The Electoral and Administrative Review Commission (1989–1993) was an agency of the

Government of Queensland The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary system, parliamentary constitutional monarchy was form ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

to investigate the electoral system and public administration of the state and local government authorities of Queensland.

History

On 3 July 1989, the Commission of Inquiry into Possible Illegal Activities and Associated Police Misconduct (better known as the

Fitzgerald Report The "Report of the Fact-Finding Mission to Lebanon inquiring into the causes, circumstances and consequences of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, 25 February - 24 March 2005", better known as the FitzGerald Report, is the o ...

) recommended the establishment of an Electoral and Administrative Review Commission. The Queensland Government acted on the recommendation by passing the ''Electoral and Administrative Review Act 1989'' to establish the commission, whose purpose was to investigate and report on: * the Legislative Assembly electoral system * the operation of the Parliament * the public administration of the state * the local authority electoral system * local authority administration and to monitor the implementations of any reforms arising. The Commission was fully constituted on 21 March 1990 under the chairman, Tom Sherman. Tom Sherman resigned on 25 February 1992 and Prof Colin Hughes acted in the role of chairman, until David Solomon was formally appointed to the role on 15 June 1992. Having completed its role outlined in the Fitzgerald Report, the commission was wound up on 30 September 1993. The Fitzgerald Royal Commission is regarded as one of the most successful in Australian history in part because of the work of EARC and the other Commission that helped to implement its recommendations, the Criminal Justice Commission (CJC).Catherine Hanrahan "What does it take to make a royal commission successful?" 19 Oct 2016 abc.net.au. Retrieved 18 March 2017 "It was the EARC process which took Queensland out of the era..in which politics and public administration were largely unaccountable".Noel Pearson, Charles JG Sampford, Carmel Connors, Encouraging Ethics and Challenging Corruption p.127

Methods

EARC reviews began with the release of Issues papers to promote debate. These were widely circulated, including to public libraries across the state. This was followed by a period during which the public could make submissions. Public hearings were held. All submissions were published. EARC Reports were considered and reported on by a parliamentary committee (PEARC).

Reports

In its short lifespan EARC produced 23 reports. They were tabled in Parliament and in succeeding years the Table Office rendered them into pdf format, so they can now be downloaded from the Parliament web site. The full list is:- *
Guidelines for the Declaration of Registrable Interests of Elected Representatives of the Parliament of Queensland
(90/R1 , August 1990) *
The Local Authority Electoral System of Queensland
(90/R2, September 1990) *
Queensland Joint Electoral Roll Review
(90/R3, October 1990)
Queensland Legislative Assembly Electoral System
wit
Appendixes
(90/R4, November 1990) *
Judicial Review of Administrative Decision and Actions
(90/R5, December 1990)
Freedom of Information
(90/R6, 2 December 1990)
Public Assembly Law
(91/R1, February 1991)
The Office of Parliamentary Counsel
(91/R2, May 1991)
Public Sector Auditing in Queensland
(91/R3, September 1991)
Protection of Whistleblowers
(91/R4, October 1991) * Local Authority External Boundaries
Chapters 1-12Chapters 13-21
an
Appendices
(91/R5, November 1991)
Determination of Legislative Assembly Electoral Districts
(November 1991) (not part of the numbered series of EARC Reports)
Information and Resources Needs of Non-Government Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
(91/R6, December 1991) 91/R6 * Review of Elections Act 1983-1991 and Related Matters
Chapters 1-10Chapters 11-17 and Appendices
(91/R7, December 1991)
Review of Codes of Conduct for Public Officials
(92/R1, May 1992)
Investigation of Public Registration of Political Donations, Public funding of Election Campaigns and Related Issues
(92/R2, June 1992)
Review of Archives Legislation
(92/R3, June 1992) * Review of Parliamentary Committees
Chapters 1-8Chapters 9-14 and Appendices
(92/R4, October 1992)
Review of Government Media and Information Services
(93/R1, April 1993)
Independence of the Attorney-General
(93/R2, July 1993) * Appeals from Administrative Decisions
Report
plus Appendice
1-2526-48
an
49-73
(93/R3, August 1993)
Consolidation and Review of the Queensland Constitution
(93/R4, August 1993)
The Preservation And Enhancement Of Individuals' Rights And Freedoms
(93/R5, August 1993)

Local Government boundaries

The commission's report ''External Boundaries of Local Authorities'' tabled on 19 March 1992 made a series of recommendations to adjust the boundaries between various local government authorities, but, more significantly and more controversially, to amalgamate a number of local government authorities. This work was not included in the Fitzgerald Report or the EARC enabling legislation but was added later. Not all of the EARC recommendations were acted upon by the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended f ...

and others were implemented differently. The local authorities recommended for amalgamation and the outcomes of the recommendations where: *

City of Warwick The City of Warwick was a local government area administering the regional centre of Warwick in the Darling Downs region of Queensland. The City covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1861 until 1994, when it was dis ...

