{{short description|Australian political activist}} {{Use Australian English|date=February 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}} '''Albert Langer''' (also known as '''Arthur Dent'''<ref>{{cite AustLII|AATA|1985|2007|litigants=Dent and Daryl Wight as an Australian Electoral Officer |date=23 November 2007 |courtname=auto}}.</ref>) is an Australian political activist, best known for his 1996 conviction and jailing on contempt charges after breaching an injunction forbidding his advocacy of marking electoral ballot papers in a way discouraged by the Australian Electoral Commission. As a result of his imprisonment, Amnesty International declared him the first Australian prisoner of conscience for over 20 years.<ref name="Amnesty International-1996">{{cite web | url = https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa12/005/1996/en/ | title = Australia: Political activist becomes first prisoner of conscience for over 20 years (Albert Langer) – Amnesty International | accessdate = 5 May 2007 | author = Amnesty International | date= 23 February 1996 }}</ref>
== Life and early activism == Langer was educated at Monash University, where he studied mathematics<ref>{{cite book |last1=Piccini |first1=Jon |title=The Far Left in Australia since 1945 |date=2018 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780429945649 |pages=300}}</ref> and became a prominent student activist during the Vietnam War years. He was a leader of the Maoist Monash Labor Club at the university, and supported the Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist). He was also associated with a movement which argued that software should be free of copyright laws. Langer is an active opponent of Zionism and was a member of Jews Against Zionism and Anti-Semitism (JAZA).<ref>{{cite web|last=Langer|first=Albert|title=Albert Langer Collection|url=http://archivescollection.anu.edu.au/index.php/albert-langer-collectioin;isad|publisher=anu.edu.au|accessdate=29 August 2013}}</ref> He was the leader of the Maoist Red Eureka Movement.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-245711800/findingaid|title=Guide to the Papers of Robert Darby|work=National Library of Australia|accessdate=May 24, 2021}}</ref>
==Conviction==
===Advocacy of assigning equal last preferences=== In 1986 Albert Langer wrote a conference paper entitled Don't Vote, examining possible electoral strategy for the left, aiming to bring down the Australian Labor Party (ALP) government and to target their candidates in marginal seats. In 1987 and 1990 there were instances where Victorian voters were urged to take advantage of section 270 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act and give less preferred parties equal last preferences (now known as a Langer vote), so as not to express a choice for either major party.
===Introduction of section 329A and challenge to constitutionality=== To counter such tactics and advocacy of voting informally, the ALP government formulated section 329A of the Electoral Act. It was enacted in December 1992, making it an offence to encourage voters to fill in House of Representatives ballot papers in a non-officially prescribed manner. <blockquote>329A. (1) A person must not, during the relevant period in relation to a House of Representatives election under this Act, print, publish or distribute, or cause, permit or authorise to be printed, published or distributed, any matter or thing with the intention of encouraging persons voting at the election to fill in a ballot paper otherwise than in accordance with section 240. Penalty: Imprisonment for 6 months.<br />(2) In this section: "publish" includes publish by radio or television.<br/> – ''Section 329A of the Commonwealth Electoral Act (repealed)''<ref>{{Cite Legislation AU|Cth|num_act|earaa1992298|Electoral and Referendum Act 1992|27}}</ref></blockquote>
This legislation was later repealed, but not before being tested by Langer.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/events/election_04/albertlanger.htm | title = The story of Albert Langer | accessdate = 5 May 2007 | author = Triple J | publisher = Australian Broadcasting Corporation | date = 30 June 2004 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080411101405/http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/events/election_04/albertlanger.htm | archive-date = 11 April 2008 | url-status = dead | df = dmy-all }}</ref>
On 5 March 1993,{{Citation needed|date=November 2007}} ahead of the 1993 election, Albert Langer received warnings from the Australian Electoral Commission not to run the campaign he had initiated. He sought relief from the High Court to stop the AEC from intimidating him, and to determine the validity of section 329A. The matter was reviewed by Justice William Deane (who shortly afterwards became Governor General). Deane dismissed his injunction application, but referred the question to the full bench. The case was joined with a similar challenge by Patrick Muldowney to South Australian electoral matters to determine the validity of section 126. The matters were heard in Canberra in October 1995.
The decision was not publicly announced until 7 February 1996 – just after the writs for the 1996 election were issued on 28 January. With only Dawson dissenting, the Court rejected Langer's argument that section 329A was unconstitutional. The decision confirmed the Act required votes to be cast with a sequence of consecutive and unrepeated numbers.
