Twenty-fifth Geoffrey Sawer Lecture

Tom Rogers, Australian Electoral Commissioner, delivers the 25th Annual Geoffrey Sawer Lecture, The curse of the sausage: laws, expectation and complexity in modern elections.

Australians enjoy a peaceful voting environment during federal electoral events. Australian elections are known as a festival of democracy; inextricably linked in the public consciousness with the democracy sausage — or ballot falafel or cake. This festive and normally calm environment creates an image that electoral administration is easy. We have created a perception that federal elections are as relaxed as a barbeque on a Saturday afternoon. However, Federal elections are Australia’s largest and most complex logistical peacetime activity.

Citizens quite often don’t understand, or don’t consider, the law surrounding elections. They simply want to have their say (and their sausage) and go back to their lives. However, they do care if something goes wrong – Australians rightly expect and demand high integrity and lawful electoral processes. This is the electoral administrator’s conundrum – the more seamless the voting experience, the more easy people think it is to administer. Elections in Australia are anything but easy, and they have become even more challenging in the era of social media. Commissioner Tom Rogers will discuss how elections have evolved in the era of social media and how the Australian Electoral Commission has established a reputation management system to help safeguard the integrity of elections.

Join Tom Rogers, Australian Electoral Commissioner, for the 2023 Annual Geoffrey Sawer Lecture in honour of the first Professor of Law at the ANU College of Law.

If you require accessibility accommodations or a visitor Personal Emergency Evacuation plan please contact the event organiser.

About the speaker

Tom graduated from the Royal Military College (RMC) Duntroon in 1983 and served in the Australian Defence Force Academy, Senior Instructor in Leadership at RMC Duntroon, and Commander of a United Nations observer mission. After he left the Australian Army in 2000, Tom worked for Raytheon Australia, as a senior project manager and led the team that delivered the Sydney Olympics’ major preparedness and readiness activity.

Tom was the Director of Programs and then Executive Director at the Australian Institute of Police Management (AIPM), which is administered by the Australian Federal Police to deliver highly respected executive development programs for leaders and future leaders of Australasian police and other public safety organisations.

Tom was appointed the Australian Electoral Commissioner in 2014, having previously filled roles as the Deputy Electoral Commissioner and the Australian Electoral Commission’s state manager (and Australian Electoral Officer) for NSW.

As Commissioner, Tom has led the agency to successfully deliver the 2016, 2019 and 2022 federal elections and several by-elections.