Augmented Electoral Commission Decides Boundaries And Names For Federal Electoral Divisions In New South Wales

ATTACHMENT TO MEDIA RELEASE Of 13 September 2006

Further Information

The presiding member of the augmented Electoral Commission for New South Wales, the Hon James Burchett QC, explained that it had adopted the proposal of the Redistribution Committee for New South Wales, published 30 June 2006, with some changes, following upon the augmented Commission's consideration of all objections and comments on objections made in respect of the Committee's proposal, and the holding of public inquiries involving the hearing of submissions in Sydney and Narrabri. There were 1989 objections received in relation to the Committee's proposal and 156 comments on objections.

The proposal, as changed, stands as the proposed redistribution of New South Wales made by the augmented Electoral Commission for New South Wales.

The substance of the findings or conclusions of the augmented Electoral Commission concerning the objections and the Committee's proposal is the following:

1. The central problem for the Redistribution Committee and for the augmented Electoral Commission was the identification of the division to be abolished to bring down the number of electoral divisions in New South Wales from 50 to 49, as required by a determination under s 48(1) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, made on 17 November 2005, which triggered the redistribution. In seeking the answer to this problem, the Committee was guided by the decline in enrolment share relative to many other parts of the State suffered in the remote north-west region. While a small degree of flexibility in numbers is allowed by the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, the Redistribution Committee could not escape the conclusion that the division of Gwydir would be the most appropriate division to abolish. Many of the objections related to the committee's decision in this respect and to its consequential decisions as to the absorption of the abolished division within adjacent divisions. At the public hearing in Narrabri of the inquiry held by the augmented Electoral Commission, many submissions were made with passion and eloquence contending that the result, apart from the loss of Gwydir, was an expansion of the division of Parkes so great as to make it cover an unmanageable area. Of course, it was recognised that there are even larger divisions in some other States. The augmented Electoral Commission has concluded that a variation of the Committee's proposal is feasible, and should be adopted, which would reduce the area of Parkes, and at the same time meet objections also raised in relation to the Unincorporated Far West and Menindee, which have communities of interest with Broken Hill. The augmented Electoral Commission has revised the boundaries of the proposed division of Parkes so as to draw enrolment numbers in the south from the division of Calare as previously proposed, while yielding areas in the west to the proposed divisions of Calare and Farrer. Through a balancing adjustment to Farrer, the augmented Commission has been able to meet a community of interest objection in relation to the Murrumbidgee Local Government Area by transferring it from Farrer, as proposed by the Committee, to Riverina. By this means, the total area of the proposed Parkes will be reduced from 376 206 square kilometres to about 107 000 square kilometres, and, although Calare and Farrer will be enlarged (to 237 000 and 199 925 square kilometres respectively), neither will approach the area previously proposed for Parkes. The new proposed boundaries are shown on the indicative maps referred to later in this release and attachment issued by the augmented Commission.
2. Having made these changes to the boundaries of the divisions referred to, the augmented Electoral Commission considered whether it was appropriate to retain the names "Parkes" and "Calare". Although there are guidelines which are followed "as a matter of practice" (see Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters Report (1995) on the Effectiveness and Appropriateness of the Redistribution Provisions of Parts III and IV of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 at section 8.7), the augmented Commission retains, as the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters stated in the same section, "an open discretion in the naming of divisions". The augmented Commission gave great weight to the historical importance in New South Wales of Sir Henry Parkes, and it saw no reason to change the name of the division of Calare simply because it was enlarged in area. It concluded that each of these names should be retained as the name of the division of Parkes and Calare respectively as delineated in its proposed redistribution of New South Wales.
3. The augmented Electoral Commission considered objections to the proposed removal of Raymond Terrace and Williamtown from the division of Paterson to that of Newcastle. It concluded that the numbers would not permit complete reversal of this step, but Raymond Terrace should be brought back into Paterson and compensation for that change should be made by adjustments at the junction of the boundaries of Paterson, Newcastle and Hunter. These changes (which included a small change for better boundary definition in the vicinity of Metford Road) are also shown on the indicative maps.
4. A number of objections related to the Redistribution Committee's changes to the boundaries of the division of Parramatta, which had the effect of excluding much of the Central Business District of the City of Parramatta. The augmented Electoral Commission found itself able, without needing to make compensating adjustments elsewhere, to vary the boundary between Parramatta and Reid so as to bring back into the division of Parramatta, as proposed by it, an important part of the Central Business District of Parramatta, and it decided to do so. These changes are also shown on the indicative maps.
5. There were objections, on community of interest grounds, to proposed changes of the boundaries between the divisions of Kingsford Smith and Sydney, Sydney and Wentworth, and Wentworth and Kingsford Smith. Sydney needed to shed electors at the projection date, whereas Wentworth and Kingsford Smith needed to gain them. The augmented Electoral Commission concluded that the existing boundary of Kingsford Smith at Gardeners Road should be moved to the north, and the southern boundary of Wentworth, as proposed by the Committee, should be moved somewhat south east of Centennial Park, in part restoring the existing southern boundary of Wentworth. It also found in favour of some consequential eastward adjustment from the College Street part of the western boundary of Wentworth. These changes are shown on the indicative maps.
6. The augmented Electoral Commission also made an adjustment, shown on the indicative maps, to the south-western boundary of Macarthur in the Picton area in the interests of better definition.
7. A variety of other objections failed, in the opinion of the augmented Commission, to meet the criterion relating to projected enrolment numbers or, to the extent that the criterion could be met by compensatory adjustments elsewhere, the problems raised by the further criteria in s 66 of the Act were not met as well as they were by the Committee's proposal.

