Electoral Commission warns of ‘intolerable risk’ of interference, cyberattack at NSW election
NSW Electoral Commissioner Rachel McCallum has warned a multimillion-dollar funding shortfall means the election in March could be vulnerable.
The NSW Electoral Commission has warned the Minns government’s refusal to fund an overhaul of its antiquated IT systems has led to “an intolerable level of risk of election failure” at future polls, including the upcoming state election in March.
NSW Electoral Commissioner Rachel McCallum has warned a parliamentary committee overseeing the agency’s budget a multimillion-dollar funding shortfall has created “extreme risks” to its ability to run elections, saying the election in March could be vulnerable to cyberattack, external interference and challenges to its validity.
In remarkably frank correspondence, McCallum has cautioned the government’s refusal to fund a replacement for the commission’s IT system over a series of budgets has placed future elections at risk. At the same time, its denial of a request to roll over some of the agency’s funding from the previous budget to pay for the 2027 election had caused “unnecessary financial risks … at a critical time”.
The stark warning, contained in correspondence sent to the committee, is a significant intervention from the independent election watchdog less than six months out from the next poll. The commission has long urged governments of both persuasions to increase its funding. As far back as 2019, it warned that it faced a “critical degree of urgency” over funding as its remit expanded.
