City faces single ward structure

THE City of Ballarat is one of four regional municipalities currently being reviewed through the Victorian Electoral Commission to adopt a single-ward council structure.

The shift is a mandatory one, with the reshuffle for regional cities passed as part of the Local Government Act 2020.

Once the review is complete, the municipality’s structure will shift from the current model of three councillors for three wards to one councillor per ward, and will come into effect from the 2024 election.

Cr Ben Taylor opposed the move when it was first announced, and said his opinion hasn’t changed since then.

“I’m still concerned by the structure,” he said. “My biggest fear by seeing what happens in other areas is that it brings competition against other wards.

“Your priorities are going to be with the people you represent. For me, why would I care about the people of Miners Rest when I’m caring about the people in Buninyong?

“That’s what it was like when we had it years ago, there were a whole lot of backroom deals to get outcomes for individual areas. How do you come up with that balanced approach for a good outcome?

“Our three-councillor ward works really well. You can’t be across everything in your ward and people have that opportunity to go to another councillor in their area and have a conversation.”

The reviews are being undertaken by one of two electoral representation advisory panels which includes 10 members.

Following two information sessions and a preliminary report released on Wednesday, public submissions are now open until 5pm on Wednesday 19 July.

Responses must be relevant to the mandated structure, with submitters able to present suggestions and proposed boundaries for the new wards.

A public hearing is also slated for Tuesday 25 July which will run if submissions are received via registration through the VEC website.

Cr Taylor said although public consultation is always important, it’s “a waste of money” in this case given the inevitability of the adopted structure.

“Now it’s legislated which means they have to do it. I think they should reevaluate it and work out what’s best for the community, not push and steamroll,” he said.

“This is costing ratepayers too. Council has to pay something like $80,000 for this to happen.

“I don’t think it’s fair when if our structure works, why would you go down the path of blowing it up and putting something in we know won’t be the best for the city?”

With the number of councillors also to be reviewed as part of the restructure process, Cr Taylor said he’d like to see the nine-person setup maintained.

He also said the reshuffle will come at the cost of diversity amongst the different wards, with preferential voting giving way to unequitable election outcomes.

Once the review is complete, a final report will be brought to the Minister for Local Government Wednesday 25 August.