Chapter 1 - Background and context

This chapter outlines the legislative requirements of the redistribution, ranging from the formal commencement of the process to the release of the Committee’s proposed redistribution. The chapter explains how these requirements have been met during the redistribution process, and also discusses trends in population and enrolment for Western Australia.

1. A redistribution is a redrawing of electoral boundaries to ensure, as near as practicable:
   • each state and territory gains representation in the House of Representatives in proportion to its population, and
   • there is a similar number of electors in each electoral division for a given state or territory.

Compliance with legislative requirements

2. The Electoral Act specifies that a redistribution is required when:
   • the number of members of the House of Representatives to which a state or territory is entitled has changed (relative population change),
   • the number of electors in more than one third of the electoral divisions in a state (or one of the electoral divisions in the Australian Capital Territory or the Northern Territory) deviates from the average divisional enrolment by more than 10 per cent for a period of more than two months, or
   • a period of seven years has elapsed since the last redistribution.
3. The processes to be followed in conducting a redistribution are also specified in the Electoral Act. Appendix A summarises the legislative requirements which have been complied with in conducting this redistribution. Each of the requirements is discussed in further detail in this Chapter.

Determination of the number of members of the House of Representatives to be chosen in states and territories

4. On 13 November 2014, the then acting Electoral Commissioner made a determination under section 48(1) of the Electoral Act of the number of members of the House of Representatives to which each state and territory is entitled at the next general election. As a result of this determination, Western Australia’s entitlement has increased from 15 to 16 members of the House of Representatives.

Direction for a redistribution of Western Australian electoral divisions

5. In accordance with sub-section 59(1) of the Electoral Act, the Electoral Commission published a notice in the Gazette on 1 December 2014, directing that a federal redistribution commence for Western Australia.

Determination altering the projection time for equality of enrolments

6. Section 63A of the Electoral Act establishes that the projection time in relation to a redistribution is the end of the period of three years and six months after the ‘starting time’. The starting time from which the projection time is calculated, as defined by sub-section 63A(5), is the date on which the augmented Electoral Commission determines the boundaries and names of divisions via publication of a notice in the Gazette.
7. The starting time for the redistribution of Western Australia is 19 January 2016 as this is the date on which the augmented Electoral Commission will cause the boundaries and names of electoral divisions in Western Australia to be published in the Gazette.
8. Sub-section 63A(3) further provides that if the Electoral Commission is of the opinion that a further redistribution will be required as a result of a change to a state or territory’s entitlement to representation in the House of Representatives, sooner than seven years after the starting time, it may determine that the projection time will be a time that is half way between the starting time for the projection and the time when, in the opinion of the Electoral Commission, the further redistribution will or may be required.
9. The Electoral Commission determined that the projection time for Western Australia would be altered and published a notice in the Gazette on 1 December 2014 determining that the projection time is 8 February 2017.

Current enrolment quota

10. Section 65 of the Electoral Act requires the Electoral Commissioner, as soon as practicable after the redistribution commences, to determine the current enrolment quota using the following formula:

11. In calculating this quota, sub-section 65(2) of the Electoral Act provides that:
    • where the result contains a fraction that is less than 0.5, the number is rounded down to the nearest whole number, or
    • where the result contains a fraction that is equal to or greater than 0.5, the number is rounded up to the nearest whole number.
12. Table A shows the numbers used to calculate the current enrolment quota and the resultant range of the permissible maximum and minimum number of electors in a division (discussed further in ‘Statutory requirements for the making of a proposed redistribution’).

13. The then acting Electoral Commissioner signed a written instrument on 8 December 2014, as required by sub-section 65(1) of the Electoral Act, determining the quota of electors for the purposes of the redistribution to be 94 026.
14. As discussed in Appendix B, when making a proposed redistribution, the Committee is required to ensure that the number of electors in a proposed division does not vary by more than 10 per cent above or more than 10 per cent below the current enrolment quota.

Enrolment projections and projected average enrolment

15. As discussed in Appendix B, when making a proposed redistribution, the Committee is required by sub-section 66(3)(a) of the Electoral Act to ensure, as far as practicable, that the number of electors enrolled in the proposed division at the projection time will not vary by more than 3.5 per cent above or more than 3.5 per cent below the projected average enrolment. The projected average enrolment is calculated using the following formula:

16. Table B shows the figures used to calculate the projected average enrolment and the resultant range of the permissible maximum and minimum number of electors in a division at the projection time (discussed further in ‘Statutory requirements for the making of a proposed redistribution’).

