NOTES BY MR GILES SHORT,

SECRETARY TO THE SCRUTINY OF BILLS COMMITTEE

AUSTRALIAN SENATE

CANBERRA, A.C.T.

                                                                     23 May 1985

 

ON 1985 DRAFT PRIVATE SENATOR'S BILL BY SENATOR DAVID VIGOR,

AUSTRALIAN DEMOCRATS SENATOR FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA,

TO AMEND THE COMMONWEALTH ELECTORAL ACT 1918

 

 

 

Senator D.B. Vigor,
The Senate,
Parliament House,
CANBERRA A.C.T.

Dear Senator Vigor,

I attach as requested a draft Private Senator's Bill to amend the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 to provide for the election of members of the House of Representatives by proportional representation.

The Bill was drafted by Mr Giles Short, Secretary to the Scrutiny of Bills Committee, and his notes on the draft are attached.

I shall await your comments on the draft Bill.

Yours sincerely,

 

 

(Harry Evans)
Clerk-Assistant (Procedure)

 

In providing for the distribution of the States into multi-member Divisions in the new section 56 I have made special provision not only for States entitled to 6, 11 or 16 members as you requested but also States entitled to 5, 7 or 9 members. The first two of these cannot be subdivided and the last can only form 3 odd-numbered Divisions of 3 members each.

I have provided for the repeal of section 65 because the quota defined in that section is the same as the average enrolment per member proposed to be defined in new sub-section 55(l).

Section 76 has been altered less drastically than you proposed but with the same result. I have not altered sub-section 154(2) to require that each writ specify the number of members to be elected from each Division since it appears that this is not the purpose of the writ. The number of members to be chosen is set by the Act while the writ merely sets the machinery of election in motion. Indeed if the writ were to specify the number of members to be elected from each Division it would be in conflict with the mini-redistribution procedure set out in section 76 which takes place after the writ is issued.

Finally I have not altered paragraph 273(20)(a) by inserting "or House of Representatives" after "Senate" as you proposed since it appears that the only purpose of that provision is to determine the order of election of Senators so that they may be divided into long and short term Senators on that basis.