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Abstract: In 2006, Australia's Parliament banned all prisoners from voting. A year later, Vickie Lee Roach, a female prisoner of Aboriginal descent, challenged the blanket ban promulgated in the 2006 amendment to the Commonwealth Electoral Act of 1918 ("Electoral Act"). Vickie won, but in a limited way. The High Court found an implied right to vote in the Australian Constitution, but held that Parliament could limit such voting, as it did in the Electoral and Referendum Amendment of 2004 ("E & R Amendment"), disenfranchising any prisoner serving three or more years in jail.
This Comment argues that the E & R Amendment conflicts with Australia's obligations under the United Nations' International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, codified by Australia's Racial Discrimination Act of 1975 ("RDA"). The RDA mandates that Indigenous citizens be treated equally to non- Indigenous citizens, including with respect to voting rights and opportunities to participate in political life. The E & R Amendment disenfranchises a significant portion of the prison population-a large percentage of which is Aboriginal. Disproportionate disenfranchisement of this sort constitutes indirect discrimination and perpetuates racism against Aboriginal people, preventing meaningful participation in their own communities. To rectify the problem, Parliament should repeal the three-year disenfranchisement provision of the E & R Amendment.
I. INTRODUCTION
At 3:45 AM on December 14, 2002, Vickie Lee Roach and her exboyfriend were caught while committing a robbery in Mordialloc, a town in Victoria, Australia.1 The duo stashed some stolen goods in the trunk of the car and fled, with Vickie as driver, at speeds of up to 80 miles per hour.2 Neither Vickie nor her ex-boyfriend were licensed to drive.3 Vickie later said she had wanted to pull over as soon as she saw the police in pursuit, but did not because her ex-boyfriend threatened to kill her.4 At the urging of her ex-boyfriend, Vickie continued the high-speed escape.5 At the time of the incident, she had alcohol, four kinds of tranquillizers, morphine, and a cannabis-related substance in her blood.6
Vickie's getaway ended when she struck a stopped car at a traffic light.7 The impact engulfed both vehicles in flames.8 The 21-year-old man in the other car suffered extensive injuries, including burns on his scalp, face, ears,...