Parliamentary Updates

28 July 2025

Zali Steggall MP

"This Bill that I present today reflects the Government's very own Bill that was introduced in December last year. I introduce this Bill now to ensure that there are no excuses in relation to delay. That the provisions to ensure we have guardrails around truth in political advertising can be in place before the next election.

We know that when it was introduced last term the Government, at the request of the Australian Electoral Commission, it included a delay of implementation, arguing "it would take time”. But now by introducing this Bill today, and I would argue passing it without delay, at the beginning of this 48th Parliament, it provides enough time for the Commission to implement it prior to the next election.

So I do call on the Government to make good its very own promises and pledge during the 47th Parliament to do this very action. We are now, this is the first opportunity so by putting it forward now we are really saying to the Government there is no excuse but to get on with the job of putting guardrails around misinformation and disinformation in political advertising. We know misinformation and disinformation in political advertising is a loophole that has been taken advantage of for too long.

Politicians need to be held to the same standard as consumer laws.

We know we protect consumers from being scammed out of their money, from misleading and deceptive advertising. It is time for political advertising to be held to the same standard and over the past three elections we’ve seen a huge rise in misinformation, disinformation, at election time, but also third-party organisations and external campaigners involved in our elections. All too often it is this ‘Astroturfing’, that leads to a huge amount of misinformation and these organisations are running a huge amount of advertising which is misleading and deceptive but there is no accountability for these players.

This type of advertising, there is no doubt, it influences voters and yet there is no public accountability for it for because there is simply no provision in our laws, which people are always astounded to find out, yet 89 per cent of Australians when surveyed aid support truth in political advertising laws. They support that political advertising should be held to the same standard as all other advertising.

On top of that, we are seeing the growth of AI and deep fakes in political advertising. We saw in 2022 the use of AI depicting and changing imagery. We know through AI and deep fakes you can create an ad alleging that someone has said something that is completely false and fabricated, and there are no protections on voters. Again, to really put some guardrails, to protect our democracy, I call on the Albanese Government to support this Bill, this is their very own Bill from the last Parliament.

We know that there is a huge amount of need for this because it really, it has been recommended, the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters will review this latest election no doubt, but already for the previous election, it recommended that something has to be around misleading and deceptive political advertising. We know there is a huge problem in the question is is their political will to fix it?

There is really is no excuse. There is three years ahead of time and there is an opportunity on the Government to make good on its promise to do this.

We know around the world already that it is increasing. In the UK there is an organisation already pushing for there to be guardrails around misinformation in political advertising. We know the Welsh parliament has also seen the introduction of legislation. It exists in New Zealand. We have it here in the ACT, and South Australia has it. There is no doubt there is a consensus for this. For example, we know that deep fake videos are incredibly damaging and they spread like wildfire and so on this guardrails are put in place, we are going to see a continual erosion of trust in politics and the outcomes of election.

There is no valid reason why political advertising should be held to a different standard to other advertising.

We already have courts that can adjudicate on statements, and to be very clear, this does not outlaw or rule out opinions. Opinions can be expressed but they need to be clearly identified as opinions, and not fact. This is often an excuse put forward, the idea is free speech. The High Court has said free speech is not the right to lie. It is not the right to mislead. That is why it is so important we put the guardrails in place because we are seeing the growth of so many other participants at our elections and they are not constrained by any provision. There is simply no tool available to make sure they do not spread lies or misinformation. We know for example they do not have a candidate on the ballot paper so they know they will not have any consequences to be exposed for lying. That is why it is so important we do this.

For example, Labor, for its own consequences, in 2020, one Australia's first political deep fake videos emerged of the Queensland Premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, saying it was cooked in massive debt and that was read 1 million times on YouTube. It's important we have these guardrails in place.

I can only save the government chooses not to progress electoral communication reform in this term in parliament without delay, doing it very quickly now, before the end of the year to ensure it can be implemented and in place with in time for the next election, if it chooses not to do so, with its large majority and capacity to pass this legislation in both houses already, it says it wants to lie to the Australian people. It wants to keep the loopholes going so that it can do misleading and deceptive advertising to the Australian people at election time.

We know this is a loophole for political parties have enjoyed taking advantage of it when convenient. But the erosion of the politics and outcomes of elections and policy, and policy positions, it is really important that we address this and I commend this bill to the House."

Kate Chaney MP:

"I second the motion.

This Bill is not just about reform, it's about restoring integrity, trust and truth in our election process. We have seen a steady decline over 20 years in voters in trust and efficacy in government and allowing lies in political ads does not help.

The Member for Warringah and I along with other crossbench members have long advocated for stronger safeguards against misinformation in political advertising. In the 47^th parliament we pushed for legislation that would prohibit materially misleading electoral communications. The Member for Warringah introduced two bills on this topic, and my Restoring Trust Bill and my Fair and Transparent Elections Bill both addressed the issue. The Government did eventually introduce a Bill to address this, but it lapsed and the need for it has only grown more urgent. This is important, unfinished business, so we're reintroducing the Government's Bill so we can get on with it, and we need to do it now so it can be in place before the next election.

We need this Bill to be debated and passed because lies in political advertising are corrosive. They distort public debate, manipulate voters, and undermine the democratic process. In other areas of communication, the public is protected - whether it's consumer advertising, financial advice there are laws against misleading communications. Yet, in politics where the stakes are high, we allow lies to flourish unchecked. In his submission to the JSERM Committee, Professor Williams argues that truth is fundamental to democracy. When citizens cannot tell fact from fiction, and leaders spread falsehoods for political advantage, society as a whole is damaged.

This bill would prohibit materially misleading electoral content, including where AI or other digital technologies are used to mislead. It would also establish an Electoral Communications Panel to oversee compliance and provide a fair independent mechanism for enforcement. This would only apply to purported important statements of fact. Parties and other political players would still be free to express their opinions. That's really important, and freedom of speech would not be impeded.

This Bill is actually based on a framework that has existed in South Australia for 25 years, and that law is seen as being proportionate and not in any breach of freedoms. We are showing it can be done. This is not a radical idea.

The rise of deep fakes in synthetic media is not a distant threat, it is here now. If we do not act now we risk losing public trust, not only in politicians, but in the democratic process itself.

I commend the Member for Warringah for her leadership and persistence on the issue and I urge all members in this house to support this Bill. Let's show Australians we are serious about protecting democracy in the digital age.

Thank you."