Appointment of the Redistribution Committee for Western Australia

17. Sub-section 60(1) of the Electoral Act specifies that a Redistribution Committee for Western Australia is required to be appointed by the Electoral Commission, via a written instrument, as soon as practicable after the commencement of the redistribution. Section 60 specifies the membership of the Committee.
18. The membership of the Redistribution Committee for Western Australia is provided at Table C.

19. The Committee met on:
    • 22 May 2015
    • 5 June 2015
    • 19 June 2015
    • 29 June 2015.

Invitation for interested parties to submit suggestions and comments on suggestions

20. The Electoral Commissioner is required by sub-sections 64(1) and 64(2) of the Electoral Act to invite written suggestions relating to the redistribution and written comments on the suggestions received, by:
    • publishing a notice in the Gazette on a Wednesday, and
    • publishing a notice in two newspapers circulating throughout Western Australia.
21. The notice in the Gazette was published on Wednesday 11 March 2015 and notices were published in The Weekend West and The Weekend Australian newspapers on 14 March 2015.¹
22. The notices included information about the processes involved in conducting a redistribution, how to participate in the process and where to find further information. Table D indicates the avenues submitters could utilise to make a suggestion or comment on suggestions, and the extent to which they were used.

23. Interested parties were able to submit written suggestions from Wednesday 11 March 2015 until 6pm (AWST) on Friday 10 April 2015, the 5th Friday after publication of the Gazette notice. During this time, 27 suggestions were received by the Committee (see Appendix C).
24. As required by section 64(3)(a) of the Electoral Act, copies of the suggestions were made available to members of the public for perusal at the office of the Australian Electoral Officer for Western Australia in Perth from Monday 13 April 2015. The suggestions were also made available on the AEC website.
25. Interested parties were able to submit written comments on suggestions from Monday 13 April 2015 until 6pm (AWST) on Friday 24 April 2015, the 7th Friday after publication of the Gazette notice. During this time, 16 comments on suggestions were received by the Committee (see Appendix D).
26. From 28 April 2015, interested parties were able to peruse the comments on suggestions on the AEC website.

Redistribution Committee’s consideration of suggestions and comments on suggestions

27. The Committee is required by sub-section 64(4) of the Electoral Act to consider all suggestions and comments on suggestions that were received by the specified lodgement times.
28. At its meeting on 22 May 2015, the Committee considered each of the 27 suggestions and 16 comments in detail. While no suggestion or comment was adopted in its entirety, the Committee noted common elements that emerged from the suggestions and comments and a number of the points raised are reflected in the proposed redistribution.
29. Suggestions and comments are available in full on the AEC website and reproduced on the DVD included with the hard copy version of this report.
30. The Committee noted that a range of methods could be applied to achieve a redistribution outcome for Western Australia. Submissions addressing the state as a whole adopted varying approaches and proposed moving between, approximately, 14 per cent and 26 per cent of electors into a different division. The Committee noted that in the absence of any other changes some six per cent of electors must move in order to create the new division.
31. Submissions dealing with specific regions generally sought to improve electoral boundaries and to strengthen local community of interests by bringing together neighbouring localities into a single division and/or by suggesting LGA boundaries as divisional boundaries. In its deliberations the Committee noted that those submissions that proposed boundaries for specific regions of the state would need to be considered in the broader context of their effect on the state as a whole.
32. A number of submissions proposed the creation of a new division in the growth areas of Perth’s south-eastern suburbs, to be constructed primarily of localities from the Armadale and Gosnells LGAs. Other submissions suggested the four divisions that currently fall within numerical tolerances remain in their current composition, recommending no changes to those boundaries. However, the majority of state-wide suggestions significantly altered at least two of the existing 15 divisions in order to accommodate the new division.
33. Appendix E summarises the key themes contained in all suggestions and comments on suggestions, and how they relate to the Committee’s proposal with regard to the requirements of the Electoral Act.

