Coalition parties agree not to rush into electoral changes

28/11/95

Following a joint party room meeting today, the Coalition parties have agreed that it would not be in the best interests of the people of Western Australia to rush into Parliament major changes to the State's electoral system.

The parliamentary leaders of the Liberal and National parties, Premier Richard Court and Deputy Premier Hendy Cowan, said that electoral reform was a contentious issue that required careful deliberation and a clear consensus from a majority of the electorate.

"In the current climate, any attempt by the Government to introduce major electoral changes at this time will only be seen by the electorate as a cynical attempt to introduce change for our own advantage," the leaders said.

"However, the Coalition parties have publicly acknowledged that a readjustment of the current level of weighting between the metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in the Legislative Assembly will occur as our electoral system evolves.

"In principle, agreement has been reached on a system which would divide the State's electoral enrolment by 57 and allow for a variation of plus or minus 20 per cent.

"The dividing of the State into these electoral districts would also be done in accordance with criteria such as community of interest, dispersal of population and population density, distance from major regional centres, existing boundaries of regions, districts and local governments, and a fairness clause which endeavours to ensure that the party or coalition of parties receiving the majority of votes forms government."

Redistributions currently take place after every two State elections requiring a heavy reliance on the prediction of demographic trends.

The Coalition believes a move to four year redistributions would substantially eliminate this problem and demographic trend predictions would not be necessary.

It has also been agreed that as there is a lack of consensus in the community over the need for change to the Legislative Council, the Coalition supports the current regional system which recognises the geographic size and population spread of the State.

"We have now publicly stated our position and as part of the ongoing debate on electoral reform, would expect feedback from the community on this stance over the coming months," the leaders said.