The Federal Redistribution 2009 QUEENSLAND Comment Number 24 on Public Suggestions Bob Richardson 84 pages Bob Richardson 45 Riverstone Road GORDONVALE 4865 Phone (07) 40 561489 Fax (07) 40562164 i h May 2009 Mr Ed Killesteyn Electoral Commissioner Australian Electoral Commission i h Floor 488 Queen Street BRISBANE 4000 Dear Mr Killesteyn I refer to your request for 'Comments' on 'Suggestions' for the current redistribution ofFederal Electoral Boundaries in Queensland. Please find enclosed my submission made up oftwo parts:- • Comments on the 'Suggested Divisions' in which I forwarded to, including tables and maps, but due to time restraints, no text, prior to 'Suggestions' closing at 6pm on Friday, 24th April, 2009. I have again included the tables for these suggested Divisions as to keep the text and them together. I have included an A4 duplicate ofthe maps I forwarded to you with my 'Suggestions'. You have the 'full size' maps I included in my submission. Street maps showing the suggested boundaries in Leichhardt (Cairns), Herbert (Townsville), and Dawson (Mackay), are also included in this submission. 2 (b) Comments on suggestions by other persons and organisations. I will make detailed comments on some ofthe 'Suggestions' made by other persons and organisations and fax them to you prior to the closing of 'Comments on Suggestions' at 6pm on Friday 8th May 2009, however I wish to express my concern about matter in which the Liberal National Party (LNP) has submitted it 'Suggestions', A 'flimsy' public presentation with no maps or detail so the public could follow where their 'Suggestions' placed the boundaries. A private submission under the guise ofa 'courtesy' in which the details in including maps are included. Under the heading Proposed changes to existing electorates the LNP state:- 'Finally we determined that using Map Info 9.0 Programme gave the clearest possible assistance to the Redistribution Committee to consider the suggestions we make. The following provides some commentary to the Map details contained on the supplied disk.' In other words the public submission is complimentary to the private one, not the other way around. When there was no copy ofthe Map Info 9.0 Programme on the Internet attached to their submission I contacted the Redistribution Secretariat, on Wednesday, 29th April, 2009, and asked was it possible to access this additional information. I was told by the Secretariat that this Map Info was given to the Redistribution Commission as a 'courtesy' and was not to be made public. I was also told that the Secretariat had contacted the LNP and they had confirmed that what was on the 'web site' was all of the submission to be made public. 3 I 'put it' to the person from the Secretariat that all submissions had to be made public under Section 64 (3) ofthe Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 which states:- 'The Redistribution Committee must cause copies ofthe suggestions lodged under paragraph (1) (a) to be made available for perusal, starting on the 5th Monday after publication ofthe notice in the Gazette' and confirmed in a letter from the Redistribution Committed Secretariat on 24th April 2009, acknowledging receipt ofmy 'suggestions' which states in part:- 'The Electoral Act required that all suggestions to the Redistribution committee be made public available. This will involve: Making copies ofall suggestions available for public inspection at the office ofthe AEC i h Floor 488 Queen St, Brisbane, Publication ofall suggestions on the AEC website' I further 'put it' to the person from the Secretariat that there was no provision under the Act for material to be supplied to the Committee which could be classed as a 'courtesy' and not for publication, and that only material made public could be considered by Committee in its deliberations. The person from the Secretariat advised I had a 'valid point' and he would take the matter up with his Manager. At approximately 8.30am on Friday 1st May, 2009, I had a phone call from the person from the Secretariat advising that all material supplied to the Committee had been posted on the AEC website. That evening I tried to access the information I was told was on the web site. I found: - That on the front page Suggestions 24 (LNP) and 25 (ALP) had attachments to suggestions and a * beside them. 4 The * stated these downloads are available in Maplnfo (midlmif) format and are suitablefor use in Geographical Information Systems (GIS). You will need GIS software to view and manipulate data. I therefore could not access the material. Being Friday night and a long weekend (Monday being the Labour Day Public Holiday in Queensland) I had to wait until Tuesday 5th May, 2009 to go to Cairns and see if somebody could download the information. I went to two ofthe largest mapping firms in Cairns, and neither had the required software to download the information. On Wednesday, 6th May, 2009, I engaged a private person to see ifhe could download this information. He could