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7. That the University of Wollongong Liberal Club calls on the Federal Government to amend the Commonwealth Electoral Act (1918) so that:
a) When enrolling to vote, a citizen must provide 100 points of identification (to be stipulated by the Electoral Commission);
b) That Student Cards be considered a legitimate means of identification as part of said 100 points; and
c) Any elector casting a ballot in any election, referendum or plebiscite must provide some form of current photo identification before being permitted to vote. This photo identification must be listed by the Electoral Commission in accordance with enrolment criteria.
Further, the University of Wollongong Liberal Club calls on the NSW State Opposition to adopt as policy similar amendments to the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act and the Local Government Act.
8. In a very recent British Legal Case, it was found that defamation on the internet does not have the same statue of limitations as a defamatory comment published in print or verbalised on radio or television.
The Court determined that the Statute of Limitations to commence legal proceedings against a person for defamation commences from the point at which a web browser opens a web page and not at the point from when the material is published on-line.
Therefore, a person could be sued as many times a person opens a web browser, without consideration for the double jeopardy rule. This new precedent would also not restrict a person from taking a separate amount of legal actions in courts around the world where there said material was accessed.
While United States Courts have ruled that defamatory material is no different from that in a magazine or newspaper, Australia Courts are yet to discover the law in this area. The UOW Liberal Club therefore recommends that:
a) The Howard Government use the 'external affairs' power under section 51 of the Constitution to introduce legislation to prevent a precedent being set in respect to defamation law involving the Internet and the Statute of Limitations.
b) That the legislation clearly stipulate that the Statute of Limitations in a defamation case involving the interest be covered by the double jeopardy rule.
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