State government backs independent panel’s recommendations to introduce single-member Geelong council wards
The number of wards that make up the Geelong council area will jump from four to 11 at local government elections later this year – but the number of councillors won’t change. Find out why.
Geelong
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The structure of Geelong council has been given a major shake-up ahead of October’s local government elections as the state government gives the green light for single-member wards.
Local Government Minister Melissa Horne said the move, recommended by an independent electoral representation advisory panel, would make Geelong council more reflective of the communities it represents.
Rather than 11 councillors representing four wards, as is currently the case, the new structure will see 11 new wards created, each to be represented by a single councillor.
The names of the new wards are: Barrabool Hills, Charlemont, Cheetham, Connewarre, Corio, Deakin, Hamlyn Heights, Kardinia, Leopold, Murradoc, and You Yangs.
The advisory panel noted in its final report to Ms Horne that the geographic features and uneven distribution of voters across the Geelong region made developing a satisfactory single-councillor ward structure challenging.
It has made an effort to avoid splitting communities in the northern area of the council and central Geelong, while the boundaries on the Bellarine have been redrawn to better group its communities.
The changes capture Breamlea, Connewarre, Barwon Heads and Ocean Grove into the Connewarre ward, while Leopold and Drysdale make up the Leopold ward.
The rest of the Bellarine area is captured in the Murradoc ward.
The You Yangs ward is by far the largest in size, taking in rural and sparsely populated areas, but also the most northerly part of Corio to boost voter numbers to within the required range.
Current councillors Anthony Aitken, Sarah Hathway, Jim Mason, Melissa Cadwell and Ron Nelson all made submissions as part of last year’s consultation period.
In a LinkedIn post, Mr Aitken, whose current Windermere ward takes in Geelong’s northern suburbs, said his preferred option was to increase the number of wards, and therefore councillors, to 12.
“(But) the final version has reflected our comments to try and not split rural communities in our north and Bellarine,” he said.
“I think the final version better reflects Geelong’s current communities of interest with some minor exceptions.”
Geelong is one of 30 councils across Victorian shifting to single-member wards.
The Surf Coast Shire will see its number of wards shrink from four to three, with each to be represented by three councillors.
The Winchelsea ward will take in the north of the shire, while the Otway Range ward will take in the south, including Jan Juc.
Torquay will have its own ward.
Ms Horne said the new ward boundaries would be in place for this year’s local government elections.
“(It is) an important step in our work to reform local government and meet the expectations of communities right across Victoria,” she said.
Originally published as State government backs independent panel’s recommendations to introduce single-member Geelong council wards
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