Federal electoral redistribution to take place in Western Australia
A redistribution of federal electoral boundaries in Western Australia has begun.
The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 provides that a redistribution of federal electoral boundaries occurs when seven years has elapsed since the last redistribution. The last redistribution of boundaries in Western Australia was in 2000.
"A redistribution is a redrawing of electoral boundaries to ensure each State and Territory has representation in the House of Representatives in proportion to their populations, and that there are a similar number of electors in each division for a given State or Territory," Electoral Commissioner, Ian Campbell said.
Mr Campbell said that Western Australia’s entitlement to seats in the House of Representatives would remain at 15.
An initial step in the redistribution process was the calculation of the enrolment quota for Western Australia. The quota of 88,192 was determined by dividing the number of electors enrolled in the State as at 14 December 2007 by the number of Members of the House of Representatives to which the State is entitled.
A redistribution committee will be appointed in early 2008 and the public will be invited to make suggestions and comments on matters affecting the drawing of the electoral boundaries.
Redistribution processes usually take a number of months, and the new boundaries for Western Australia are not expected to be finalised until late 2008.
This federal redistribution should not be confused with the redistribution of electoral boundaries for the electorates represented in the WA state parliament, undertaken by the Western Australian State ‘Office of the Electoral Distribution Commissioners’, and completed in October this year.
More information on electoral boundary redistributions is available online at www.aec.gov.au/FAQs/Redistributions.htm. The enrolment figures used to determine the quota are also available on the AEC website.
For more information contact:
Phil Diak
Director Media and Communication Strategy
Ph. (02) 6271 4415
Mobile. 0413 452 539
