Drum out of political limbo

One day shy of four weeks to the day since the federal election and we finally received official confirmation of the new Federal Member for Murray.

Damian Drum was yesterday congratulated by the Australian Electoral Commission for winning the electorate, even though the result was effectively known several weeks ago.

It took 27 days for the AEC to count all the votes and be in a position to make a declaration, despite the sizeable margin over Liberal Duncan McGauchie.

The delay meant Mr Drum could not move into the electorate office in Wyndham St, or hire staff.

Now officially declared, he can do both.

Mr Drum, of the National Party, expressed feelings of frustration in the weeks after the election, saying the delay precluded him from getting on with the job.

Yesterday it was a feeling of relief and Mr Drum said now the political limbo had ended, he wanted to get to work on ensuring the party’s promises are fulfilled.

This includes funding for the Shepparton Art Museum redevelopment and the second Echuca-Moama Bridge, and he has also vowed to do his best to speed up the process of the backpacker tax review.

The delay in the announcement by the AEC, even despite Mr McGauchie conceding to Mr Drum, came about due to specific processes.

In addition to the counting of votes lodged on election day itself, the AEC had to allow certain periods of time for declaration votes, including postal votes, to be returned.

The delays not only in Murray, but in other electorates, caused debate about electronic voting methods to be reignited.

Some would argue that given we are in 2016, an electronic system of some description should be in place, in additional to maintaining manual processes, to mitigate against the long wait

THE DELAY MEANT MR DRUM COULD NOT MOVE INTO THE ELECTORATE OFFICE OR HIRE STAFF.

times. Those not in favour of electronic voting might submit that such a system is too risky and open to abuse, from hackers for example.

Both arguments have merit.

The AEC has said it spent significant time researching and considering electronic voting systems, but they were open to potential abuse.

‘‘In an ideal world, that’s the future, but at this stage it’s too problematic,’’ AEC’s divisional returning officer for Murray Craig Rickards said during the delays.

The debate should stay on the agenda because it is a valid and worthwhile one to be having.

Who knows, by the next federal election, we may be voting both manually and electronically.