New South Wales Consolidated Acts

PARLIAMENTARY ELECTORATES AND ELECTIONS ACT 1912 - SECT 14

14 Notice of proposed alteration of existing boundaries to be given

(1) The prescribed notice of any proposed alteration of an electoral district shall be given by the commissioners in the Gazette and in some newspaper published or circulating in the district.

(1A) That notice must refer to the fact that a written statement of the commissioners’ reasons for making the proposed alteration will be available for inspection at no cost during office hours at the offices of the Electoral Commissioner, for the period referred to in subsection (2).

(1B) For that purpose, the commissioners must ensure that such a statement is provided to the Electoral Commissioner and the Electoral Commissioner must ensure that the statement is made available in accordance with the notice.

(2) Suggestions or objections in writing may be lodged with the commissioners in relation to a proposed alteration of an electoral district within:

(a) a period of 30 days, or

(b) where some other period is prescribed, the prescribed period,

after the publication in the Gazette of the notice referred to in subsection (1).

(3) The commissioners shall consider any suggestions or objections lodged with them in pursuance of subsection (2) before determining the names and boundaries of electoral districts.

(4) The commissioners must complete:

(a) their consideration of any suggestions or objections lodged with them under subsection (2), and

(b) any inquiries under subsection (5) into those suggestions or objections,

as soon as practicable and in any event before the end of the period of 60 days after the period referred to in subsection (2) or, at their discretion and if an extension is required, before the end of a further period of 10 days. The 60-day and the further 10-day period does not cover the process of formulating and making the commissioners’ determination or draft determination under subsection (12).

(5) The commissioners must hold an inquiry into any suggestion or objection unless the commissioners are of the opinion that:

(a) the matters raised in the suggestion or objection were raised, or are substantially the same as matters that were raised, in suggestions or comments relating to the redistribution lodged with the commissioners in pursuance of section 13, or

(b) the suggestion or objection is frivolous or vexatious.

(6) The commissioners may hold one inquiry into a number of suggestions and objections.

(7) Proceedings before the commissioners at an inquiry into any suggestion or objection must be held in public.

(8) At an inquiry into any suggestion or objection, submissions in relation to the suggestion or objection may be made to the commissioners by or on behalf of the person who, or the organisation that, lodged the suggestion or objection with the commissioners and any person who, or organisation that, lodged suggestions or comments relating to the redistribution with the commissioners in pursuance of section 13.

(9) At an inquiry into any suggestion or objection, the commissioners must consider all of the submissions made to them in relation to the suggestion or objection.

(10) The commissioners are not bound by the legal rules of evidence and may regulate the conduct of proceedings at an inquiry into any suggestion or objection as they think fit.

(11) Without limiting the generality of subsection (10), the following matters are within the absolute discretion of the commissioners:

(a) the manner in which submissions may be made to the commissioners,

(b) the time within which submissions may be made to the commissioners,

(c) the extent to which the commissioners may be addressed, and the persons by whom they may be addressed, on any submission.

(12) As soon as practicable after the commissioners have concluded their consideration of any suggestion or objection (including any inquiries into any suggestion or objection), they must consider the form of a draft determination of the names and boundaries of electoral districts, and:

(a) if the commissioners are of the opinion that the draft determination would not be significantly different from the proposal notified under subsection (1)-determine the names and boundaries of electoral districts in accordance with the draft determination, or

(b) if the commissioners are of the opinion that the draft determination is significantly different from the proposal notified under subsection (1) in respect of an electoral district-the commissioners must publish in the Gazette and in a newspaper published or circulating in that district a notice containing a summary of the draft determination so far as is relevant and a statement to the effect that:

(i) a person who, or an organisation that, was entitled to make submissions under subsection (8) may within the prescribed period (or the period determined by the commissioners if there is no prescribed period) lodge with the commissioners a written objection, and

(ii) subject to subsection (5), the commissioners will hold an inquiry into any such objection.

(14) If such a statement is published:

(a) a person who, or an organisation that, was entitled to make submissions to an inquiry under this section may, within the prescribed period (or the period determined by the commissioners if there is no prescribed period) after the publication of the statement, lodge with the commissioners a written objection, and

(b) subject to subsection (5), the commissioners must hold an inquiry into any such objection, and

(c) subsections (5)-(11) apply to an inquiry into any such objection as if the objection were a suggestion or objection made under subsection (2).

(14A) The commissioners must complete:

(a) their consideration of any objections lodged with them under subsection (14), and

(b) any inquiries under subsection (5) (as applied by subsection (14)) into those objections,

as soon as practicable and before the end of the prescribed period (if any). That prescribed period does not cover the process of formulating and making the commissioners’ determination under subsection (15).

(15) As soon as is practicable after the commissioners have concluded their inquiries into any objection lodged under subsection (14), they must determine the names and boundaries of electoral districts. The commissioners are not required to invite further submissions, suggestions or objections or to hold any inquiries into any such further submissions, suggestions or objections that are received.

(16) The Electoral Commissioner must ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, that maps indicating the proposed boundaries of electoral districts under proposed alterations under subsection (1) are available for inspection:

(a) at the office of the Commission, and

(b) at the offices of the councils of the local government areas within current or proposed boundaries, and

(c) on the Commission’s internet website.