Association hails Barwon Heads staying in District of Bellarine

THE Barwon Heads Association is backing the proposed changes to the District of Bellarine, including keeping Barwon Heads inside the electorate and moving Moolap and surrounds out.

The Electoral Boundaries Commission (EBC) has been conducting a redivision of electoral boundaries for both houses of Parliament to ensure that each vote in Victorian state elections has an equal value and that each elector is represented equally.

It invited a second round of submissions during June and July, and allowed submitters to speak at public hearings held on Tuesday and Wednesday last week.

In their submission, the Barwon Heads Association supported the EBC’s recommendation to keep the Barwon Heads community within the state seat of Bellarine.

“The recommendation recognises the strong economic, community and social ties between Barwon Heads and Ocean Grove and across the Bellarine,” the submission states.

“It ensures that the Parliamentary representation of our community will not be compromised as Barwon Heads remains in an electoral district with which we have great affinity and many common interests.”

The Barwon Heads Association is also in favour of the proposed changes to move the District of Geelong’s boundary west to include the Moolap area and retain the existing southern boundary of the District of Bellarine, describing it as a “good outcome”.

“It reduces the number of electors in the Bellarine District, provides greater stability for the boundaries in the future and ensures that the Bellarine District remains a semirural, coastal electorate.

“It also means that Moolap, on the outer fringes of the Geelong urban area, moves to an electorate with which it has closer social and economic ties.”

The Victorian Greens and the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party did not raise specific objections to the changes to the District of Bellarine in their submissions.

The Victorian Division of the Liberal Party’s submission was generally supportive of the changes across the Geelong region, which include shrinking the District of South Barwon in the south to only include Waurn Ponds, Mount Duneed and Breamlea, with Torquay, Jan Juc and Bellbrae to move into the District of Polwarth, and the District of Geelong picking up all of Fyansford and part of Batesford.

“The significant growth in the Geelong region provides considerable challenges in creating districts that are reflective of their constituent communities, especially in terms of balancing the Districts of Geelong, Bellarine, and South Barwon,” the Liberal Party wrote.

“The Commission has, however, on balance created some sensible boundaries that, overall, join similar communities.”

For more information on the EBC’s redivision, including proposed maps and submissions made, head to ebc.vic.gov.au.