April 2020: UPDATE#2 On Wednesday 8th April the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) released its final report into the boundary changes in the Surf Coast Shire that are needed to ensure that the number of voters in each Ward meet statutory requirements.
VEC had proposed using the Painkalac Creek as the boundary between the Lorne and Anglesea Wards which would have put all of Fairhaven, Moggs Creek and Eastern View into the Lorne Ward.
AIDA made a detailed submission arguing against this change (as did many others). We are very pleased that the VEC has accepted our arguments and the boundary between the Lorne and Anglesea Wards remains unchanged. Unfortunately this still leaves part of Moggs Creek and Eastern View in the Lorne Ward.
April 2020: UPDATE AIDA made a submission to this Ward Boundary Review which proposes placing all of Fairhaven and Moggs Creek into the Lorne Ward. (Part of Moggs and Eastern View are already in the Lorne Ward.)
Our substantial submission, which was prepared for us by AIDA member David Quin, is comprehensive and addressed all the changes being proposed by VEC.
Of most interest to our community is the argument it puts that Fairhaven should remain part of the Anglesea Ward and importantly it demonstrates how this can be achieved. Other submitters made similar arguments about retaining Fairhaven within the Anglesea Ward.
We are extremely grateful to David for offering his expertise to prepare AIDA’s submission.
The submissions are all available on the Victorian Electoral Commission Website. VEC will publish its final report on Wednesday April 8.
March 2020: The Victorian Electoral Commission is required to review Council Ward boundaries from time to time to ensure there is an equitable distribution of voters in each Ward.
The Surf Coast Ward boundaries are under review and changes have been suggested for the Torquay Ward boundary as well as the boundary between the Lorne and Anglesea Wards.
The current boundary between these Wards has Moggs Creek and Eastern View in the Lorne Ward bisecting our coastal community.
The proposed change would further bisect our communities to include the whole of Fairhaven in the Lorne Ward. The new boundary would be the Painkalac Creek.
Among the factors VEC considers in determining the boundaries are:
• ensuring that all wards meet the equality requirement for the next election
• the number of voters affected by the changes, with the aim of affecting as few voters as possible
• communities of interest, geographic factors, such as size and topography
VEC also specifically recognises Communities of Interest and notes that ‘Each local council contains a number of communities of interest. Where practicable, ward boundaries should be designed to ensure they are fairly represented, and that geographic communities of interest are not split. This allows communities with shared concerns to elect a councillor.’
Everyone is invited to make a submission to VEC by 5pm on Wednesday 11 March. (Late submissions will not be accepted.) This will be followed by a public hearing on Tuesday 17 March to hear from anyone who has made a submission. The hearing will not be held if no one wishes to speak to their submission. https://submissions.vec.vic.gov.au/reviews/councils
Charlotte Allen