NEW SOUTH WALES PARLIAMENT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23224, 23 June 1937, Page 12

NEW SOUTH WALES PARLIAMENT

REDUCTION OF MEMBERS FIFTEEN FEWER IN LOWER HOUSE STEVENS GOVERNMENT'S PLANS (From Our Own Correspondent) SYDNEY, June 10. The New South Wales elections next year will probably be fought on the basis of a Legislative Assembly reduced from 90 to 75 members. The Assembly is at present the largest oarliamentary body in Australia. The State Cabinet, preserving great secrecy, has decided on such a plan of reduced membership. A small subcommittee of the Cabinet was appointed recently to inquire into the question of reformation of the Assembly and reported in favour of a reduction in the number of members. The Cabinet agreed to the recommendation, and the proposal will be placed before a joint meeting of the United Australia Party and the United Country Party parliamentary members before Parliament meets next month. The proposal already has the endorsement of the executives of the parties, who have been in 'conference with the Cabinet sub-committee. It also has the support of the Premier (Mr Stevens), who is expected to press it strongly when it is placed before his parliamentary supporters shortly. If the parties agree—and it is expected that they will—a Bill will be drafted immediately, and will be brought down soon after the Parliament assembles. The scheme will be put into operation as part of the redistribution of electoral boundaries, which, under the law, must take place not later than October of next year. The Electoral Act provides for the redistribution of boundaries at least every .nine years. It is competent for the Governor, with the advice of his Ministers, to order this redistribution at more frequent intervals. The last redistribution took place in 1929. The next will be put into operation before the elections, which must be held before the middle of next year. The Electoral Commission, therefore, will be given the task not only of rearranging the boundaries, but also of reducing the number of cleei orates.

The normal electoral quota at present is about 19,500 voters for each seat, but some metropolitan seats now contain as manv as 25.000, and others in the country are as low as 14,000. The average under the new scheme will be about 23.000. It is expected that the new scheme will affect mostly the metropolitan districts. Many country electorates arc already so big that to drop any of them would impose too great a task on the members representing the remainder.

If the proposed Bill becomes law in the coming session the Stevens Government will achieve the record of having reformed both Houses of the State Parliament in its six years of office. The reform of the Upper House (Legislative Council), which, following a referendum, is now limited to 60 members, instead of having an unlimited number of nominees as previously, is considered one of the greatest triumphs of the present Government.