Wednesday, 11 September 2024

Statements on tabled papers and petitions

Electoral Matters Committee

Inquiry into the Conduct of the 2022 Victorian State Election

Ryan BATCHELOR (Southern Metropolitan) (17:19): I rise to make a statement on the report of the Electoral Matters Committee into the conduct of the 2022 Victorian state election, tabled on 30 July. The committee’s report found that:

Trust is a critical part of a healthy democracy.

But misinformation and disinformation continue to proliferate in our political system, with false information and polarising campaigns serving to undermine our democratic principles and rupture social cohesion in our communities. Young people are digesting a digital news cycle that must be constantly viewed critically to distinguish fact from fiction. As a result, many young Australians are finding themselves overwhelmed and disillusioned, leading them to avoid news altogether. The University of Canberra found that 69 per cent of those who distrust news are more likely to disengage altogether. A functioning democracy is dependent upon two things: participation and legitimacy. Both are thrown into uncertainty when disinformation and misinformation are consistently perpetuated by community leaders. The Electoral Matters Committee’s report found this to be true in Victoria too. The findings state that mis- and disinformation campaigns that arose in the 2022 state election were from broader societal trends that cannot be directly reversed.

We have seen the consequences of misinformation from our friends in the US, where ordinary citizens resort to violence in the pursuit of lies and deceit originating from their leaders. The storming of the Capitol on January 6 was a public demonstration of the lies told by far-right leaders, and since 2016 the majority of Americans – about 64 per cent – found defining basic facts difficult as a result of having to constantly wade through fabricated news and information. It is no coincidence that 64 per cent of people in the US also believe that democracy is in crisis and at risk of falling, and such sentiment comes from a political and information ecosystem which distrusts facts, instils falsehoods and leverages division.

And yet when leaders of our community in our state continue to pepper our communities with misinformation on matters of interest to them, it does nothing more than to instil fear and distrust in our democracy. We have already witnessed that today. Fortunately, since last night I have been able to update my speech to include these changes. During Dr Ratnam’s inaccuracy-laden speech earlier this morning, she managed to mislead the house on the future of the Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, which the day prior was confirmed by the Leader of the Government as not being privatised. That did not stop Dr Ratnam making those claims in her contribution today. It is not the first time that they have done it and it is not the only time that they have done it.

Through the continual perpetuation of inaccurate information, such as their claims that Labor was arming Israel – we do not – they are seeking to divide our communities for electoral gain. This misinformation is prevalent in other petitions that they have brought forward, one of which speaks to the ‘wholesale destruction and privatisation’ of Victoria’s 44 remaining public housing towers – which is plainly inaccurate, because we know that there is public housing being rebuilt at some of these sites. The first two towers to be announced for redevelopment will have public housing built on that land.

Press releases that they released recently said that Labor has an agenda to sell off public land to developers – again, factually inaccurate. Let us take a look at what is happening at Barak Beacon, where a 46 per cent increase in social housing is being built on land that remains in public ownership. This misinformation is the Greens party’s version of politics done differently. And it is different, because while Labor is getting on with the job of improving public services and building social homes in this state, the Greens are stoking fear and division and they are trying to stop our plans to build more social housing. I think what is worse is that we have responsible elected officials who are seeking to exploit divisions for political gain.

At the end of the day it does not matter who tells the lie; the only difference is where they identify on the ideological spectrum. We as elected officials have a duty to strengthen our democratic system by ensuring facts are clearly distinguished from fiction. We must recognise the power our offices hold. For the future of the state and our democracy, we must do better.