Appendices

Appendix A: Summary of compliance with legislative requirements

Appendix B: Operation of statutory requirements for the making of a redistribution

Section 73 of the Electoral Act requires the augmented Electoral Commission for Western Australia to:

• make a determination of the names and boundaries of the electoral divisions of Western Australia by a notice published in the Gazette,
• ensure that the number of electoral divisions into which Western Australia is divided equals the number of members of the House of Representatives to be chosen in Western Australia at the next general election, and
• abide by the following requirements:

4. In making the determination, the augmented Electoral Commission:
   1. shall, as far as practicable, endeavour to ensure that the number of electors enrolled in each Electoral Division in the State or Territory will not, at the projection time determined under section 63A, be less than 96.5% or more than 103.5% of the average divisional enrolment of that State or Territory at that time; and
   2. subject to paragraph (a), shall give due consideration, in relation to each proposed Electoral Division, to:
      1. community of interests within the proposed Electoral Division, including economic, social and regional interests;
      2. means of communication and travel within the proposed Electoral Division;
      4. the physical features and area of the proposed Electoral Division; and
      5. the boundaries of existing Divisions in the State or Territory;
         
         and subject thereto the quota of electors for the State or Territory shall be the basis for the proposed redistribution, and the augmented Electoral Commission may adopt a margin of allowance, to be used whenever necessary, but in no case shall the quota be departed from to a greater extent than one-tenth more or one-tenth less.

4. (A) When applying subsection (4), the augmented Electoral Commission must treat the matter in subparagraph (4)(b)(v) as subordinate to the matters in subparagraphs (4)(b)(i), (ii) and (iv).

These statutory requirements are expressed in a hierarchical order.

The purpose of paragraph 4(a) is suggested by its history. It has undergone some transformation since the Commonwealth Electoral Legislation Amendment Act 1983 stipulated that boundaries were to be drawn, as far as practicable, to achieve equal numbers of electors in each of a state’s electoral divisions three-and-a-half years after a redistribution. By 1984 ‘it was observed that the three-and-a-half year rule had in some areas forced the adoption, on purely numerical grounds, of boundaries which took little account of perceived community of interest’.³⁷ Therefore, in 1987, the rule was relaxed to permit a measure of tolerance to plus or minus two percent from average projected enrolment. Subsequently, the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters concluded that:

the numerical criteria do not allow “due consideration”, in the words of the Act, to be given to the qualitative factors. Rather, the political parties and others attempting to frame electoral boundaries essentially find themselves engaged in a mathematical modelling exercise. In order to relax the enrolment requirements to that extent necessary to allow a realistic degree of flexibility the Committee recommends… that subsections 66(3)(a) and 73(4)(a) of the Electoral Act be amended, so as to extend the variation from average divisional enrolment allowed three-and-a-half years after a redistribution from two to 3.5 percent.³⁸

The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters also, in the same report, refers to its recommended amendment as one that ‘would maintain substantial restrictions on malapportionment [and] would allow other legitimate policy objectives to be more effectively met’.

Paragraph 4(a) follows this recommendation. The terms of the recommendation, and the discussion which preceded it, make clear the purpose of paragraph 3(a), as it now stands, and how it was intended to interact with the other criteria set out in the sub-paragraphs of paragraph (b), to which also ‘due consideration’ must be given. The augmented Electoral Commission has considered the objections, comments on objections, submissions on objections to the inquiry and made its proposed redistribution on this basis.

In summary, the primary criteria are to:

• endeavour to ensure that the number of electors in the proposed electoral divisions are within a range of 3.5 per cent below or above the projected enrolment quota at the projection time, and
• ensure that current enrolments are within 10 per cent below or above the current enrolment quota.

The secondary criteria are community of interests, means of communication and travel, and physical features and area. The augmented Electoral Commission also considers the boundaries of existing electoral divisions; however this criterion is subordinate to the others.

Appendix C: Objections to the proposed redistribution of Western Australia

28 written objections were received.

Appendix D: Comments on objections to the proposed redistribution of Western Australia

10 written comments on objections were received.

