AEC Update - I'll demand that the President of the Senate follow through

Paul Pirani Nov 28 (1 day ago) to me, INFO Dear Mr Martin   I refer to your email below.   The short answer to your query is that the AEC is unable to file any petition with the Court of Disputed Returns outside the 40 day period referred to in section 355 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (Electoral Act).  The 40 day period applies to any petition that can be lawfully filed under Division 1 of Part XXII of the Electoral Act and therefore also applies to the AEC’s entitlement to file a petition under section 357 of the Electoral Act.   The only persons with the power to refer any question of the qualifications of a Senator or of a Member of the House of Representatives outside the 40 day period is the President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Representatives  under Division 2 of Part XXII of the Electoral Act (see sections 376 and 377 of the Electoral Act).   The AEC will only consider what, if any, other action may need to be taken after the Court of Disputed Returns makes orders relating to the matter involving Ms Lambie.   Yours sincerely .     Mr. Paul Pirani | Chief Legal Officer Legal & Procurement Branch Executive | Legal & Procurement Branch Australian Electoral Commission T: (02) 6271 4474 | M: 0401 144 531 | F: (02) 6293 7657     From: Al [mailto:thormail24@gmail.com] Sent: Friday, 24 November 2017 4:12 PM To: INFO Subject: Re: [COMPLAINT General] Martin, Arjay (4210) *WWW* [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]   Hello Sally, I hope that you are well.  Please ensure that this is forwarded to the Electoral Commissioners. With regards to the information that you provided, a reference to s355 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act, therefore with the 40 day time frame for 'lay petitioners', I cannot make such a petition (not withstanding that I was an elector in a different state during the election, therefore do not have legal standing to be the petitioner). The Australian Electoral Commission does not have such obstacles however. Note despite s357 (2) mentioning 'paragraph 355' (which may or may not be S 355), it does not state that the AEC, as petitioner, must stick with the 40 day time limit.  COMMONWEALTH ELECTORAL ACT 1918 - SECT 357 Petition by Electoral Commission              (1)  The Electoral Commission is entitled to file a petition disputing an election.           (1A)  The Electoral Commission shall file a petition disputing an election in relation to which a DRO has given notice under subsection 274(9C).              (2)  Paragraphs 355(c) and (d) do not apply in relation to a petition filed by the Electoral Commission disputing an election but such a petition shall be signed by the Electoral Commissioner for and on behalf of the Commission.   Also, with the 'novelty of the case' the AEC can challenge the law - if the 40 day time limit is alleged to apply to fillings by the AEC - or alternatively as the law does not deal with the particular circumstances at hand, then it reverts to non CE Act 1918 (Cth) methods, including the Common Law - potentially frand, fraudulent Construction, maybe even Australian Consumer Law (misleading and deceptive conduct, etc), contract law (viating factors), etc. The AEC is in a position to deal with the matters, not I.  My role is merely to compel those with the power to enforce the rule of law, to please do so. The candidate has admitted that they were invalidly elected - AFTER The Greens (pretender) Senators left 'of their own accord' the High Court dealt with the matter, yet it seems that they are not doing likewise for Jacqui Lambie (due to the absence of media on the matter, contrasted with the other Senators and Mr Joyce). Also, under what law can the AEC not deregister parties without the say so of the High Court (for the particular circumstances, JLN registered via method of Parliamentary Member - as opposed to 500+ verified members - when she was never a Parliamentary Member as her appointment was void ab initio)?  Also the bit about the Electoral Role not being able to have deletions when any elections are on (e.g. before the return of the Writ for the Bennelong By Election)?     S127 only refers to the registering, not deregistering, of a Party during an election (which might well mean only for the election in question, I do not have the time to go on LexisNexis at the moment to check on any relevant case law on the interpretation of the section. COMMONWEALTH ELECTORAL ACT 1918 - SECT 127 Party not to be registered during election                    During the period commencing on the day of the issue of the writ for a Senate election or a House of Representatives election and ending on the day on which the writ is returned, no action shall be taken in relation to any application for the registration of a political party, including any action by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in respect of a decision of the Electoral Commission that relates to such an application.   S136 does not apply as the JLN was never a Parliamentary Political Party (as no members duly elected to create it: COMMONWEALTH ELECTORAL ACT 1918 - SECT 136 Deregistration of party failing to endorse candidates or ceasing to be a Parliamentary party              (1)  A registered political party is liable to deregistration if:                     (aa)  the party has been registered for more than 4 years and during that time has not endorsed a candidate for any election; or                      (a)  a period of 4 years has elapsed since the polling day in the last election for which the party endorsed a candidate; or                      (b)  in the case of a party that was a Parliamentary party when it was registered:                               (i)  the party has ceased to be a Parliamentary party; and                              (ii)  the party has fewer than 500 members.           (1A)  If a party becomes liable to deregistration, the Electoral Commission shall:                      (a)  deregister the party;                      (b)  give written notice of the deregistration to the person who was the registered officer of the party immediately before the deregistration.           (1B)  If a political party is deregistered under subsection (1A), the Electoral Commissioner:                      (a)  must publish notice of the deregistration on the Electoral Commission's website; and                      (b)  may publish notice of the deregistration in any other way the Electoral Commissioner considers appropriate.              (2)  Where a political party is deregistered under subsection (1A), that party, or a party that has a name that so nearly resembles the name of the deregistered party that it is likely to be confused with or mistaken for that name, is ineligible for registration under this Part until after the general election next following the deregistration.              (3)  A Parliamentary party shall not be deregistered under this section.   And s126 being the requirement to register a political party was not able to be observed, since non Parliamentary Members: COMMONWEALTH ELECTORAL ACT 1918 - SECT 126 Application for registration Who may make an application              (1)  An application for the registration of an eligible political party may be made to the Electoral Commission by:                      (a)  in the case of a Parliamentary party:                               (i)  the secretary of the party; or                              (ii)  the member, or all the members, of the Commonwealth Parliament who is a member, or who are members, of the party; or                      (b)  in the case of a political party other than a Parliamentary party--10 members of the party, of whom one is the secretary of the party. However, where a member of a Parliamentary party:                      (c)  who is a member of the Commonwealth Parliament; and                      (d)  who has previously made an application for the registration of that Parliamentary party (the first party ); makes an application for the registration of another party, the Commission must not proceed with the application for the registration of that other party unless the Commission is satisfied that the member is no longer a member of the first party. If the Commission is so satisfied, the Commission must take any action required by section 136 immediately...     The Electoral Commission is able to 'deregister' the (fraudulent/phony) political party  based on that Fraud/Misrepresentation S137 (1)(c), that it is not (and in this case, never was) a Parliamentary Party s 137 (1)(b), that the Party has 'ceased to exist' (including ab initio) s 137 (1)(a). Further, the mechanism that is to be followed by the Electoral Commissioners is laid out in S137 from sub-section 1A.  It is imperative that this is followed before the appointment of any successor to Jacqui Lambie. COMMONWEALTH ELECTORAL ACT 1918 - SECT 137 Deregistration of political party on other grounds              (1)  If the Electoral Commission is satisfied on reasonable grounds that:                      (a)  a political party registered under this Part has ceased to exist (whether by amalgamation with another political party or otherwise); or                      (b)  a political party so registered, not being a Parliamentary party, has ceased to have at least 500 members; or                      (c)  the registration of a political party so registered was obtained by fraud or misrepresentation; or                     (ca)  an objection against the continued use of a name or logo (both within the meaning of section 134A) by a political party so registered has been upheld under section 134A, but an application to change the party's name or logo:                               (i)  was not made under section 134 within one month of the upholding of the objection; or                              (ii)  was so made within one month of the upholding of the objection, but was later refused; or                    (cb)  the registered officer of a registered political party has failed to comply with a notice under section 138A (Review of eligibility of parties to remain in the Register); or                     (cc)  a person who is the registered officer or a deputy registered officer of a registered political party is failing to comply with subsection 126(2B) (person must not be registered officer etc. of more than one registered political party); the Commission must give the registered officer of the party notice, in writing, that it is considering deregistering the party under this section, setting out its reasons for considering doing so and the terms of the provisions of subsections (2), (3), (4) and (5).           (1A)  If the Electoral Commission gives a notice under subsection (1), the Electoral Commissioner:                      (a)  must publish a notice, on the Electoral Commission's website:                               (i)  stating that the Commission is considering deregistering the party under this section; and                              (ii)  specifying the paragraph of subsection (1) by reason of which it is considering doing so; and                      (b)  may publish a notice covered by paragraph (a) of this subsection in any other way the Electoral Commissioner considers appropriate.              (2)  Where a notice is given under subsection (1) in relation to a political party, the registered officer of the party or 10 members of the party may, within 1 month after the date on which the notice was given, lodge with the Electoral Commission a statement, in writing, signed by the registered officer or by those members of the party, as the case may be, setting out reasons why the party should not be deregistered under this section.              (3)  Where a statement lodged under subsection (2) is signed by 10 members of a political party, the statement shall set out the names and addresses of those members and contain a statement that they are members of that party.              (4)  Where a notice is given under subsection (1) in relation to a political party and a statement is not lodged under subsection (2) in response to that notice, the Electoral Commission shall deregister the party.              (5)  Where, in response to a notice given under subsection (1) in relation to a political party, a statement is lodged under subsection (2), the Electoral Commission shall consider that statement and determine whether the political party should be deregistered for the reason set out in that notice.              (6)  Where, under subsection (5), the Electoral Commission determines that a political party should be deregistered, it shall:                      (a)  deregister the party;                      (b)  give the person who was the last registered officer of the party written notice of the deregistration, setting out its reasons for rejecting the reasons set out in the statement lodged under subsection (2).           (6A)  If the Electoral Commission deregisters a party under subsection (4) or (6), the Electoral Commissioner:                      (a)  must publish a notice of the deregistration on the Electoral Commission's website; and                      (b)  may publish a notice of the deregistration in any other way the Electoral Commissioner considers appropriate.              (7)  Where, under subsection (5), the Electoral Commission determines that a political party should not be deregistered under this section, it shall give the registered officer of the party written notice of its determination. The fact remains that the (phony) Party's Registration, retrospectively (on discovery of latent defects) - therefore it is not really a 'deregistration' of the Party as it never existed, it is merely a correction of the Register.  Also, please see what I wrote in relation to the intended meaning of references to the issue of a writ, in relation to that referring to relevant elections - i.e. if there is no current Tasmanian Senate Election, with the phony Jacqui Lambie Network only being represented (illegally) in Tasmania, then I would submit such a waiting period does not apply.  E.g. for Party Registration (not deregistration) s127, and s138A below. COMMONWEALTH ELECTORAL ACT 1918 - SECT 138A Review of eligibility of parties to remain in the Register              (1)  The Electoral Commission may review the Register to determine whether one or more of the parties included in the Register:                      (a)  is an eligible political party; or                      (b)  should be deregistered under section 136 or 137.              (2)  The Electoral Commission may do so at any time other than during the period that:                      (a)  starts on the day of the issue of a writ for a Senate election or House of Representatives election; and                      (b)  ends on the day on which the writ is returned.              (3)  For the purposes of reviewing the Register, the Electoral Commission may give a written notice to the registered officer of a registered political party requesting specified information on the party's eligibility to be registered under this Part.              (4)  The notice must specify a period within which the information must be provided. The period must be at least 2 months.              (5)  The registered officer must comply with the notice within the specified period. However, the Electoral Commission may extend that period. Note:          A failure to comply with the notice may lead to deregistration (see paragraph 137(1)(cb)).     The Tasmanian full Senate election should be voided for illegal practices, which 'was likely to affect' the outcome of the election (not a very high  quantum of proof).  Jacqui Lambie is the person who signed the s44 Declaration, it is up to her (and the others who did likewise) to check their Constitutional Requirements.  Therefore, via fraud, fraudulent construction, or recklessness akin to fraud - she knowingly committed an illegal practice.  The nomination form is akin to a sworn statement, and lying in it is a criminal offence (although no one is pushing for criminal penalties for any of the apparently unwitting/incompetent ineligible (and void) Parliamentarians - who would likely succeed against such criminal prosecution for claimed 'mistake of fact'.  The fact remains that the election was tainted by illegality, which likely affected the outcome of the election, notwithstanding any prosecution for illegal practices.   COMMONWEALTH ELECTORAL ACT 1918 - SECT 362 Voiding election for illegal practices etc.              (1)  If the Court of Disputed Returns finds that a successful candidate has committed or has attempted to commit bribery or undue influence, the election of the candidate shall be declared void.              (2)  No finding by the Court of Disputed Returns shall bar or prejudice any prosecution for any illegal practice.              (3)  The Court of Disputed Returns shall not declare that any person returned as elected was not duly elected, or declare any election void:                      (a)  on the ground of any illegal practice committed by any person other than the candidate and without the knowledge or authority of the candidate; or                      (b)  on the ground of any illegal practice other than bribery or corruption or attempted bribery or corruption; unless the Court is satisfied that the result of the election was likely to be affected, and that it is just that the candidate should be declared not to be duly elected or that the election should be declared void.              (4)  The Court of Disputed Returns must not declare that any person returned as elected was not duly elected, or declare any election void, on the ground that someone has contravened the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 or the Radiocommunications Act 1992 .   Thank you, Arjay Martin.