THE voters in one of Bass Coast’s three voting divisions, Western Port, have been given a huge free kick by the Victorian Electoral Commission ahead of the next council elections in October 2024.
And the people Phillip Island? Well, they’ve been dudded again.
Under the new voting arrangements announced this week, residents of the Western Port Ward, stretching from Jam Jerrup in the north to Krowera and Kongwak in the east, San Remo in the west and North Wonthaggi in the south, will still get three representatives on Council despite having almost 30 per cent fewer voters than Phillip Island.
In effect, the value of each vote from Phillip Island will be worth considerably less than votes posted by Western Port and Bunurong people (Wonthaggi/Inverloch area).
This means that the three Island ward representatives will have to work that much harder just to get a fair deal at the council table.
The only upside in the changes to internal electoral boundaries is that all Island voters will be in the same boat, even if it is a rather leaky boat.
It was a positive that island Ward Councillor Ron Bauer chose to focus on after the VCE came out with the new shire boundaries.
“Look I like it, having everyone in the Island together in one ward. Frankly, I think everyone thought they were anyway,” said Cr Bauer.
“I don’t see it as devaluing the island vote. You’ve got nine councillors that you’ve got to work with so there’s no difference there and ultimately, all of the councillors are trying to do what’s best for the whole shire, with a special interest in their ward.
“Everyone knows I’m fiercely for the Island, it just means I’ll be officially covering a bit more area now,” he said.
The new ward boundaries don’t come into effect until the October elections but any prospective Island ward candidate, including Cr Bauer, will have their eyes firmly on the issues affecting the whole island, including the soon-to-be-added section around Newhaven which is still officially at least, part of the Western Port ward.
Under a review announced by the VCE, the number of voters in each ward will be:
- Bunurong (area 215km2) 13,115 voters, a deviation from the mean of minus 4.61%.
- Island (area 100km2) 15,839 voters, a deviation from the mean of plus 15.21%
- Western Port (550 km2) 12,291 voters, a deviation from the mean of 10.6%
Total voters 41,245 (average 13,748).
The new voting model in Bass Coast makes three ward boundary changes.
- Island Ward is adjusted to capture all of Phillip Island, including Churchill Island.
- The boundary between Western Port and Bunurong wards currently cutting through the North Wonthaggi locality is moved 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 is moved 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.
The VEC explains the reason for the changes:
“The VEC recognises the presence of multiple, distinct communities and townships within the council. As was reflected in submissions, there is a strong desire for these communities and townships to remain intact within the one ward,” said the VEC.
Despite the deterioration in voting power, submissions from Phillip Island indicated that community members see Phillip Island as a strong community of interest, and supported the boundary adjustment as a “strong and recognisable ward boundary".