Appendix E: Augmented Electoral Commission’s response to themes contained in objections, comments on objections and in submissions to the inquiry into objections

O = objection received, COB = comment on objection received and I = inquiry participant (refer to Appendix C, Appendix D or Appendix F for full list)

O = objection received, COB = comment on objection received and I = inquiry participant (refer to Appendix C, Appendix D or Appendix F for full list)

Appendix F: Inquiry into objections

Six oral submissions were made at the inquiry held by the augmented Electoral Commission in Perth on Tuesday 27 October 2015.

Appendix G: Constructing proposed electoral boundaries

The AEC maintains the electoral roll on the basis of alignment to Statistical Area 1s (SA1s),³⁹ and is able to provide data on enrolments and projected enrolments at this level. Accordingly, in formulating its proposals, the augmented Electoral Commission used SA1s as its basic building blocks. The SA1s have defined boundaries and are of differing sizes and shapes. In cases where the augmented Electoral Commission considered that a particular SA1 boundary was inappropriate for use as an electoral division boundary, the SA1 was split to provide a more meaningful boundary.

The indicative area of electoral divisions in Western Australia has been calculated by aggregating the area of:

• all land-based SA1s,
• any parts of land-based SA1s, and
• any lakes, ponds, rivers, creeks, wetlands or marshes not already included in land-based SA1s, that are contained within the divisional boundary of each electoral division.

Areas are calculated on the Geocentric Datum of Australia (GDA94) spheroid using the AEC’s Electoral Boundary Mapping System (EBMS), developed within the ‘MapInfo Professional’ software package.

The augmented Electoral Commission used EBMS as an aid to modelling various boundary options. This system was also made available for public use at the office of the Australian Electoral Officer for Western Australia in Perth.

Appendix H: Announcement of the augmented Electoral Commission’s proposed redistribution

The text of the augmented Electoral Commission’s public announcement of its proposed redistribution, issued on Thursday 5 November 2015, is reproduced below.

Augmented Electoral Commission decides names and boundaries of federal electoral divisions in Western Australia

The augmented Electoral Commission for Western Australia today announced the outcome of its deliberations on the names and boundaries of the 16 federal electoral divisions in Western Australia.

The Hon. Dennis Cowdroy OAM QC, the presiding member, said that the augmented Electoral Commission had adopted the majority of the redistribution proposed by the Redistribution Committee for Western Australia, which was detailed in its report of 21 August 2015: Proposed redistribution of Western Australia into electoral divisions, with the following alterations:

• the locality of North Fremantle will be placed in the proposed Division of Fremantle
  • the Redistribution Committee had proposed placing the locality of North Fremantle in the proposed Division of Curtin
• the entire locality of Crawley will be placed in the proposed Division of Curtin
  • the Redistribution Committee had proposed placing the portion of Crawley locality that lies north of Mounts Bay Road and within the City of Perth in the proposed Division of Perth
• the boundary of the proposed Division of Perth will extend into the Swan River east of the locality of Crawley
  • the Redistribution Committee had proposed placing the small portion of the City of Perth that lies south of Mounts Bay Road in the proposed Division of Curtin
• the Shire of Wandering will be located in the proposed Division of O’Connor
  • the Redistribution Committee had proposed locating the Shire of Wandering in the proposed Division of Canning.

• Further information on these alterations

The augmented Electoral Commission has adopted the Redistribution Committee’s proposal to retain the 15 existing division names and to name the new division as the Division of Burt.

An overview of the augmented Electoral Commission’s conclusions on objections to the Redistribution Committee’s proposed redistribution is available.

In the opinion of the augmented Electoral Commission, this proposal is not significantly different from the proposal of the Redistribution Committee, and therefore no further input from members of the public will be sought.

The names and boundaries of the federal electoral divisions for Western Australia will apply from 19 January 2016 when a notice of determination is published in the Commonwealth Government Notices Gazette. Federal general elections for which the writ is issued after this date will be contested on the new boundaries.

Maps will be available on the website on 19 January 2016. Detailed maps and a report outlining the augmented Electoral Commission’s reasons for the formal determination will be tabled in the Federal Parliament and will then be made publicly available.

More information about the Western Australian federal redistribution is available or you can contact the Redistribution Secretariat:

• Email: fedredistribution-WA@aec.gov.au
• Telephone: 08 6363 8043

Further information:

A Redistribution Committee is appointed for the state or territory in which a redistribution has commenced.

