Liam McNally
The preliminary report into a review of Melton Council’s electoral structure is set to be released next week.
Throughout 2023–24, 39 Victorian local councils including Melton and Moorabool are undergoing electoral structure reviews conducted by an Electoral Representation Advisory Panel appointed by the Local Government Minister.
Following the review, Melton council will be restructured to a single-councillor ward electoral structure before the 2024 local government election.
This will be a big shift for Melton council, as currently it comprises two Watts ward councillors, three Cambridge ward councillors and four Coburn ward councillors.
The appropriate number of councillors, wards, location of ward boundaries, and ward names is yet to be decided.
Melton council chief executive Roslyn Wai said local government is an important representative body for local communities.
“We encourage interested residents to have their say when the VEC’s advisory panel releases its preliminary report into the electoral structure of councils,” she said.
The preliminary report for Moorabool council’s restructure was released in May, and narrowed down the new structure to two options.
Currently, Moorabool council comprises four East Moorabool ward councillors and one councillor each for Woodlands ward, Central Moorabool ward and West Moorabool Ward.
Model one would turn Moorabool into a single ward council, with nine councillors representing the entire shire.
Model two would also have nine councillors, but would form three wards with three councillors per ward.
The rural Bungal Ward would cover most of the shire and include the townships of Blackwood and Dales Creek in the north, Gordon, Ballan and Mount Egerton in the central area, and Elaine, Ingliston, Rowsley and Parwan in the south of the ward.
The northeast Lerderderg Ward would include the majority of Darley, Long Forest and Hopetoun Park, and a Bacchus Marsh Ward would cover Bacchus Marsh and Maddingley.
The preliminary report said that the advantages for a single-ward Moorabool are that it may respond better to population changes and it could foster a shire-wide focus amongst councillors.
However, it was noted that an unsubdivided structure there may result in most councillors coming from the main urban areas, rather than rural and regional areas.
The report said a disadvantage of a three-ward structure for Moorabool risks voter numbers becoming unbalanced over time due to forecasts of rapid and uneven population growth, but has the advantage of broadly capturing the communities of interest.
The final structure is due to be released soon.
