The expansion of Australia’s federal parliament to 200 MPs – up from the current 151 – has moved a step closer with the support of a controversial new proposal.
The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Affairs – made up of Labour, Coalition, Greens and independent politicians – said more MPs and senators are needed to ensure the electoral system is made fairer for every Australian.
This concept, known as ‘one vote, one value’, is based on the idea that each MP represents an equal number of voters, regardless of where they are located.
In practice, however, Tasmanians are vastly over-represented, with one MP per 80,000 voters in the island state.
In contrast, Victoria has one MP for every 111,000 voters, NSW has one MP for every 116,000 voters and South Australia has one MP for every 127,000 voters.
Anthony Albanese speaks during Question Time in the House of Representatives on November 27, 2023. He may eventually be joined by another 49 MPs in the House
The 14-member committee, chaired by Labour’s Kate Thwaites, has reviewed a series of submissions calling for the number of seats in the lower house to be increased to 175 or 200, while Senate seats for states could rise to up to as many as 16. each, up from 12.
There is also a proposal to have the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory double their number of senators from two to four.
Increasing the number of MPs to 200 would ensure that every Australian is represented by an equal number of MPs in the House of Representatives.
While the committee did not make a specific recommendation on how many more MPs there should be, it said that “increasing the size of the House of Representatives (would) reduce malapportionment and improve the relationship between voters and MPs.”
If the lower house were to increase to 200 MPs, NSW would gain the most, with its number of seats increasing from 47 seats to 63, while Victoria would grow from 39 to 51 and Queensland from 30 to 40.
South Australia and Western Australia would win five each, increasing to 15 and 20 respectively, but Tasmania would remain at five.
Increasing the number of Senate seats in the ACT to four would mean the Liberals would regain the seat they lost to independent David Pocock in 2022.
Although Wallaby Legend is not a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Affairs, he has made a major contribution to its work.
In one of his contributions he wrote: ‘The fact that party loyalty is more important for many senators than the interests of the state should not detract from the original purpose of the Senate, which is to protect the interests of smaller jurisdictions.’
Currently the NT has two senators for just under 150,000 voters and the ACT two for 315,000 voters.
The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Affairs – made up of Labour, Coalition, Greens and independent politicians – said more MPs and senators are needed to ensure the electoral system is made fairer for every Australian. The photo shows the House of Representatives
Tasmania is again much better represented, with twelve senators for 402,000 voters, because it is a state and not a territory.
The government is now considering the committee’s report and is expected to respond to it in the first half of 2024.
If the proposals are passed, it would be the biggest redrawing of the electoral map since 1984, when Bob Hawke expanded the House of Commons from 125 to 148 MPs.
Any changes would not take place until after the 2028 federal election and would be subject to a separate investigation.