Senator Duncan Spender of the Liberal Democrats has criticised the ban on political TV and radio ads on election day and the preceding Thursday and Friday, and has called for the ban to be lifted.
"The ban on last-minute TV and radio election ads is pointless," he said.
"The ban is based on the idea that last-minute ads would allow political parties to make dodgy claims without sufficient time for claims to be scrutinised. But the dodgy claims of political ads aren't scrutinised even when they've been running for weeks.
"The ban is also based on the idea that voting decisions are best made following a period of contemplation free from political advertising. But those who will take voting seriously know that political ads contain dodgy claims and don't need an ad-free period. And those who only vote because it is compulsory are likely to make flippant voting decisions irrespective of whether there is an ad-free period. If we want considered voting we should make voting voluntary.
"The ban is faulty. It is stuck in the 20th Century. The ban does not apply to the digital platforms of our broadcasters, to print media, to online advertising, to robocalling or to spamming. And the ban only applies to election day and the two preceding days, even though millions of voters do pre-poll voting, at times when TV and radio ads are running.
"Pointless laws complicate the law unnecessarily, give rise to costly bureaucracies to police the pointless laws, and generate compliance costs for those jumping through the bureaucratic hoops.
"I can't afford any TV or radio advertising, so I'm a neutral
