Government quietly ditches voter ID bill

The Morrison government has quietly killed off trying to pass new voter identification laws before the federal election in 2022.

Labor confirmed it was notified of the government's intention on Wednesday, just hours after a second key crossbench senator said she would not vote for the laws.

The new laws would require Australians to present a form of identification when voting and have been described as an unnecessary hindrance to democracy that would disenfranchise some voters, including Indigenous people.

Independent senator Jacqui Lambie said she did not agree with claims the proposed changes were racist, but thought it was a bad bill that risks making things worse by discouraging voters.

"Do the benefits outweigh the risks? No, no way, not even close," she told the Senate.

Senator Lambie conducted a poll on her website to understand the public sentiment on the bill ahead of making her decision.

She said two-thirds of respondents were opposed to the bill, as were the majority of respondents across all states or territories.

"One of the things I value is politicians that care what (the public) thinks," she said.

"When I do a survey, I am not asking people to decide for me, I am asking if you're in my shoes how would you vote and why?

"On balance, I do not think the laws do the job."

Senator Lambie's decision were the death knell for the bill with Labor, the Greens and independent Rex Patrick not supporting it.

With One Nation backing the proposed laws, it could have passed if Centre Alliance senator Stirling Griff sided with the government.

He wants amendments forcing political messages to include an unsubscribe option to avoid spam from politicians.

The senator said he generally supports the principle of voters needing to identify themselves.

But the government would have also had to rein in its own senators Gerard Rennick and Alex Antic, who are withholding their votes on legislation until the government deals with the issue of vaccine mandates.