed. If there is broad support I do intend to advance this matter further. As signalled in the Government's response to the inquiry other electoral broadcasting matters will be considered as part of the digital convergence bill.I would like to touch briefly on a number of the specific changes that the bill makes. The bill helps to ensure a timely count of votes in light of the increasing number of people who choose to vote in advance. The Electoral Commission will be able to start counting advance votes earlier on election day and will have more flexibility in how this is done. This will ensure that the preliminary election results can be announced on election night in a timely manner. The Electoral Commission will also be able to make certain forms more user friendly. Many of the electoral forms are currently overly complex which can be a barrier to voter participation. By de-prescribing the format of these forms the Electoral Commission will be able to simplify them making them easier to use. The Electoral Act will continue to prescribe the purpose of the forms and the information required. This change will not affect ballot papers which will still be prescribed.Some changes that were not considered by the inquiry are also included in the bill. One of these changes provides clarification about the prohibition on making false statements to influence voters on election day or the 2 days prior. The bill specifies that this offence relates only to actions taken to actively and purposefully publish or republish false statements on election day or the 2 days prior. The bill makes a number of other amendments to electoral law all of which are minor and technical in nature but no less important for the smooth delivery of our elections.Having a select committee inquiry into each election is a valuable opportunity for ensuring multiparty collaboration around electoral reform. I welcome the opportunity for constructive cooperation with other parties during this bill's passage through the House. It is important that these amendments can be enacted sufficiently in advance of the 2017 general election so that the rules of the game are clear for everyone and to ensure we minimise disruption for election preparations. I am hopeful that the select committee will be able to report back in a timely manner given that the vast majority of the changes have already been carefully considered by the committee and importantly were unanimously recommended. The changes made through this bill will enhance the efficient delivery of our elections and will ensure our law remains relevant for next year's election and beyond. I commend this bill to the House.