Shire of Glengallan The Shire of Glengallan was a local government area south and east of the regional centre of Warwick in the Darling Downs region of Queensland. The shire, administered from Warwick, covered an area of , and existed as a local government ent ...

, Shire of Rosenthal and

Shire of Allora The Shire of Allora was a local government area north of the regional centre of Warwick in the Darling Downs region of Queensland. The shire, administered from Allora, covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1869 unt ...

(not implemented as recommended, but all four were amalgamated into the new

Shire of Warwick The Shire of Warwick was a local government area in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. The administrative centre and major town of the shire was the town of Warwick. History On 19 March 1992, the Electoral and Administrative R ...

) *

Shire of Clifton The Shire of Clifton was a local government area in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia, southwest of the regional city of Toowoomba. The shire, administered from the town of Clifton, covered an area of , and existed as a local go ...

and

Shire of Cambooya The Shire of Cambooya was a local government area in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia, immediately south of the regional city of Toowoomba. The shire, administered from the town of Greenmount, covered an area of , and existed ...

(not implemented) *

City of Gympie A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be de ...

and

Shire of Widgee The Shire of Widgee is a former local government area in the Wide Bay–Burnett area of Queensland, Australia. It was located in the rural areas around the town of Gympie but did not include the town itself, which was always in a separate local ...

(amalgamated into the new

Shire of Cooloola The Shire of Cooloola was a local government area located about north of Brisbane – the state capital of Queensland, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and was the product of a merger in 1993 between the City of Gympie and the Shire ...

) * City of Maryborough and

Shire of Woocoo The Shire of Woocoo was a local government area located in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland, Australia, containing the rural residential area to the west of the town of Maryborough, and surrounding countryside. The shire covered ...

(not implemented) *

City of Bundaberg The City of Bundaberg was a local government area located in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland, Australia, encompassing the centre and inner suburbs of the regional city of Bundaberg. The city covered an area of , and existed as a lo ...

and

Shire of Woongarra The Shire of Woongarra was a local government area located to the south and east of the regional city of Bundaberg. The shire, administered from Bundaberg itself, covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1885 until 199 ...

(not implemented, but instead Woongarra and

Shire of Gooburrum The Shire of Gooburrum was a local government area to the north and west of the regional city of Bundaberg, Australia. This area, administered from Bundaberg itself, covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1886 until ...

were amalgamated into the new

Shire of Burnett The Shire of Burnett was a local government area located in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland, Australia. It surrounded, but did not include, the regional city of Bundaberg, and covered an area of . It existed as a local government e ...

) *

City of Townsville The City of Townsville is a local government area (LGA) located in North Queensland, Australia. It encompasses the city of Townsville, together with the surrounding rural areas, to the south are the communities of Alligator Creek, Woodstock an ...

and

City of Thuringowa The City of Thuringowa () was a city and local government area in North Queensland, Australia covering the northern and western parts of what is now Townsville. The suburb of Thuringowa Central is the main business centre in this area. Thuring ...

(not implemented) *

City of Gladstone The City of Gladstone is a former local government area in central Queensland, Australia. It covered the urban locality of Gladstone and parts of the surrounding area. History Following the report of the Local Government Reform Commission rele ...

and

Shire of Calliope The Shire of Calliope was a local government area in the Capricornia region of Queensland, Australia. It was centred on the town of Calliope. History Calliope Division was created on 11 November 1879 as one of 74 divisions around Queensland ...

(not implemented) *

City of Mackay The City of Mackay was a local government area located in the Central Queensland region of Queensland, Australia, encompassing the regional city of Mackay and the surrounding region. The City was created as a municipal borough in 1869, and pr ...

and

Shire of Pioneer The Shire of Pioneer was a local government area surrounding the city of Mackay and including all but its innermost suburbs. The shire, administered from Mackay itself, covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1879 un ...

(amalgamated into an enlarged City of Mackay) Although some of the recommendations were not implemented, many were implemented in subsequent reforms of local government boundaries.

References

{{Authority control Defunct government agencies of Queensland Elections in Queensland 1990 establishments in Australia 1993 disestablishments in Australia Government agencies established in 1990