The Redistribution Committee for Western Australia consisted of:

• the Electoral Commissioner,
• the acting Australian Electoral Officer for Western Australia,
• the Surveyor-General of Western Australia, and
• the Auditor-General for Western Australia.

The Redistribution Committee is responsible for considering inputs from the public and making a proposed redistribution.

The augmented Electoral Commission then considers any objections to a proposed redistribution and makes a final determination of the names and boundaries of the redistributed divisions. The augmented Electoral Commission for Western Australia consists of:

• the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission,
• the non-judicial member of the Electoral Commission, currently the Australian Statistician,
• the Electoral Commissioner,
• the acting Australian Electoral Officer for Western Australia,
• the Surveyor-General of Western Australia, and
• the Auditor-General for Western Australia.

Editor’s notes:

For information about the review of Western Australia’s state electoral districts visit The Electoral Boundary Review | Electoral Boundaries WA. This is a separate process not administered by the AEC and is not related to Federal Parliament.

Appendix I: Determination of electoral divisions in Western Australia by the augmented Electoral Commission

The text of the augmented Electoral Commission’s determination of electoral divisions in Western Australia, published in the Gazette on Tuesday 19 January 2016, is reproduced below.

Determination of names and boundaries of federal electoral divisions in Western Australia

As determined by the then acting Electoral Commissioner on 13 November 2014, Western Australia is entitled to 16 members of the House of Representatives.

Pursuant to sub-section 73(1) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (the Electoral Act), the augmented Electoral Commission for Western Australia has determined the names of the 16 electoral divisions are:

Pursuant to sub-section 73(1) of the Electoral Act, the augmented Electoral Commission for Western Australia has determined that the boundaries of these electoral divisions are as
shown on the maps published on the Australian Electoral Commission website at
www.aec.gov.au/Electorates/Redistributions and lodged in file number 15/920 at the National Office of the Australian Electoral Commission in Canberra.

The augmented Electoral Commission for Western Australia has made decisions in accordance with the requirements of sub-sections 73(3), 73(4) and 73(4A) of the Electoral Act.

Subject to the provisions of the Electoral Act, the electoral divisions determined by this notice will apply from 19 January 2016 until the next determination of names and boundaries of electoral divisions in Western Australia is published in the Commonwealth Government Notices Gazette pursuant to sub-section 73(1) or sub-section 76(6) of the Electoral Act.

The Hon. Dennis Cowdroy OAM QC
Chairperson
Augmented Electoral Commission for Western Australia

Appendix J: Guidelines for naming federal electoral divisions

Determining the names of federal electoral divisions is part of the process of conducting a federal redistribution within a state or territory.

The criteria used by redistribution committees to propose the names of electoral divisions, and used by augmented electoral commissions to determine the names of electoral divisions, have previously been the subject of recommendations from the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters. From these recommendations, a set of guidelines was developed as a point of reference only.

It should be noted that redistribution committees and augmented electoral commissions are in no way bound by the guidelines.

Naming after persons

In the main, electoral divisions should be named after deceased Australians who have rendered outstanding service to their country.

When new electoral divisions are created the names of former Prime Ministers should be considered.

Federation Divisional names

Every effort should be made to retain the names of original federation electoral divisions.

Geographical names

Locality or place names should generally be avoided, but in certain areas the use of geographical features may be appropriate (e.g. Perth).

Aboriginal names

Aboriginal names should be used where appropriate and as far as possible existing Aboriginal divisional names should be retained.

Other criteria

The names of Commonwealth electoral divisions should not duplicate existing state districts.

Qualifying names may be used where appropriate (e.g. Melbourne Ports, Port Adelaide).

Names of electoral divisions should not be changed or transferred to new areas without very strong reasons.

When two or more electoral divisions are partially combined, as far as possible the name of the new electoral division should be that of the old electoral division which had the greatest number of electors within the new boundaries. However, where the socio-demographic nature of the electoral division in question has changed significantly, this should override the numerical formula.

Appendix K: General description of how electoral divisions are constituted

The following tables show how each electoral division has been constructed. The unit to display this construction is Statistical Area 2s (SA2s).⁴⁰ Each SA2 comprises a number of SA1s. The SA1s and SA2s which applied at the 2011 Census of Population and Housing have been used.

Electoral divisions are displayed in alphabetical order.