McGinty v Western Australia [1996] HCA 48

High Court of Australia Brennan CJ Dawson, Toohey, Gaudron, McHugh and Gummow JJ McGinty v Western Australia (FC 96/001) [1996] HCA 48

ORDER 1. Answer the questions reserved in the case stated as follows:

(i) Is s 6 of the Constitution Acts Amendment Act 1899 WA invalid?

Answer: No.

(ii) Are ss 2A(2), 6 and 9 of the Electoral Distribution Act 1947 WA, or any of them, invalid?

Answer: No.

(iii) If any of ss 2A(2), 6 or 9 of the Electoral Distribution Act 1947 WA is or are invalid, is it or are they severable and, if so, to what extent?

Answer: Unnecessary to answer.

2. The first, second and third plaintiffs pay the defendant's costs of the case stated.

Cur adv vult

The following written judgments were delivered:—

28 March 1996 Brennan CJ.

The plaintiffs, Messrs McGinty and Gallop, are Members of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia (the Assembly). The plaintiff Mr Halden is a Member of the Legislative Council of that State (the Council). They challenge the validity of the laws of Western Australia governing the distribution of electorates for both the Assembly and the Council. The present distribution was effected pursuant to the Constitution Acts Amendment Act 1899 WA (the 1899 Act) and the Electoral Districts Act 1947 WA (the 1947 Act) as amended by the Acts Amendment (Electoral Reform) Act 1987 WA (the 1987 Act). The 1947 Act was renamed the Electoral Distribution Act [1] . The Assembly now consists of fifty-seven members [2] each of whom is returned as a member for an electoral district. The fifty-seven electoral districts [3] are divided between the Metropolitan Area containing thirty-four electoral districts [4] and the remainder of the State containing twenty-three electoral districts [5] . The districts are established by Electoral Distribution Commissioners who are required to fix the boundaries of the districts in each area so as to comprise an equal quotient of enrolled electors plus or minus 15 per cent [6] . The Metropolitan Area is defined [7] as the region that was described at 1 January 1987 in the 3rd Sch to the Metropolitan Region Town Planning Scheme Act 1959 WA and Rottnest Island.