On 31 January 1996 the Neither! campaign published a newspaper advertisement to which the AEC objected and took action against. The matter was adjourned pending the High Court decision and, on 8 February the AEC obtained an injunction from Justice Beach of the Victorian Supreme Court to restrain Albert Langer from publishing the advertisement "How to vote for Neither!"{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
Langer was never prosecuted under section 329A. The Electoral Commission chose not to use the provision but rather sought the measure of injunctive relief.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
===Contempt charges=== Langer informed the media of the decision outside the courthouse and provided them with a copy of the Neither! leaflet. A few days later he was summoned to appear on the charge of contempt for distributing the leaflet, with those same members of the media appearing as witnesses. Consequently, he was sentenced to 10 weeks imprisonment for breaching the court injunction ordering him to stop advocating contrary to the Electoral Act.<ref>{{cite AustLII|VSC|6|1996|date=4 February 1996|litigants=Commonwealth Electoral Commission v Langer |courtname=auto}}.</ref> In March 1996, after widespread public outcry and media attention, the Federal Court reduced his sentence to three weeks, which he had already served in full.<ref>{{cite AustLII|FCA|1295|1996|litigants=Langer v Australian Electoral Commission |date=7 March 1996|courtname=Federal Court (Full Court) (Australia)}}</ref>
During his incarceration, Albert Langer was deemed by Amnesty International to be a "Prisoner of Conscience."<ref name="Amnesty International-1996"/>
===Repeal of section 329A=== The June 1997 report into the 1996 election by Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters discussed the Langer case and recommended the repeal of section 329A.<ref> {{cite book | title = Report of the inquiry into all aspects of the conduct of the 1996 Federal Election and matters related thereto | publisher = Australian Government Publishing Service | date= 16 June 1997 | url = http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/em/elec/elecinde.htm/329 |archive-date=4 February 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250204043534/https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House_of_Representatives_Committees?url=em/elec/elecrec.htm |chapter=Chapter 3 - Preferential and Compulsory Voting |at=Chapter summary and list of recommendations |author=Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters |quote=The Langer affair has clearly shown that section 329A is an ineffective and heavy-handed provision. Section 329A and related provisions should be repealed, while the wording of section 240 should be clarified. }}</ref> Section 329A was repealed by the Electoral and Referendum Amendment Act 1998, which became law on 17 July 1998. Section 240 was amended by the same Act to specify that using repeated numbers invalidated a vote.<ref>{{Cite Legislation AU|Cth|num_act|earaa1998298/sch1.html|Electoral and Referendum Amendment Act 1998}} Links to Schedule 1 of the amendment Act.</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==Further reading== *[http://www.mail-archive.com/public-list@neither.org/thrd9.html Neither List archives] Archived 1998 discussion group *{{cite web |work=Amnesty International |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250204050256/https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/ASA12/005/1996/en/ |date=23 February 1996 |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/ASA12/005/1996/en/ |archive-date=4 February 2025 |access-date=21 February 2013 |title=Australia: Political Activist Becomes First Prisoner of Conscience for Over 20 Years}} *{{cite web |url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/ahric/hrd/March96/hrd05108.html |access-date=4 March 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517222442/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/ahric/hrd/March96/hrd05108.html |work=Human Rights Defender |via=AustLII |first=Laksiri |last=Fernando |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 May 2023 |title=Albert Langer: Australia's First Political Prisoner?}} *{{cite web |first=Albert |last=Langer |url=http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=317 |access-date=4 March 2005 |archive-date=4 February 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250204045214/https://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=317 |orig-date=1 May 2003 |newspaper=The Australian |via=onlineopinion.com.au |date=5 May 2003 |title=May Day it's the festival of the distressed}} *{{cite web |url=http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/Publications_Archive/CIB/cib9596/96CIB14 |title='Tweedledum and Tweedledee 1,2,3,3' – The Albert Langer Story |access-date=1 May 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516023737/https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/Publications_Archive/CIB/cib9596/96CIB14 |first=Chris |last=Field |work=Current Issues Brief 14 1995–96 |publisher=Parliament of Australia}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Langer, Albert}} Category:Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Australia Category:Activists from Melbourne Category:Australian communists Category:Jewish Australian socialists Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Censorship in Australia Category:Political prisoners in Australia Category:Prisoners and detainees of the Commonwealth of Australia Category:Australian anti-Zionists Category:Anti-Zionist Jews Category:Maoists Category:History and use of electoral systems Category:Dissidents Category:Jewish communists