By Laura Wakely
A REVIEW into Brimbank City Council’s electoral structure has found the municipality’s wards and number of councillors should remain unchanged.
The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) released its final representation review report last week, stating the council should have four wards and be represented by 11 councillors, with three three-councillor wards and one two-councillor ward.
The report states the ward boundaries should also be unchanged as they are “clear, nearly everywhere following major roads, railways or rivers”.
Electoral Commissioner Steve Tully said a “wide variety of views” were put forward during the review process.
A number of those views were heard by VEC representatives earlier this month, with many submitters asking for the administrators to be kept on for another term (Fearing the past, 11 October, Star Sunshine).
The VEC noted that “quality of representing is more important than the number of councillors”.
“A smaller number of councillors with a good work ethic would be more effective than a large number of mediocre councillors,” the VEC stated.
“However, there is no guarantee that reducing the number of councillors would improve their quality.
“The VEC has no control over the calibre of the councillors elected; that is up to the voters.”
The report also revealed Brimbank has one of the highest informal voting rates in Victoria, with more than one in seven votes “wasted”.
The VEC began the review in June and has held two rounds of public submissions, a public information session and a public hearing during the process.
The VEC also considered the municipality’s demographics and growth potential and the electoral structure of similar municipalities in making its recommendation.
The report will now go to Local Government Minister Jeanette Powell to consider.
To read the final report contact the VEC on 131 832, visit www.vec.vic.gov.au, or pick up a copy from the Brimbank City Council municipal office at 6-18 Alexandra Ave in Sunshine.
