11 September 2009

The Chairman of the augmented Electoral Commission, The Hon. Peter Heerey QC, today announced the next stage in the public consultation for the proposed redistribution of Queensland’s federal electoral boundaries.

The Redistribution Committee for Queensland published its proposed redistribution on 24 July 2009. The period for lodging objections to the proposal ended on 21 August, and the period for lodging comments on objections closed on 4 September 2009.

As part of its consideration of the objections and comments on objections received, the augmented Electoral Commission will hold a public inquiry to consider submissions that people or organisations may wish to make concerning the objections made. The augmented Electoral Commission is the body which will make the final determination of the boundaries and names of the 30 electoral divisions for Queensland.

The dates, times and locations for the public inquiry are:

• Cairns - 29 September 2009 (9am to 11am)
  Court 1, Level 4
  Supreme Court
  5D Sheridan St, Cairns

• Townsville - 29 September 2009 (2:30pm to 5pm)
  Court 2, Level D
  Supreme Court
  31 Walker St, Townsville

• Brisbane - 30 September 2009 (Commencing at 9:30am)
  Hearing Room 5
  AAT Commonwealth Law Court Building
  North Quay

Those who wish to make oral submissions to the augmented Electoral Commission at the public inquiry should contact the redistribution secretariat to make the necessary arrangements.

Contact details are:

Queensland Redistribution Secretariat:
Ph: 07 3834 3450
Fax: 07 3834 3452
Email: qld.redistribution@aec.gov.au
Postal address: GPO Box 2590, Brisbane QLD 4001

A range of information regarding the redistribution process, including the proposal report, the objections and comments on objections, is available under Redistributions or from the AEC’s Brisbane office on 07 3834 3450.

Media contacts

Anne Bright
State Manager and Australian Electoral Officer, AEC Queensland
Phone: 07 3834 3440

Phil Diak
Director, Media and Communication Strategy, AEC Canberra
Phone: 02 6271 4415
Mobile: 0413 452 539