'Discriminatory and unnecessary': proposed mandatory voter ID laws slammed

A move to mandate voter identification during federal elections has been blasted by the federal opposition and powerful NT Aboriginal Land Councils.

An enrolled voter at Warruwi's community hall, South Bathurst Island off the Northern Territory's north coast Source: AAP

A government proposal requiring citizens to show a recognised form of identification before casting their vote in a federal election has been labelled "discriminatory and unnecessary."

The proposal, recommended by the parliament's electoral matters committee would mean voters would need to produce ID such as a driver's licence, medicare card or birth certificate when voting.

Advocates say the law would exclude those less likely to have access to the documents, such as Indigenous people, residents in remote communities and people experiencing homelessness or insecure housing. 

The Northern Land Council told a senate estimates hearing on Friday that they were not consulted before the bill was introduced and have asked for it to be scrapped. 

"We think that Aboriginal people in remote communities would be further disenfranchised," acting CEO Joe Martin-Jard told the inquiry.

The Central Land Council also spoke out against the proposed bills, while shadow minister for Indigenous Australians, Labor's Linda Burney slammed them as "discriminatory."

"it will have terrible effects for certain populations," the Wiradjuri woman said.

"Many First Nations people actually don't have a birth certificate... If you don't have a birth certificate then it's very hard to get other forms of identification."

Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney says the proposed laws could exclude vulnerable and marginalised communities. Source: AAP

Ms Burney doubled down on Labor's criticisms yesterday that the bill was racist and emulated Jim Crow-era legislation from the United States, which disenfranchised Black voters. 

"It is looking for a problem that does not exist in this country," she said. 

The concerns come as the minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt announced a new push to encourage more First Nations people to vote.

The plan involves recognising multiple names such as skin and community names, the creation of podcasts in several Indigenous languages and working with youth mentoring to encourage young Indigenous people to vote. 

“This is important work for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and for Australia’s democratic process,” Mr Wyatt said. 

“We’ve seen the estimated Indigenous enrolment rate lift year on year from 74.7 per cent in 2017 to 79.3 per cent in 2021."

The government aims to implement the legislation before the next federal election.

Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt said Indigenous voting rate are increasing. Source: AAP Image/Lukas Coch