The name of the candidate elected to replace Mr Zed Seselja in the ACT Legislative Assembly should be known by the end of June, the ACT Electoral Commissioner, Phillip Green, announced today.

The ACT Electoral Commission has received official notification of the casual vacancy from the Speaker of the Assembly, Mrs Vicki Dunne MLA. Mr Seselja formally resigned from the Assembly today, Tuesday 11 June 2013.

“I am now able to outline the official timetable for filling the vacancy,” Mr Green said.

Legislative Assembly vacancies are filled by conducting a ‘count-back’ of those ballot papers that elected the vacating member. In effect, those electors who voted for Mr Seselja determine his replacement.

“To begin the count-back process, an advertisement will appear on Friday 14 June 2013 in the Canberra Times inviting candidates who unsuccessfully stood in the Brindabella electorate to contest the vacancy.  Where practicable the Commission will also notify all those unsuccessful candidates directly,” Mr Green said.

Those candidates then have ten days to indicate if they wish to contest the vacancy.

“At 12.30 pm on Monday 24 June 2013 the names of the candidates contesting the vacancy will be officially declared.  A computer counting program will then be used to determine which candidate will be elected to the Assembly to replace Mr Seselja,” Mr Green said.

It is expected that the official declaration of the result will take place the following Wednesday, 26 June 2013, at 3.00 pm.

Members of the media are invited to attend these two events. They will take place at the Reception Room of the ACT Legislative Assembly, Civic Square, London Circuit, Canberra City.

The Chairperson of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body has notified the ACT Electoral Commissioner that one of Elected Body’s members, Mr John Paul Janke, has resigned his position on the Elected Body.

“I am now required to announce the vacancy and call for applications from the unsuccessful candidates at the 2011 Elected Body election who still live in the ACT, and who wish to contest the vacancy,” the Electoral Commissioner, Phil Green said today.

Vacancies on the Elected Body are filled by distributing the votes of the former member. “In effect, those voters who voted for Mr Janke determine his replacement,” Mr Green said.

“To begin the formal process for filling the vacancy, I will be placing an advertisement in The Canberra Times on Saturday 2 March 2013 inviting candidates who stood unsuccessfully at the 2011 election to contest the vacancy. Those candidates then have 10 days to apply to contest the vacancy, if they wish to do so,” Mr Green said.

Applications will close at 12 noon on 12 March 2013. “I will declare the names of the candidates who wish to contest the vacancy at 12.30pm that day,” Mr Green said

“Then, if more than 1 candidate applies to contest the vacancy, a distribution of the votes received by Mr Janke will take place at my office, commencing at 2pm that same day, to elect a candidate to fill the vacancy,” Mr Green said.

Media Release from the Expert Reference Group reviewing the size of the ACT Legislative Assembly

The Expert Reference Group reviewing the size of the ACT Assembly will undertake an extensive public consultation process early in the new year, the group’s chairperson, ACT Electoral Commissioner Phillip Green said today.

The Expert Reference Group held its first meeting this week, following the appointment of the Reference Group by ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher on 13 December 2012.

The Chief Minister has asked the Expert Reference Group to:

• examine past reviews into the size of the Assembly;
• consider factors relevant to increasing the size of the Assembly;
• consider any limitations placed on changes to the size of the Assembly by the Proportional Representation (Hare-Clark) Entrenchment Act; and
• recommend options for increasing the size of the Assembly, including the number of electorates and the number of members for each electorate.

 “Public input into this review will be very important,” Mr Green said. “The Expert Reference Group will be publishing a discussion paper in the third week in January. The discussion paper will be designed to inform people wishing to make a submission to the inquiry into the size of the Assembly and to raise issues that the group particularly intends to seek feedback on.”

The Expert Reference Group will seek public submissions by 1 March 2013. The group also intends to meet with Members of the Legislative Assembly.

“These public submissions and discussions will be used to inform the recommendations of the reference group. The Expert Reference Group is to report back to the Chief Minister by 31 March 2013,” Mr Green said.

“This review will be relevant to all ACT citizens who have an interest in how the ACT is governed,” Mr Green said. “With just 17 Members of the Legislative Assembly, the ACT has fewer elected Members serving the interests of the ACT community than any other State or Territory in Australia. 

“Bearing in mind that the ACT Legislative Assembly is uniquely responsible for both State and local government functions, this review will examine options for ensuring that the Assembly has a sufficient number of Members to enable it to efficiently and effectively undertake its extensive range of functions,” Mr Green said.

“As I indicated at the declaration of the poll for the 2012 ACT election in October, I believe it is time for the ACT to tackle this difficult issue in time to implement any change to the size of the Assembly at the 2016 election. I note that the Prime Minister has asked the Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government to prepare legislation for the Federal Parliament to allow the ACT Legislative Assembly to determine its own size,” Mr Green said.

The Expert Reference Group consists of Mr Green, Ms Anne Cahill Lambert, Mr John Hindmarsh, Professor Meredith Edwards and Ms Louise Taylor.

The official declaration of the results of the 20 October ACT Legislative Assembly election will take place on Wednesday 31 October 2012, the ACT Electoral Commissioner, Phil Green, said today.

The declaration will be held in the Reception Room on the ground floor of the Legislative Assembly, commencing at 11 am, and will be open to candidates, the media and the general public.

“This will be the official announcement of the election results,” Mr Green said. “Elected candidates and their party affiliations will be declared by electorate, listing candidates in order of election. At the conclusion of the declaration of the poll, party leaders will be invited to say a few words if they wish.”