The NSW Branch recommends that the PRSA adopt and promote the model for the election of the House of Representatives and Senate as devised by Stephen Lesslie and laid out in detail on the website www.lesslie.com.au.

The model incorporates:

1. A Hare-Clark proportional representation system for the election of both the House of Representatives and the Senate

2. Fully optional preferential voting

3. The Robson Rotation

4. The Gregory transfer

5. The abolition of above-the-line voting and registered group voting tickets.

The model for the House of Representatives is based on fourteen multi-member electorates which can elect up to 19 members. The current maximum is fifteen members.

The states of Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania are treated as single electorates electing 15, 11 and 5 members respectively.

New South Wales and Queensland are divided into 4 and 2 electorates each electing 12 and 15 members respectively (based on the 2009 redistribution)

Victoria is divided into 3 electorates of which 2 elect 12 members and one elects 13 members.

The ACT and Northern Territory are single electorates electing 4 and 3 members, in order to allow PR to operate. Note that Senate representation for the territories is abolished under the model.

Each electorate in the divided states incorporates capital city and regional areas, and is therefore representative of the state as a whole.

The model proposes fourteen separate electorates for the House of Representatives.

The advantages of the model over other proportional representation models are:

1. Within individual states each electorate returns similar numbers of member.

2. Within individual states the quota for election is either the same or as close as possible. With the mainland states the quota is within a narrow band of 6.25-8.34%

3. Within individual states the geographic size of individual electorates is similar

4. Within the parameters of the Australian Constitution, where individual states are allocated a specific number of seats, the quotas for election are as close as possible to each other

5. In the territories the ineffective representation consequent upon two-member Senate representation is abolished and replaced by multi-member electorates in which proportional representation is allowed to work

6. Once established the electorates are generally self-sustaining as the population drift from country to city is accommodated within individual electorates

7. The model is gerrymander-proof

8. The number of electorates per State is stable. Western Australia with 15 members would need to increase its share of the national population to entitle it to 20 members before needing to be split into 2 electorates.

9. Redistributions would be rare or non-existent.

The NSW Branch of the PRSA has adopted the model for the election of the NSW Parliament as devised by Stephen Lesslie and laid out in detail on the website www.lesslie.com.au.

The model incorporates for both Houses:

1. A Hare-Clark proportional representation system

2. Fully optional preferential voting

3. The Robson Rotation

4. The Gregory transfer

5. Abolition of above-the-line voting and registered group voting tickets.

The Legislative Council would consist of, as at present, a single electorate encompassing the state as a whole. Legislative Councillors to be elected for eight years with half retiring at each general election. A referendum to be held in due course to reduce the number to be elected at each periodic election from twenty one to nineteen.

The Legislative assembly would consist of five electorates (map above) each returning nineteen members. Four of the electorates would include a portion of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney and adjacent regional areas. The fifth electorate would include the City of Newcastle and coastal areas north to the Queensland border.

Note: The electoral boundaries shown in the above map are based on the boundaries of current single member electorates. When drawing up the initial muilti-member electorate boundaries, the electoral commissioners should use local government boundaries thereby extending the Northern electorate to the Queensland border.

John Webber and John Alexander have been named honorary life members, moved by John Baglin and passed by popular acclaim at the PRSA (NSW) 2008 AGM. Their life membership is a token of recognition by the committee of many years of service to the society and to the cause of electoral reform in Australia.

Congratulations and thankyou to John Webber and John Alexander!

We attended the 2007 AGM - maybe it was for the egg sandwiches - and were saddened to see even fewer numbers there than in 2006. I was nominated for the Committee, and, as it would have seemed churlish to say no, I accepted the nomination. The rest of the Committee then made me President, which was a shock, but I gulped and said OK.

John [Webber], John [Alexander] and John [Baglin] have been very supportive (and I can always remember their names)

PRSA (NSW) activities in the past twelve months have included -

*The NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the Conduct of the 2007 Election, at which Stephen and I gave evidence, focusing on the Legislative Council and recommending the removal of above-the-line voting and group voting tickets. The Inquiry seemed to be more focused on the actual election day and the practicalities of voting, rather than on the bigger issues.

*The NSW Branch wrote to Lee Naish (Webmaster) recommending a review of the PRSA website which is messy and hard to use. We have not had a reply to that letter. How the NSW Branch relates to the PRSA as a whole needs to be investigated and considered.

*The NSW Branch resolved to set up its own website, which is in progress.

*Stephen Lesslie addressed the January meeting this year and presented his proposal for the election of the Australian Parliament.

*Stephen and I met with Lee Rhiannon and the NSW Greens earlier this month to discuss his proposal for the NSW Parliament and PR in general.

*We have distributed 2 issues of Largest remainder to members and others in an attempt to re-establish communication with members and to create a public profile.

*We have started to look at the revision of the PR manual, but this requires cooperation from the wider PRSA.

Looking to the future, I would like to see PRSA (NSW) -

*Adopt a public campaign to abolish above-the-line voting and the associated group voting tickets in federal, state and local government elections. There is no point in tinkering with the intricacies of transfer values if the basic system is not right.

*Take action against the persistence of 2-member wards particularly in Botany Bay and Ku-ring-gai Councils, an appalling denial of democracy to the residents of those areas. There are other local government issues that could also be tackled.

*Campaign for the adoption of a genuine PR electoral system for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. If the NSW Greens are keen to pursue this, then we should give them every assistance.

Susan Gregory

13 October 2008