Constitution gives Tasmania extra MPs

Section 24 of the Constitution requires the number of House of Representatives electorates in each state to be “in proportion to the respective numbers of their people”—with the exception that there be a minimum of five MHRs from each state. NSW Senator-elect David Leyonhjelm argues that this is undemocratic: because Tasmania’s population growth has been very slow since federation, “while each federal electorate in NSW has about 95,000 voters, in Tasmania there are fewer than 70,000”. He says the five member minimum should be abolished, and “respect for the principles of equality before the law and one vote one value should be embedded in the Constitution, giving Tasmania the same representation as other Australians.”