1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Now the electoral ballot paper's been drawn for Northern Territory 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:07,120 Speaker 1: candidates in the House of Reps and the Senate. Some 3 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:10,959 Speaker 1: political experts say it's an important election factor, with some 4 00:00:11,080 --> 00:00:15,520 Speaker 1: voters marking their preferences in well that order of the 5 00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:18,639 Speaker 1: votes on the list from the top to the bottom. 6 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:21,239 Speaker 1: Now joining me on the line to tell us how 7 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:24,079 Speaker 1: it played out is the Australian Electoral Officer for the 8 00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:26,040 Speaker 1: Northern Territory, Jeff Bloom. 9 00:00:26,079 --> 00:00:28,880 Speaker 2: Good morning, Jeff, Good morning Katie. 10 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:31,479 Speaker 1: Jeff, lovely to have you on the show. First off, 11 00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:34,920 Speaker 1: how is the ballot paper order determined? 12 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:40,000 Speaker 2: Well, we had that event last Friday, So the declaration 13 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:42,720 Speaker 2: of nominations, we declared all the names of the candidates 14 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:45,800 Speaker 2: and then we do it's a process called double randomization. 15 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:49,760 Speaker 2: Sounds very convoluted in itself, but it's a double draw. 16 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:53,080 Speaker 2: So we do a first drawer of the balls. So 17 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:56,040 Speaker 2: having the little barrel there, we spin the barrel around 18 00:00:56,440 --> 00:00:59,400 Speaker 2: and we allocate a number to each of the candidates 19 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:03,280 Speaker 2: groups in the Senate and then the second draw is 20 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:06,960 Speaker 2: when that person's number is drawn out, that will be 21 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 2: the order on the ballot papers. So it's quite an 22 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:11,840 Speaker 2: event and that all happened on Friday, So that's all 23 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:14,960 Speaker 2: been done now and ballot papers are now printed in 24 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:16,960 Speaker 2: the right or of the candidates. 25 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:20,360 Speaker 1: Jeff, can you talk us through the order for Solomon 26 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:21,480 Speaker 1: and then Lingiari. 27 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:24,720 Speaker 2: I don't have that with me to be realized. 28 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:25,880 Speaker 1: We can find it. 29 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:29,520 Speaker 2: That's all the candidate informations on the website, so that 30 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:33,120 Speaker 2: was published over the weekend. But there's six candidates for 31 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:38,319 Speaker 2: Lingiari and seven candidates for Solomon, and we've got eight 32 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:40,800 Speaker 2: Senate groups on the Senate ballot paper for this event. 33 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:42,760 Speaker 1: Well, I'll make sure i'd take our listeners through it 34 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:46,319 Speaker 1: in a little while. Tell me, though the deadlines now 35 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:49,880 Speaker 1: pass for people to enroll or update their details. How 36 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:53,240 Speaker 1: many Territorians are set to vote in the federal election. 37 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:58,320 Speaker 2: Well, the rolls closed last week as we know, so 38 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:01,600 Speaker 2: the numbers are sitting around one hundred and fifty five 39 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:06,160 Speaker 2: thousand Territorians on the role for this election, and that's 40 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:10,400 Speaker 2: a split roughly fifty to fifty across both divisions Lingiari 41 00:02:10,480 --> 00:02:15,080 Speaker 2: and Solomon. So everyone that's on the role now hopefully 42 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:17,520 Speaker 2: they've updated their address and they're able to vote at 43 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:20,679 Speaker 2: the correct address. We'll have that opportunity over the next 44 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:21,400 Speaker 2: couple of weeks. 45 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:24,720 Speaker 1: How do those numbers sit in line with previous elections? 46 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:25,440 Speaker 1: Is it higher? 47 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:29,760 Speaker 2: It is? The roles up as high as ever been. 48 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:33,560 Speaker 2: We're sitting over ninety four percent of eligible Territorians on 49 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:37,040 Speaker 2: the electoral role. Never occurred before. The roles in really 50 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:39,920 Speaker 2: good shape. And if we think about youth enrollment, the 51 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:42,959 Speaker 2: eighteen to twenty four year olds, that's sitting at around 52 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:47,200 Speaker 2: eighty four percent of eligible youth, again a really high number. 