most appropriate to lose a seat. Of the 12 divisions in that area, only Robertson meets the numerical requirements of the Electoral Act. The current target is 103,500 people per division. When redrawing boundaries, the AEC is asked to not spread divisions across major geographical features such as the Great Dividing Range. "The 'push' towards the Hunter Valley Region by the existing electoral divisions to its north and south result in the movement westward of these Hunter Valley Region electoral divisions," the AEC said.

"This movement results in the existing Division of Charlton needing a considerable number of electors to meet the numerical requirements of the Electoral Act. The Committee notes that these can only be obtained from the existing Division of Hunter. With contributions made to the proposedDivisions of Charlton and Paterson the existing Division of Hunter retains only 11.71 per cent of itself. "In these circumstances, the committee unanimously proposes the abolition of the existing Division of Hunter." The AEC has already released draft electoral boundaries to create a new, nominally-Liberal seat of "Burt" in Western Australia from parts of Canning, Hasluck, Swan and Tangney. The new division, in the south of Perth, will bring that state's number of seats in the House of Representatives to 16. It will take in parts of the seat of Canning, recently won by Liberal Andrew Hastie at the recent crunch byelection held days after the overthrow of Tony Abbott as prime minister.

An election cannot be contested on the new boundaries until they have been formally gazetted, said