ALMOST one in five Bass Coast voters will change wards at the next council election, under a ward boundary restructure announced in this week’s Government Gazette.
The restructure follows a review by the Victorian Electoral Commission to bring the deviations of all wards within the legislated +/-10% range by the October 2024 local council elections.
The restructure follows a review by the Victorian Electoral Commission to bring the deviations of all wards within the legislated +/-10% range by the October 2024 local council elections.
- Island Ward is adjusted to capture all of Phillip Island, including Churchill Island, Newhaven and Cape Woolamai (which are currently in Western Port Ward).
- The boundary between Western Port and Bunurong wards currently cutting through the North Wonthaggi locality will move to the south, bringing the entire North Wonthaggi locality into Western Port Ward.
- The boundary between Western Port and Bunurong wards to the east of Korumburra – Wonthaggi Road moves north to the Powlett River, leading to a modest reduction in the size of Western Port Ward, and an expansion in the size of Bunurong Ward.
Western Port Ward councillors have a difficult assignment representing over half the shire and some twenty towns, villages, hamlets and districts. The assignment is set to become even more challenging in the next council as they pick up a large chunk of residents in North Wonthaggi. On the plus side, they lose Newhaven and Cape Woolamai.
The Island Ward will have almost 30 per cent more voters than the Western Port Ward, though the disparity is expected to reduce over time as Wonthaggi North continues to grow.
The review aims for “meaningful and effective ward boundaries” that are easily identifiable to local communities, the representation of communities of interest, physical features of the area, the impact these may have on the shape and size of wards and minimal change where possible.
The review board noted that in some cases it was not possible to adjust the ward boundaries of a council so that both ‘current’ (at the time of the review) and ‘forecast’ (at October 2024) voter numbers were within the legislated +/-10% tolerance. "Where this happened, the VEC prioritised compliance at the October 2024 elections to ensure each vote would have approximately equal value at the 2024 elections.
The changed wards will apply for the October election.