Labor's successful Mediscare strategy could see Australia's political campaign laws changed to require all election materials carry consistent authorisation statements, with the same rules applying to text messages, social media posts, print and broadcast ads.
A parliamentary committee considering the 2016 election has recommended all campaign materials should meet the same standards, sparked in part by Queensland Labor's election-day text messages to voters, which appeared to come from a sender under the name "Medicare".
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Turnbull: Mediscare 'a shocking lie'
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull goes on the attack over Labor's pre-election claim that the Coalition planned to privatise Medicare. Vision courtesy ABC News 24.
The messages warned: "Mr Turnbull's plans to privatise Medicare will take us down the road of no return. Time is running out to Save Medicare".
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has railed against the tactics since the Coalition's poor election result, calling the messages "an extraordinary act of dishonesty" and arguing they falsely targeted elderly and vulnerable Australians.
Attorney-General George Brandis said they appeared to represent "prima facie breaches of the law", but in August the Australian Federal Police said it wouldn't take any action over the messages.
ALP national secretary Noah Carroll told the committee in November "any reasonable person" would have known the text messages had not come from Medicare.
An interim report by Parliament's joint standing committee on electoral matters, released on Friday, recommended the Commonwealth Electoral Act be amended to "specifically and explicitly address the matter of authorisation of electoral materials to ensure that . . . there is consistency in the application of the rules and requirements to all electoral material."
Authorisations identify the person or organisation responsible for material.
The committee stopped short of making recommendations about impersonating Commonwealth entities and unauthorised use of Commonwealth logos and symbols, saying a further inquiry was needed in 2017.
Chaired by Liberal senator Linda Reynolds, the committee also recommended electoral laws be amended to ensure parties and political players be held to account for their political statements and anyone authorising electoral materials be identifiable and traceable.
A further report on foreign political donations is expected by March next year.
"The committee found that this requirement for authorisation should remain, however, our electoral laws have not kept pace with technological change and the new ways of communicating with voters that this provides, thereby creating loopholes capable of exploitation," Senator Reynolds said.
"Consequently, authorisation requirements for the same political messages are not consistent across all formats and mediums of communication.
"Three core principles – accountability, traceability and consistency – have underpinned the committee's deliberations and the report's six recommendations.
"These principles combine to reassure voters that those disseminating electoral material into the public domain are traceable, accountable and provide clear context for voters when considering the messages they contain."
The committee is expected to deliver further reports on the July 2 election to Special Minister of State Scott Ryan in 2017.