The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) has recently concluded a review of the electoral boundaries of the Wards within Surf Coast Shire and in its final report to the Minister for Local Government has recommended realignment of Ward boundaries, including the boundaries of the Lorne Ward.
The Local Government Act 1989 (LG Act) requires the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) to conduct a subdivision review to ensure the equitable representation of all voters in a local council. The LG Act prescribes that the number of voters per councillor in each ward must be within plus-or-minus 10% of the average number of voters per councillor across the local council. This is known as the ‘equality requirement’.
As population changes affect voter numbers and distribution in subdivided local councils, one or more wards may be unlikely to meet this requirement at the next general election. In such circumstances, the VEC recommends adjustments to internal ward boundaries to ensure that all wards meet the equality requirement before the next election and ideally, until the next scheduled electoral representation review.
The current subdivision review of Surf Coast Shire Council was required due to the voter-to-councillor ratio in Anglesea and Lorne Wards being more than 10% below the average voter-to-councillor ratio for the local council. Voter projections indicated that the voter-to-councillor ratio in Torquay Ward was unlikely to meet the equality requirement at the 2020 general election. Consequently, Anglesea, Lorne and Torquay Ward boundaries needed to be adjusted so that voter enrolments in these wards were within the 10% tolerance at the 2020 general election.
The VEC’s subdivision review of Surf Coast Shire Council commenced with the release of a preliminary report on Wednesday 12 February 2020. The report contained proposed ward boundary changes based on analysis of enrolment information and internal research.
To bring Lorne Ward within the accepted plus-or-minus 10% deviation, the VEC proposed extending the ward boundary with Anglesea Ward east to Painkalac Creek This was considered to provide a natural boundary between the communities of Fairhaven and Airey’s Inlet and was preferred to extending Lorne Ward too far north into Winchelsea Ward.
The VEC accepted submissions responding to the preliminary report and received 17 response submissions. There was significant opposition to the ward boundary changes proposed in the preliminary report.
The Committee for Lorne made a submission in response to the preliminary report lodging an objection to the proposed extension of the Lorne Ward from Mogg’s Creek to Painkalac Creek. In our submission, we stated:
“Local Government is the primary interface between citizens and government. Local Government deals with the basic issues which affect ratepayers on a day to day basis. These issues are commonly summarised as “Roads, Rates & Rubbish”. But local government is much more than that. It is the principal interface with State and Federal Government on matters of infrastructure funding, environmental issues, education, health care and community well-being to name a few. Under the current ward boundaries, Lorne is truly a “community of interest”. The boundaries incorporate Deans Marsh, but there is much in common between Lorne and Deans Marsh and the movement of people between the two towns for work, education and recreation is significant.
Fairhaven, on the other hand, is much more closely aligned with Aireys Inlet. The community of Fairhaven looks to Aireys Inlet for those basic community needs; education, health care, shopping, Post Office, CFA etc. At the level of local government, Councillors should represent Communities of Interest – communities which share in the activities and aspirations of their neighbours. This is a far more important way of drawing boundaries for representation that applying some statistics to ensure an even distribution of population across wards.
To apply a statistical model which determines ward boundaries based upon population distribution is a flawed model. To have the whole precinct of Fairhaven allocated to the Lorne ward when they are an integral part of the Aireys Inlet community is putting statistics above the needs of people in terms of what they expect from local government.
The current Lorne Ward distribution is not broken in terms of community needs; don’t fix it.”
Surf Coast Shire council also submitted its own objection also expressing concern about the shift of the boundary from Moggs Creek to Painkalac Creek.
Following evaluation of the written submissions and public hearings, the VEC reviewed its preliminary recommendations. The findings and recommendations in the final report state:
“The VEC recognises that there are strong geographic communities of interest within Surf Coast Shire, with the physical and socio-economic characteristics between different parts of the Shire reinforced by people’s sense of identification with their own area… The VEC agreed with submitters on the concerns raised about the proposal to extend the Lorne-Anglesea Ward boundary east to Painkalac Creek. It considered the ward boundary as proposed in the preliminary report would split the Fairhaven and Aireys Inlet communities.
On further assessment of voter numbers and projections, and the connections between Lorne and areas to its north, including Deans Marsh and Bambra, it was determined that a more appropriate solution would be to extend the Lorne Ward boundary north.”
“As such, the VEC recommends that the Lorne Ward boundary be extended north to Cape Otway Road, south along Wurdale Road, east along Wormbete Station Road and south on Knights Track. This makes use of a clear boundary in Cape Otway Road and the Winchelsea South locality boundary. As a result of this change, Bambra, Winchelsea South and parts of Birregurra and Wensleydale would be contained in Lorne Ward.”
The accompanying image shows both the original and the proposed boundaries, now before the Minister for approval. For your interest, the full report, from which extracts transcribed here, and maps of proposed boundaries can be found at – www.vec.vic.gov.au/reviews/SurfCoastrr.html
