Queensland council plebiscites delayed

By Staff Writer

The Australian Electoral Commission announced yesterday (October 15) that  it will not be conducting council plebiscites in Queensland until after the 2007 federal election on November 24, 2007.

Electoral Commissioner Ian Campbell says at this stage the AEC is planning to send out postal ballots to reach voters for the plebiscites in the week starting November 26.

“The 2007 election timetable will not allow sufficient time for the AEC to complete the Plebiscite ballots before postal voting in the federal election begins,” he says.  
“The AEC’s approach to the timing of the plebiscite ballots is to ensure they do not overlap with postal voting for the federal election.” 

The Commonwealth electoral roll being prepared for the federal election will also be used to generate the list of voters in the Queensland council areas participating in the plebiscites.

The AEC estimates that up to 700,000 people may be eligible to cast postal votes in the Queensland plebiscites.