Queensland law strips more than 2,500 prisoners of their vote
The Queensland Prisoners Legal Service says just 47 per cent of almost 11,500 jailed Queenslanders could vote.
Queensland now strips voting rights from anyone sentenced to more than a year in jail. The change means more than 2,500 people can no longer cast ballots in the state.
Attorney-General Deb Frecklington argues the change increases respect for the rule of law. Lawyers and rights groups disagree with the government on whether it breaches the state's human rights act.
The Queensland Prisoners Legal Service says more than half of Queensland's prisoners will be ineligible to vote for the first time. Ruimin Gao, the service's acting director, said only 47 per cent of almost 11,500 incarcerated Queenslanders could vote.
Ms Gao said a one-year jail term may not necessarily mean a serious offence. Indigenous Australians make up just 5 per cent of Queensland's population but 41 per cent of its prisoners.
- more than 2,500
- Prisoners losing vote
- 41 per cent
- Indigenous share of prisoners
- 50 per cent in last decade
- Prison population growth
Why it mattersThousands of people, many of them Aboriginal Australians, have lost the right to vote. Whether the law breaches human rights is still disputed.
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