Campaspe Shire Council is just one of the 39 Victorian municipalities facing changes to their electoral structure at the next election.
Due to recommendations from an electoral representation advisory panel, the Shire will move from having a five-ward structure to an unsubdivided structure, with all nine elected members representing the municipality.
The initial work on the recommendation began in 2020 when the then Andrews Labor Government committed to the electoral structure reviews.
Local groups and residents were given an initial chance to give preliminary submissions until February 22, 2023. Then again, after a preliminary report was issued, there was another opportunity for community submissions.
In the preliminary report, three options were suggested. The options were:
Model 1: an unsubdivided electoral structure with 9 councillors.
Model 2: subdivided electoral structure with a total of 9 councillors, 3 wards and 3 councillors per ward.
Model 3: a subdivided electoral structure with a total of 9 councillors, 3 wards and 3 councillors per ward.
Model 2 and Model 3 differed in where the geographical boundaries of each ward were drawn.
There were 10 preliminary submissions given, including ones from the Kyabram Deakin Ratepayers Residents and Development Group Inc. and the Stanhope and District Development Committee. After the report, only two residents made submissions, and they both chose the first model.
Of the three models identified in a preliminary report, the panel considers an unsubdivided structure to be the best model for promoting fair and equitable representation for voters in Campaspe Shire and consequently facilitating good governance under the Local Government Act 2020.
Campaspe Shire Council’s chief executive, Pauline Gordon, said the panel had considered the Shire’s history of uncontested elections and low candidate numbers for single-councillor wards under the current structure.
“Their recommendation concluded that an unsubdivided structure would remove the risk of uncontested elections, provide a greater selection of candidates for voters and could also encourage a more diverse council,” she said.
The local government elections are due to take place in October with nominations for candidates opening in the coming months.