Denison name change delay at state level

THE electorate of Denison looks set to be part of the next state election despite an Australian Electoral Commission plan to change the name by November.

Denison Liberal MHA and speaker Elise Archer.

THE electorate of Denison looks set to be part of the next state election despite an Australian Electoral Commission plan to change the name by November.

The AEC is going through a process of changing the name of Denison to Clark — after the co-founder of the Hare-Clark proportional voting system.

A State Government spokesman said the changes don’t take effect until the next federal election, which is two years away.

“State-based enabling legislation will be introduced into Parliament next year,” the spokesman said.

The next state election is due by March 2018.

Tasmanian Electoral Commissioner Andrew Hawkey said it was convention for the state to follow the federal name, but there needed to be an amendment to the Constitution Act.

An AEC spokesman said people had an opportunity to make objections to the name change until July 26.

The body known as the augmented Electoral Commission would then reconsider any objections and, if necessary, hold an inquiry.

The AEC website shows that the renaming has not been without controversy with the AEC recommending the name change but the Redistribution Committee initially knocking it back.

“The Redistribution Committee did not consider there was sufficiently strong reasons to change the name of the electoral division and proposed retaining the name of the Division of Denison,” the AEC website reveals.