53 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:52,120 Speaker 2: And for our Indigenous Aboriginal Torrestone Island people sitting around 54 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:55,280 Speaker 2: eighty eight percent are eligible on the role now never 55 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:57,560 Speaker 2: occurred before. Really proud of that as an achievement. 56 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:02,960 Speaker 1: In terms of details being firmed up around remote voting, 57 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:05,840 Speaker 1: where are people going to be able to go during 58 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:08,799 Speaker 1: that pre polling or on election day? Has that been 59 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:10,560 Speaker 1: determined yet? Yes? 60 00:03:10,919 --> 00:03:13,720 Speaker 2: It has, Yeah, it has so a lot of that 61 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:17,320 Speaker 2: information is currently available on our website that the website 62 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:21,000 Speaker 2: there has got an amazing amount of information. Pretty much 63 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:24,079 Speaker 2: everything you could possibly want to know about election, elections 64 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:27,400 Speaker 2: or election delivery is on the AAC website. And in 65 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:31,040 Speaker 2: terms of the locations of our early voting centers, where 66 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:34,000 Speaker 2: are mobile teams, including the remote mobile teams who will 67 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:36,920 Speaker 2: be going. Those schedules are available now and people can 68 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:39,880 Speaker 2: go and go and have a look. And of course 69 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:43,520 Speaker 2: our services actually start next week, so early voting begins 70 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 2: next Tuesday, twenty second of April. We memory, of course 71 00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:49,960 Speaker 2: that Monday is Easter Monday, so we don't deliver services 72 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:52,480 Speaker 2: on the Monday. We do lose that day next week, 73 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:55,119 Speaker 2: and we also lose Antaic Day on Friday next week 74 00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:55,800 Speaker 2: in that early voting. 75 00:03:56,080 --> 00:04:00,280 Speaker 1: But so people will essentially as of next Tuesday, they'll 76 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:01,840 Speaker 1: be able to get out and they'll be able to 77 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:03,000 Speaker 1: cast their vote. 78 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:07,560 Speaker 2: They will. First of our face to face services starts 79 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:10,320 Speaker 2: next week and that's the first week of two so 80 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:14,080 Speaker 2: there's two weeks of early voting services available for people. 81 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:16,719 Speaker 2: And then of course polling day itself, which is the 82 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:18,479 Speaker 2: big day, that's the third of May. 83 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:22,200 Speaker 1: As we know now in terms of I understand the 84 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:25,400 Speaker 1: AEC is actually on the hunt for workers to help 85 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:27,480 Speaker 1: with the election. How many do you need and how 86 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:28,600 Speaker 1: do you fill those roles? 87 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:32,160 Speaker 2: Well, it's been a very long journey. I have to say. 88 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:34,480 Speaker 2: We've got a team of people here, our staffing team 89 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:39,320 Speaker 2: that have been trying to fill over nine hundred polling positions. 90 00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:42,320 Speaker 2: That's a lot of people to find and a lot 91 00:04:42,360 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 2: of people of course, so that'll work for us in 92 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:47,400 Speaker 2: our counting centers we call them scrutiny centers, So we'll 93 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:49,920 Speaker 2: have our over one hundred and thirty people working in 94 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:53,120 Speaker 2: our counting center here in Darwin on polling night, and 95 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:56,280 Speaker 2: then we'll also have teams working in Alice Springs and Catherine. 96 00:04:56,360 --> 00:04:59,039 Speaker 2: But in all it's well over nine hundred people. We've 97 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:01,920 Speaker 2: got most of them stilled in mind. A few registrations 98 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:04,760 Speaker 2: of interest there for people if they're still interested in 99 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:08,880 Speaker 2: working for us, all paid positions of course, and we're 100 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:10,719 Speaker 2: just filling the last of the roles that we have 101 00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:11,719 Speaker 2: available right now. 102 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:15,960 Speaker 1: Well. Australian Electoral Officer for the Northern Territory Jeff Bloom. 103 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:18,440 Speaker 1: Always good to speak with you, no doubt we'll speak 104 00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:20,560 Speaker 1: to you again over the coming weeks as that may 105 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:24,920 Speaker 1: three date rolls closer. Thanks so much, Katie, Thank you 106 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:26,159 Speaker 1: very much appreciated.