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Legal groups slam Queensland voter ID plan

Legal and Human Rights groups are protesting a Queensland government plan requiring voters to produce identification at state elections.

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Queensland Premier Campbell Newman (right) and Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie (back). (AAP)

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Source: NITV News


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Representatives of the groups have called for the plan to be abandoned, saying it will marginalise Indigenous Australians, the homeless, the disabled and the elderly.

Shane Duffy, CEO of the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service, has signed an open letter to Queensland Attorney General Jarrod Bleijie urging him not to go ahead with the voter ID plan.

Mr Duffy, one of five leaders to sign the letter, said the plan was discriminatory from the outset.

"A lot of our people, particularly those further out of metropolitan or city areas, don't actually have Medicare cards. So it’s quite alarming that it's not only a breach of human rights, but disenfranchises and disadvantages our people from having a right to vote," he said.

In a statement to NITV News, Attorney-General Bleijie said the government wanted to "preserve the integrity of our democratic system by preventing voter fraud."

Mr Duffy said it was another example of the government using its majority to push through laws without proper consultation.

"They do put draft legislation out for consultation, but there's a very, very short turnaround and within a matter of weeks...that draft legislation or that bill actually becomes law," he said.

Legal and human rights groups estimate up to 40,000 Queenslanders would be prevented from voting under the new rules.


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