not. It appears to be impossible to access this information unless you fork out' approximately $550-00 to but the software. IfI did decide to buy the software:- • It would be oflimited use to me other than during a redistribution. • It would be probably be obsolete by the time ofthe next redistribution. • It would probably be not available in Cairns until after the closing time of 'Comments on Suggestions' I phoned the Redistribution Committee Secretariat on the afternoon of Wednesday, 6th May, asking ifthere was going to be an extension of time for 'Comments on Suggestions' in view ofthe fact that all the 'Suggestions' were not available for public perusal on the '5 th Monday' as required under the Act. I was told that under the Act there is no provision for an extension of time. 5 I accept this to be so, however when Parliament passed this legislation many years ago (possibly 1983) they probably did not envisage the situation which has now occurred, i.e. that the Redistribution Committee did not have all the 'Suggestions' made public within the time frame stipulated in the Act. I find it unacceptable that some ofthe 'so called' public submissions cannot be accessed by the general public without considerable financial outlay. I am aware that the only way was the local newspaper 'The Cairns Post' could obtain a copy ofthe map ofthe LNP 'Suggested' Division ofKennedy was for their IT people to 'crack' the LNP website. I ask the Redistribution Committee to take steps so as all the material presented to them at future redistributions is readily available to the public at a reasonable cost, or else 'public comments' will become a 'farce' and the 'real suggestions' will be the ones given to the Committee as a 'courtesy' behind closed doors. I though this practice went out twenty years ago with demise ofthe Bjelke-Petersen Government. I intend writing to the Minister and the Parliamentary Committee that overseas the Electoral Act, to inform them ofwhat has happened in Queensland during this Electoral Redistribution, and also requesting that they take whatever action (possibly legislative) to make sure this does not occur at future Redistributions. I note that the ALP also made an attachment to their public submission, but their public submission included maps and Statistical Local Areas (SLA's) and Census Collection Districts (CCD's). With the assistance ofthe Australian Bureau ofStatistic (ABS) maps, it could be easily ascertained the details oftheir 'Suggestion'. Should you have any queries please contact me on the above phone number. Yours sincerely R. J. Richardson. 6 COMMENTS ON MY SUGGESTED DIVISION OF KENNEDY TABLE 6 Enrolment My 'Suggested Division ofKennedy' completes the Divisions on North and Central Queensland. It includes:- (a) The area ofthe existing Division ofKennedy that is not included in my 'Suggested' Division ofFulton. This includes the towns and cities along the Great Northern Railway from Charters Towers to Mount Isa, and also the Burke, Doomadgee, Mornington and Boulia Shires. (b) The Burdekin Shire from the existing Division ofDawson. Legislative requirements preclude this Shire from being included in my 'Suggested' Division ofDawson. (c) Parts ofthe existing Division ofFlynn. This includes:- • All the area ofthe Gladstone Regional Council and the Banana Shire Council. • The Western Regional Councils ofBlackall/Tambo, Longreach and the Shire ofWinton. • Parts ofthe Regional Councils ofBarcaldine and Central Highlands. • The North Burnett towns ofEidsvold, Monto and Perry , 7 • The Koolan Statistical Local Area (SLA), formerly Shire of the Bundaberg Regional Council. While my 'Suggested Division' may be classed as a 'miss match' I consider it the better ofthe options, i.e. split the Regional Councils like Mackay and Rockhampton, or have a Division that 'completes' the Divisions ofNorth and Central Queensland. It does have agriculture, (including pastoral activities), and mining as a 'common interest'. Should the Redistribution Commission accept this 'Suggestion' I envisage the 'Suggested Division ofKennedy' 'moving north' after future redistributions, thus loosing Gladstone and its surrounding areas. The reasons for this being:- • That with future growth ofCaims the 'Suggested Division of Fulton' will loose its Townsville component and Kennedy would move east and 'fill the gap'. • That with the future growth ofTownsville, the 'Suggested' Division ofKennedy would move east and accommodate the surplus from Herbert. • That with the future growth ofMackay and the anticipated development ofthe Town ofBowen as an industrial centre, the 'Suggested' Division ofKennedy would move south east and take in parts ofthe Whitsunday Regional Council (including Bowen), thus relieving the surplus from the Division ofDawson. As a result ofthe increase ofthe size ofthe Federal Parliament in 1984, that redistribution brought the Division ofKennedy onto the Atherton Tableland to absorb the surplus from Leichhardt that the reduced quota produced.