Proposed redistribution of Western Australia into electoral divisions AUGUST 2015 Report of the Redistribution Committee for Western Australia Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 Feedback and enquiries Feedback on this report is welcome and should be directed to the contact officer. Contact officer National Redistributions Manager Roll Management Branch Australian Electoral Commission 50 Marcus Clarke Street Canberra ACT 2600 PO Box 6172 Kingston ACT 2604 Telephone: 02 6271 4411 Fax: 02 6215 9999 Email: [email protected] AEC website www.aec.gov.au Accessible services Visit the AEC website for telephone interpreter services in 18 languages. Readers who are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment can contact the AEC through the National Relay Service (NRS): – TTY users phone 133 677 and ask for 13 23 26 – Speak and Listen users phone 1300 555 727 and ask for 13 23 26 – Internet relay users connect to the NRS and ask for 13 23 26 ISBN: 978-1-921427-32-9 © Commonwealth of Australia 2015 © State of Western Australia 2015 The report should be cited as Redistribution Committee for Western Australia, Proposed redistribution of Western Australia into electoral divisions. 15_0525 The Redistribution Committee for Western Australia (the Committee) has completed its proposed redistribution of Western Australia into 16 electoral divisions. In developing and considering the impacts of the redistribution proposal, the Committee has satisfied itself that the proposed boundaries meet the requirements of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (Electoral Act). The Committee unanimously agrees on the boundaries and names of the proposed electoral divisions and recommends its redistribution proposal for Western Australia. This report has been prepared in accordance with the relevant requirements of Part IV of the Electoral Act. Redistribution Committee for Western Australia, Perth Mr Tom Rogers Ms Marie Neilson Mr Colin Murphy Mr Mike Bradford Chair Member Member Member August 2015 Contents 1 About this report 1 Abbreviations and glossary 3 Executive summary 3 Naming of electoral divisions 4 Boundaries of electoral divisions 4 Elector movements 5 Background and context 5 Compliance with legislative requirements 5 Determination of the number of members of the House of Representatives to be chosen in states and territories 6 Direction for a redistribution of Western Australian electoral divisions 6 Determination altering the projection time for equality of enrolments 6 Current enrolment quota 7 Enrolment projections and projected average enrolment 8 Appointment of the Redistribution Committee for Western Australia 8 Invitation for interested parties to submit suggestions and comments on suggestions 9 Redistribution Committee’s consideration of suggestions and comments on suggestions 10 Statutory requirements for the making of a proposed redistribution 11 Population and enrolment in Western Australia 15 Proposed redistribution and reasons for proposal 15 Redistribution Committee’s proposed redistribution 15 Redistribution Committee’s approach to formulating proposed electoral boundaries 16 Redistribution Committee’s approach to naming divisions 17 Proposed redistribution of Western Australia by division 51 What next? 51 Invitation for objections 51 Invitation to provide comments on objections 51 Objections and comments on objections 52 The second redistribution proposal 52 Final determination of boundaries and names of divisions 52 How to lodge an objection or comment on an objection 52 Further information 53 Appendices 53 Appendix A: Legislative compliance table 55 Appendix B: Operation of statutory requirements for the making of a proposed redistribution 57 Appendix C: Public suggestions for the Western Australia federal redistribution 57 Appendix D: Comments on suggestions for the Western Australia federal redistribution 58 Appendix E: Redistribution Committee’s response to themes contained in suggestions and comments on suggestions 61 Appendix F: Guidelines for naming federal electoral divisions ii Proposed redistribution of Western Australia into electoral divisions August 2015 62 Appendix G: Description of the method used to calculate the areas of electoral divisions 63 Appendix H: Timetable for the remainder of the redistribution process 64 Appendix I: Statistical summaries of proposed divisions Tables 7 Table A: Current enrolment quota and permissible range for Western Australia 8 Table B: Projected average enrolment and permissible range for Western Australia 8 Table C: Membership of the Redistribution Committee for Western Australia 9 Table D: Avenues utilised to make a suggestion or comment on suggestion 13 Table E: Projected growth of existing divisions 16 Table F: Summary of movement of electors between proposed divisions 17 Table G: Summary of proposed divisions Figures 11 Figure A: Population increase by state and territory 2008–09 to 2013–14 18 Figure B: Proposed Division of Brand 20 Figure C: Proposed Division of Burt 22 Figure D: Proposed Division of Canning 24 Figure E: Proposed Division of Cowan 26 Figure F: Proposed Division of Curtin 28 Figure G: Proposed Division of Durack 30 Figure H: Proposed Division of Forrest 32 Figure I: Proposed Division of Fremantle 34 Figure J: Proposed Division of Hasluck 36 Figure K: Proposed Division of Moore 38 Figure L: Proposed Division of O’Connor 40 Figure M: Proposed Division of Pearce 42 Figure N: Proposed Division of Perth 44 Figure O: Proposed Division of Stirling 46 Figure P: Proposed Division of Swan 48 Figure Q: Proposed Division of Tangney iii About this report This report provides the proposed redistribution of Western Australia into 16 electoral divisions and the Committee’s reasons supporting this proposal. The report consists of the following sections: Executive summary 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. Chapter 2: Proposed redistribution and reasons for proposal This chapter outlines the Committee’s proposed redistribution and the reasons for this proposal. Also included is the Committee’s approach to formulating the proposed boundaries and the names of divisions. Chapter 3: What next? This chapter outlines the legislative requirements that are to be met following the release of the proposed redistribution, through to the final determination of the names and boundaries of electoral divisions in Western Australia. Appendices Please note the following when reading tables in this report: percentages and calculated numbers have been rounded numbers in parentheses indicate negative numbers Abbreviations and glossary Word or acronym Meaning ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics AEC Australian Electoral Commission augmented Electoral The Electoral Commission, augmented by the members of the Redistribution Committee Commission for Western Australia Committee The Redistribution Committee for Western Australia current enrolment The number of electors enrolled in Western Australia on the day the redistribution quota commenced (1 December 2014), divided by the number of members of the House of Representatives to which the State is entitled (16) The current enrolment quota for this redistribution is 94 026 electors EBMS Electoral Boundary Mapping System – a modification of commercially available mapping software that calculates the revised current and projected enrolments when boundaries are moved Electoral Act Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 1 Word or acronym Meaning Electoral The Commission is headed by a Chairperson, who must be an active or retired judge of Commission the Federal Court of Australia. The other members are the Electoral Commissioner and a non-judicial member, currently the Australian Statistician ERP Estimated resident population. The ABS official estimate of the Australian population, which links people to a place of usual residence within Australia. Further information is available from the ABS website Gazette Commonwealth Government Notices Gazette. Gazette notices contain a range of information, including proclamations and notices of Commonwealth government departments and Courts, and other notices required under Commonwealth law general election A general election of the members of the House of Representatives guidelines Guidelines for naming federal electoral divisions JSCEM The Australian Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters LGA Local government area locality Also known as a suburb. An administrative geographical area which is uniquely and clearly defined to enable accurate property street addressing and to support the prompt delivery of services. In a redistribution context, locality and suburb boundaries are generally strong indicators of a community of interests projected average The number of electors projected to be enrolled in Western Australia at the projection enrolment time (8 February 2017), divided by the number of members of the House of Representatives to which the State is entitled (16) The projected average enrolment for this redistribution is 99 686 electors projection time The projection time is generally the end of the period three years and six months after the date that the final determination of division boundaries and names is published in the Gazette. There are circumstances