THE National Party is pushing for the abolition of the south-western Sydney Labor seat of Banks when the Australian Electoral Commission strips NSW of a federal electorate because of its stagnant population.
Submissions are due this Friday for the electoral redistribution which will reduce the number of seats in NSW from 49 to 48 and give an extra seat to Queensland, taking its tally to 30.
The main political parties are finalising their submissions and the Herald has learnt the Nationals will fight expectations that another rural or regional seat should be axed.
Following the 2004 federal election, the seat of Gwydir, held by the former Nationals leader John Anderson, was abolished.
A steady population drift to Queensland is responsible for the second successive redistribution.
The Nationals, who made their own submission separate to the Liberals, believe the country is under-represented and that a city seat should go this time. It will ask for the abolition of Banks, held by the Labor backbencher Daryl Melham.
In NSW, 34 electorates represent 1.4 per cent of the land mass while 15 seats cover 98.6 per cent. The Electoral Commission has set the new population quota for each federal seat at 94,353 people.
Both Labor and the Liberals are expected to target regional or rural seats in their submissions, saying the population decline in NSW is most pronounced in seats west of the Great Dividing Range.
In western NSW, four National Party-held electorates are under quota - Calare (89,076), Cowper (93,521), Parkes (89,743) and Riverina (92,418).
Labor was completing its submission yesterday. It had been leaning towards calling for the abolition of Riverina, a large rural seat that extends west of Wagga Wagga. But it is believed Labor will recommend the abolition of a different seat.
The Liberals have also rethought their strategy. At the outset, the party was favouring the abolition of the electorate of Throsby, south of Wollongong. It is a safe Labor seat held by Jennie George.
Sources said the Liberals shied away from Throsby when they realised it abuts the Liberal seats of Gilmore and Hume. Abolishing Throsby would result in Labor voters being placed in adjacent seats, weakening the Liberal hold on them.
A Liberal source said the party would call for the abolition of a Labor-held regional seat.
The Nationals say removing a Sydney seat is plausible because some inner-city Labor electorates such as Lowe are below quota.
Under the National Party submission, Banks would disappear and the boundaries of electorates would be adjusted to reflect "communities of interest".
The decision will be made towards the end of the year by the Electoral Commission. The delay means the major parties have delayed holding preselections for most seats until the effects on electorate boundaries are known.
The parties have already lodged their submissions for Queensland. Labor proposes a new seat to be called Theodore to cover the Gold Coast hinterland.
The Liberal-National Party has proposed that the new seat be called Killen which would be further west, extending out from Ipswich.
Email a friend