The proposal of the augmented Electoral Commission for New South Wales is in terms of the proposal previously published by the Redistribution Committee for New South Wales, subject to the changes referred to above, and further minor boundary adjustments aimed at producing better defined boundaries complying with the criteria in s.66 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918.

The augmented Electoral Commission's proposal is shown on indicative maps published on the AEC Website simultaneously with this media release, which, however, are subject to correction in the final maps, to be issued with the augmented Electoral Commission's determination and reasons at a later date.

The augmented Commission's decision to propose to determine the boundaries and names of the divisions into which the State of New South Wales is to be distributed, by affirming the Committee's proposal subject to the stated variations, leaves a further question outstanding under s 72(12) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. That question is whether, "in the opinion of the augmented Electoral Commission", its proposal is "significantly different" from that of the Committee.

Whether the proposals are significantly different is to be decided in the light of the nature of the Committee's proposal, to which the changes made by the augmented Commission relate. That proposal hinged on the initial decision to abolish the division of Gwydir, in the remote north-west of the State, on the basis that this region was suffering from a decline in enrolment share relative to many other parts of the State. The augmented Commission has accepted the basal decision, while acceding to some extent to objections concerning particular areas allocated to other divisions in the resulting realignment of boundaries.

Whilst some of the areas involved are large, the changes do not alter the substance of the Committee's solution to the problem of finding the appropriate part of the State from which to delete a division. Each of the other changes made by the augmented Commission may properly be described as an adjustment to meet localised problems, or to effect some improvement to the proposed boundaries.

Considering all of the changes together, the augmented Commission is of the opinion that its proposal is not significantly different from the Redistribution Committee's proposal within the meaning of s 72(12)(c) of the Act and it has so determined. Therefore, upon the publication in the Gazette of the determination of the augmented Electoral Commission for New South Wales under s 73 of the Act and the issue of the reasons for that determination, the redistribution process will have been concluded without the need to call for further objections or hearings.

The new divisional boundaries will come into effect at the next federal election, but any by-election that might occur before the next federal election would be held on the boundaries as determined at the previous redistribution.

Background information

The members of the augmented Electoral Commission for New South Wales are:

Chairperson of the Australian Electoral Commission	Hon JCS Burchett QC
Electoral Commissioner	Mr Ian Campbell
Non-judicial Commissioner (and Australian Statistician)	Mr Dennis Trewin
Australian Electoral Officer for New South Wales	Mr David Farrell
Surveyor-General of New South Wales	Mr Warwick Watkins
Auditor-General of New South Wales	Mr Bob Sendt