The 2019 Boroondara subdivision review was a process to review the electoral structure of the City of Boroondara undertaken by the Victorian Electoral Commission. Its aims were to primarily seek if the current number of councillors and wards is appropriate for representing the Boroondara community and the type of electoral divisions that should be in place. This was part of a rolling program of reviews for each council in Victoria.[1]
Background
The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) investigates, reports on and implements any changes to state and local government electoral structures. The aims are to review:
- the appropriate number of councillors
- the electoral divisions of councils (i.e. whether councillors should elected from the whole local council or subdivided into wards)
- the number of wards, ward boundaries and the number of councillors per ward if the council is subdivided.[1]
The previous review for Boroondara occurred in 2008. While the final report included very minimal changes, the preliminary document initially recommended that larger multi-member wards be introduced. This sparked a widespread community campaign to keep the existing single-member ward system.[2]
Process
The review included two stages of community consultation. The first was open before the preliminary report was published to allow the public to make submissions on the three aims of the Review. Once the preliminary report is published, a second round of consultation occured where further submissions were made. A public hearing was held where submissions could be heard by the VEC panel.
| Date | Schedule |
|---|---|
| 13 February 2019 | Preliminary submissions open |
| 13 March 2019 | Preliminary submissions close |
| 10 April 2019 | Preliminary report released, response submissions open |
| 8 May 2019 | Response submission close |
| 14 May 2019 | Public hearing held |
| 5 June 2019 | Release of final report |
Submissions
Over 130 submissions were made in the preliminary phase from 13 February to 13 March 2019. 206 were received following the release of the draft report.[1]
Findings
The final report was published on 5 June 2019. Its main recommendation was to replace the current 10 single-member wards with a multi-member ward system of 11 councillors and four wards in total. This would establish four new wards:
| Proposed ward | Suburbs included | Number of councillors | Previous wards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belmore |
|
3 | |
| Ferndale |
|
3 | |
| Studley | 2 | ||
| Swinburne |
|
3 |
|
Aftermath
Despite the VEC's recommendation, the Victorian Government did not change Boroondara's electoral structure to multi-member wards.[3]. The only changes made were some minor ward boundary variations and the addition of a new ward, Riversdale, to account for the increased population around Glenferrie. A preference for single-member wards across Victoria was subsequently codified into law with the passage of the Local Government Act 2020 by the Parliament of Victoria in July 2020.[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Victorian Electoral Commission. Boroondara City Council representation and subdivision reviews. 15 March 2019. https://www.vec.vic.gov.au/reviews/Boroondararr.html, accessed: 16 March 2019
- ↑ Victorian Electoral Commission. FINAL REPORT Electoral Representation Review for the Boroondara City Council. 26 May 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20180420113831/https://www.vec.vic.gov.au/resources/boroondaraFinalReport2008.PDF (archived from the original), accessed: 18 March 2019
- ↑ Local Government Victoria. Electoral structure changes for 2020. 8 May 2020. https://www.localgovernment.vic.gov.au/our-programs/local-government-act-2020-1/electoral-structure-changes-for-2020, accessed: 6 November 2020
- ↑ Local Government Victoria. Local Government Bill 2019. 17 July 2020. https://www.localgovernment.vic.gov.au/our-programs/local-government-act-review, accessed: 6 November 2020