This article includes ideas for one I was working on last year but didn't get around to finishing off then. I've been provoked to now do so by the news (
tweeted by the AFR's Tom McIlroy) that Barnaby Joyce will on 24 Feb "
present" a Bill to "
amend the Representation Act 1983 - proposing six regions per state and two senators per region". The exact form of the Bill has not been seen, and perhaps the proposal has been shorn of its more patently offensive and wrong aspects prior to tabling, so for the time being I comment on the history of Joyce's 2019 comments on this issue. [EDIT: Nope, it's got even worse, see updates at the bottom.] The article should also cover ground that is useful if Joyce has modified his proposal. I will add more comments when I have seen the actual Bill, which I assume will go nowhere.
General Background and non-malapportioned version
The concept of Senate districts is an old chestnut that takes its inspiration from
Section 7 of the Constitution. The Constitution only says the people of each state vote as a single electorate until the Parliament otherwise provides, which in theory allows the Parliament to come up with some other arrangement without needing to change the Constitution. Furthermore, the Constitution explicitly canvassed that Queensland could be split into Senate divisions by its state parliament, until the Commonwealth parliament decided otherwise.
