Electoral restructure plans

BY ABBY WALTER

The Victorian Electoral Commission has released preliminary reports on the electoral structure reviews of Yarriambiack, Northern Grampians and Buloke shires.

Thirty-nine councils across Victoria will undergo electoral structure reviews in the next two years to ensure the councils comply with the Local Government Act 2020.

Under the Act, having an uneven number of councillors across each ward is not compliant. There is no requirement for a councillor to live in the ward they represent.

Buloke

Buloke Shire is divided into three wards, with two councillors in Mallee Ward, two in Lower Avoca Ward and three in Mount Jeffcott Ward.

The panel received four preliminary submissions and presented two models for further community consultation.

The first model would be an unsubdivided electoral structure with seven councillors.

The other model would be a subdivided electoral structure with six councillors across three wards, with two councillors in each ward.

Under a subdivided structure, the boundaries would be redrawn to ensure the number of voters per councillor would be within 10 percent of the state average.

The boundary between Mallee Ward and Mount Jeffcott Ward would move south and consequently, Birchip would be contained within the redrawn boundaries of Mallee Ward.

The boundary between Mallee Ward and Lower Avoca Ward would be adjusted north to encompass mostly agricultural land, following main roads and localities.

The boundary between Mount Jeffcott Ward and Lower Avoca Ward would move west and also encompass mostly agricultural land.

Northern Grampians

Currently, Northern Grampians comprises four wards, with one councillor in Southwest and Central wards, two councillors in Kara Kara Ward and three councillors in Stawell Ward.

The panel received 11 preliminary submissions and presented two models for further community consultation.