Tuesday, 20 February 2024

Electoral reform

Evan MULHOLLAND (Northern Metropolitan) (18:43): (704) My adjournment is for the Minister for Local Government. I seek the action of the minister to urgently review the final structures for Whittlesea City Council, put forward by the Whittlesea electoral representation advisory panel, that she recently accepted. The boundaries of the proposed north ward fail to adequately reflect and accommodate forecast population growth. I submitted to the Victorian Electoral Commission review with my colleague member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell.

From the Informed Decisions demographic report commissioned by the City of Whittlesea, the Donnybrook locality at the heart of the north ward is projected to grow rapidly at an average annual rate of 16.97 per cent, reaching a population of over 7000 by 1 July 2024. The number of electors within the north ward boundary across all three proposed models is projected to approach the plus or minus 10 per cent electors cap provided for by section 15(2)(b) of the Local Government Act 2020 by the time of the October 2024 elections. It is inevitable that the north ward will grow well over the section 15 requirements of the LGA throughout the four-year term. This will ultimately fail to ensure that the concerns of residents at a local level are addressed adequately and will leave that north ward severely underrepresented. It includes Donnybrook, Eden Park, parts of Beveridge, Woodstock, Whittlesea, Yan Yean, the northern part of Doreen, Humevale and Kinglake West. It is in fact so big you could fit all other 10 proposed wards within the City of Whittlesea inside the north ward, and we know that the councils of Hume and Whittlesea and Mitchell shire have all had the team together on the construction of the new Cloverton city, which is going to be a city the size of Canberra, because really the state government has not come to the table in supporting growth in those communities. The growth of those communities is enormous. The number of electors will not meet the requirements set by the act and will actually outstrip them almost at the start of the four-year term. So I am urging the minister and seeking action from the minister to urgently review her decision, take another look at Whittlesea City Council boundary structures, perhaps read the submission that Ms Lovell and I made to the electoral review and review these proposals.

I in fact want to mention and shout out the process for the City of Hume’s review. It sensibly set boundaries which are actually forecast for when that population grows. I am not sure what has happened with the City of Whittlesea review, which has not done that. We need to make sure if we are going to move to single wards that people are going to be adequately represented. That is what I am seeking for the minister to do.