The Electoral Commissioner Ed Killesteyn has announced that the Australian Electoral Commission will not be operating the National Tally Room at the 2013 Federal Election.
Mr. Killesteyn explained that the National Tally Room now played no role in the actual delivery of election results but essentially provided a visual backdrop for the media to conduct their election broadcasts and that results are delivered online by the AEC to the media and public.
“I acknowledge there is a good deal of history attached to the NTR as a Canberra institution. However, I have decided that a $1.2m outlay purely based on an historical legacy is not a sufficiently strong reason to continue operating the NTR. I also note that for the past few state elections, local tally rooms have progressively disappeared with costs and the advent of online results being key factors.” Mr. Killesteyn commented.