Yarrawonga and district may not have its own ward of three elected councilors for the October 2020 Moira Shire Council election once the new Local Government Bill is passed in parliament early next year.
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The likelihood of Moira Shire’s unsubdivided shire of nine councillors remaining has gathered momentum with the Local Government Bill 2019 to introduce single member wards.
If the minister and subsequently the Victorian Parliament decide on an unsubdivided shire, the decision will fly in the face of the Victorian Electoral Commission’s recommendation to the State Government in June this year of three separate wards (East, Central and West) each comprising three councillors.
Advice received yesterday (Tuesday) is that The Local Government Bill 2019 will introduce single member wards as the default structure for all councils.
“It is proposed that an unsubdivided municipality model will be available to rural councils whose demographic profile make such division into wards inappropriate, for example councils with large geographical areas and small populations,” a spokesperson from the Office of the Premier told the Yarrawonga Chronicle.
“While what structure is applied to each council is a decision which ultimately rests with the minister, the government will not pre-empt parliament by making this decision before the bill is passed.”
But the Yarrawonga Chronicle was also advised the Minister for Local Government is carefully considering the Victorian Electoral Commission’s final report into Moira Shire Council’s electoral structure.
The VEC last met in Moira Shire at Cobram, on May 8 at a public meeting to hear final submissions.
In April Moira Shire Council voted strongly in favour of retaining the status quo, with an unsubdidvided shire comprising nine councillors.
Two councillors, however, voted for a change, seeking a subdivided shire. They were Crs Kevin Bourke and Peter Mansfield. Some community groups, including Bundalong Progress Association, formally sought a subdivided shire.
A decision on the structure will be made once the Local Government Bill has been considered by the Victorian Parliament, likely to be February or March.
Moira Shire Council is reluctant to comment on the latest indications until officially advised of the outcome.
Yarrawonga based Cr Mansfield expressed his concern upon learning of the latest information from Melbourne.
“I’d be very disappointed if the Local Government Minister went back on the panel’s recommendation,” he said.
“The panel (VEC) did extensive consultation with communities of the shire about which way to have our electoral structure – subdivided or unsubdivided – and came up with the structure of three by three by three (a subdivided shire comprising three councillors for each of three wards). This structure would be more equitable.”