Statutory requirements for the making of a proposed redistribution

34. Section 66 of the Electoral Act requires the Committee to take account of specific criteria in forming the proposed boundaries.
35. The Committee has ensured that the number of electors in each proposed electoral division is:
    • not less than 90 per cent or more than 110 per cent of the current enrolment quota (see Table A above for the permissible maximum and minimum number of electors at this time), and
    • not less than 96.5 per cent or more than 103.5 per cent of the average projected divisional enrolment at the projection time of 8 February 2017 (see Table B above for the permissible maximum and minimum number of electors at this time).
36. The Committee has also given due consideration to:
    • community of interests within the proposed electoral divisions including economic, social and regional interests,
    • means of communication and travel within the proposed electoral divisions,
    • the physical features and area of the proposed electoral divisions, and
    • the boundaries of existing electoral divisions.
37. Further details regarding these requirements are contained in Appendix B.

Population and enrolment in Western Australia

38. The periodic redrawing of electoral boundaries is required to:
    • address changes in the population of a state or territory. These changes may result from natural increase, natural decrease, net overseas migration or net interstate migration, and
    • address changes in the distribution of electors within the state or territory.

Western Australia’s population

39. On 13 November 2014, the then acting Electoral Commissioner ascertained that Western Australia’s population was 2 565 588.² This represents growth of 10.73 per cent since the previous ascertainment of the population was made on 29 September 2011.
40. Geographically, Western Australia is the largest Australian state, with a population that continues to grow faster than the Australian average.
41. At June 2014, Western Australia’s estimated resident population (ERP) represented 11 per cent of the total Australian population.³ The state’s ERP at June 2014 was 2.57 million,⁴ an increase of 2.16 per cent since June 2013. As shown in Figure A below, from 2008–09 to 2013–14, Western Australia’s population growth rate has been higher than any other state or territory.

Source: ABS, 3101.0 – Australian Demographic Statistics, Jun 2014: Table 4, Estimated Resident Population, states and territories

Where is Western Australia’s population located?

42. At June 2014, 79 per cent of Western Australia’s total population was located in the area of Greater Perth⁵, Over a number of years, population growth in Western Australia has been concentrated in the outer suburban areas of Greater Perth, specifically in:
    • Forrestdale – Harrisdale – Piara Waters,
    • Baldivis,
    • North Coogee,
    • Anketell – Wandi, and
    • Yanchep.⁶
43. Future growth is also anticipated in Wanneroo, in particular Alkimos, Eglinton and Banksia Grove.
44. Outside of Greater Perth, the most significant population growth is in Busselton in the south-west of the state and Karratha in the north of the state.⁷ There has been a decline in population in non-metropolitan areas of the state.⁸
45. Western Australia has the second lowest population density of all states and territories in Australia, of one person per square kilometre (sq km). There is considerable variation within the state with the population density in Greater Perth of 315 people per sq km compared to 0.2 people per sq km for the rest of Western Australia. In the year to June 2014, the population density of Greater Perth increased by 7.5 people per sq km.⁹

Enrolment in Western Australia

46. When the redistribution of Western Australia commenced on 1 December 2014, 1 504 413 electors were enrolled. By the projection time of 8 February 2017, it is projected that the size of the federal electoral roll for Western Australia will have grown by 6.02 per cent to 1 594 973 electors.
47. Table E demonstrates that while enrolment across all electoral divisions is projected to increase during the period 1 December 2014 to 8 February 2017, the rate of growth is not projected to be consistent across the state. Projected growth varies considerably, ranging from 3.96 per cent for the Division of Forrest to 7.33 per cent for the Division of Brand. This is not unexpected and underpins the need for substantial boundary adjustment across divisions to cater for the dual challenges of disparate growth rates and the need for boundaries to be adjusted to create the 16th division.

Note: Shading indicates where current or projected enrolment is outside the permissible range

48. Table E also indicates that existing divisions in Western Australia fall into three categories:
    • where the current enrolment is more than 10 per cent above the current enrolment quota and must be corrected in this redistribution to meet the numerical requirements of the redistribution process – the Divisions of Brand, Canning, Fremantle and Pearce,
    • where the projected enrolment is more than 3.5 per cent above the projected average enrolment and must be corrected to meet the numerical requirements of the redistribution process – the Divisions of Brand, Canning, Cowan, Forrest, Fremantle, Hasluck, Moore, Pearce, Perth, Stirling and Swan, and
    • where the numerical requirements of the Electoral Act in relation to both current and projected enrolment is met and technically the existing divisions require no adjustment – the Divisions of Curtin, Durack, O’Connor and Tangney.
49. he above highlights the need for the Committee to make significant changes to the current electoral boundaries. This need for boundary modification is caused by the requirement to create a new division which, of itself, generates significant consequential changes to existing divisions, with all divisions potentially affected.