The Chief Electoral Officer has forwarded me the following memorandum for advice:

In connection with the redistribution of the States of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, and Western Australia, into Electoral Divisions in the year 1912, after Parliament had approved of the Commissioners' proposals the Governor-General issued proclamations pursuant to section 21 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1902-1911 (now section 24 of the Act 1918-1921) declaring the names and boundaries of the new Divisions and by the same proclamations directed that new Rolls for all Divisions as set out in the proclamations be prepared by the Commonwealth Electoral Officers, and when completed, that the preparation thereof be notified in the Commonwealth Gazette, whereupon such Rolls became the Rolls for those Divisions.

It is proposed to recommend that the same procedure be followed in relation to the redistribution proposals now before Parliament.

Regarding, however, the maintenance of a Roll in respect of the old Divisions, until the next general elections, sub-section (1) of section 24 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act contains a proviso that-

. . . until the next ensuing dissolution or expiration of the House of Representatives, the redistribution shall not affect the election of a. new member to fill a vacancy happening in the House of Representatives; but for the purposes of any such election the Electoral Divisions as theretofore existing, and the Rolls in respect of those Divisions, shall continue to have full force and effect, notwithstanding that new Rolls for the new Divisions have been prepared. I shall be pleased if you will favour me with advice-

1. as to whether there is a legal obligation on the Electoral administration to maintain Rolls, subsequent to the issue of the proclamation, for the theretofore existing Divisions;
2. as to whether if an election were necessary after the proclamation and before the next ensuing general election, to fill a vacancy happening in the House of Representatives, a new Roll for the Division affected as existing before the proclamation might not be prepared pursuant to the provisions of section 33 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act.

To maintain Rolls in respect of the new and the old Divisions would be very costly and might lead to error and confusion. It is possible but improbable that the Roll for any of the old Divisions will be required for the purposes of a by-election but, if it be so required, there will be no administrative difficulty in preparing at short notice a new Roll from data in the possession of the officers or readily obtainable by them. The requirement in the proviso to sub-section (1) of section 24 that the old Rolls shall continue to have full force and effect is for the purpose of an election to fill a casual vacancy. It does not involve an obligation to maintain all old Rolls to meet such a contingency. So long as an up-to-date Roll for a Division, in respect of which a vacancy has occurred, can be produced for the purposes of a by-election to be conducted for that Division as previously defined, I think the requirements of the proviso will have been met.

I do not think a proclamation under section 33 is necessary or desirable. Such course would involve other action under related sections which would not be appropriate to the circumstances.

[Vol. 19, p. 6]