4. SELECTION OF HEAD OF STATE

Broome. Western Australia founded 1827. photo: pixabay.com

Broome. Western Australia founded 1827. photo: pixabay.com

Now that the people of the states and territories have chosen their respective representatives:

The eight candidates will attend the House of Representatives in Canberra for the selection of the Head of State.

Who will be able to vote

The Federal House of Representatives and the lower houses (Legislative Assembly or  House of Assembly) of each State and Territory will also be in the selection process. The Lower Houses have been selected from each state as they have been directly elected by the people in their immediate electorate.

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

  • House of Representative

STATES

  • New South Wales – Legislative Assembly
  • Queensland – Legislative Assembly
  • South Australia – House of Assembly
  • Tasmania – House of  Assembly
  • Victoria – Legislative Assembly
  • Western Australia – Legislative Assembly

 

TERRITORIES

  • The Northern Territory –  Legislative Assembly
  • The Australian Capital Territory – Legislative Assembly

None of the Upper Houses – State, Territory or Federal – have been included as it is possible to be elected into the senate with a very small number of votes. Consider the 2013 federal Election where  some of the minor parties have secured as few as 1900 votes, or 0.02 per cent of the national count.

Also, Queensland and the Northern Territory do not have an Upper House.

The Procedure

Each of the eight candidate will give a 10 minute speech in the House of Representatives to put their case forward to the elected representatives to choose them to become the Head of State of Australia.

It will also be telecast (& webcast) to the Federal Senate and the State and Territorial lower houses, as well as the people of Australia .

THE FIRST ROUNDS OF VOTING REJECT THE LEAST PREFERRED CANDIDATES

The parliamentarians of the Federal Parliament, State and Territorial lower houses  will vote out their least preferred candidate until 2 remain.

All the lower house representatives of all the Parliaments in Australia will have a combined vote within 15 minutes of  the last candidate’s speech, to vote out their least preferred candidate.

By that completion of that time period, their secret vote will placed in a ballot box and will be immediately counted by 3 members of the State Electoral Commission in each respective chamber.

If the parliamentarian has not voted within that 15 minute period, they will have been considered to have abstained for that round.

The  3 AEC officers in each house will advise the AEC tally room of the outcome and will then post the confirmed results on the telecast and  internet. 

With the vote confirmed, The Speaker of the House of Representatives will formally advise the House of  Representatives (and the other Houses and people via the telecast) of the first rejected candidate and the second rejection round will begin immediately.

Once the vote is proclaimed by the Speaker of the House,  MPs in the various Lower Houses, will be given exactly 15 minutes  to cast their next vote, to vote out the next candidate, using the same procedure as outlined above.

At the end of that 15 minute period the voting in that round is closed and tallied,  and next candidate is rejected. 

There will be a total of 6 rejection rounds which should be finalised in 2 hours

This will continue until two final candidates remain. These two candidates will be HoS and Deputy / Vice HoS.

THE FINAL VOTE WILL BE FOR THE HEAD OF STATE

Of the two candidates remaining there will be a final vote FOR the Head of State.

The Speaker will remind the parliamentarians of the Lower Houses that they are now voting for the Head of State of Australia.

The person who receives the majority of votes will become the Head of State. The person who receives the minority vote will be the Deputy Head of State.

Each parliamentarian has now 15 minutes to cast their ballot. Once cast the AEC will tally the vote. Before the Head of State is announced the AEC will formally advise the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, of  the result.

Once that is done,  the Speaker can formerly announce the Head of State and the Deputy Head of State to the Parliament and to the people of Australia.

IN THE EVENT OF A TIED VOTE:

In the event of a tied vote the parliamentarians will recast their votes for a second time within 15 minutes.

In the event of another tie, the Prime Minister may make the final selection from the two remaining candidates.This must be done within an hour of the second vote being declared a tie.

The PM may further consult with either or both candidates or anyone else, before advising the Speaker of the House of his deciding vote.

WHO IS ENTITLED TO VOTE:

Currently, there are 593 votes.

In the same manner that all Australians are expected to vote, all parliamentarians are expected to vote, but they may abstain. If they d not cast their vote with 15 minutes, it will be considered an abstention.

Parliamentarians must be present in their House to vote.

 

NUMBERS BY HOUSE (numbers may change)

 

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA 

House of Representatives – 150 votes

 

STATES

  • New South Wales

Legislative Assembly  93 votes

  • Queensland

Legislative Assembly 89 votes

  • South Australia

House of Assembly  – 47 votes

  • Tasmania

House of  Assembly –  25 votes

  • Victoria

Legislative Assembly– 88 votes

  • Western Australia

Legislative Assembly –  59 votes

 

TERRITORIES

  • The Northern Territory

 Legislative Assembly – 25 votes

  • The Australian Capital Territory

Legislative Assembly – 17 votes

 


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