Final call made on Federal lines

A FINAL decision has been made on the lower house boundaries for the next Federal election, and they are not much different to those proposed earlier in the year.

The new lines will see a majority of Golden Plains fall into the Division of Ballarat, with only Bannockburn, and now Inverleigh, remaining in Corangamite.

At the 2019 Federal election the Shire is split geographically about 50/50 between Wannon in the north-west and Corangamite in the south-east.

With so much of the Shire now in Ballarat, current member Catherine King welcomed the change.

“Golden Plains is a region I know well,” she said in early April.

“Parts of the Shire council have been included in the Ballarat electorate previously and I would be excited to once again be those communities’ voice in Parliament.

“I am looking forward to continuing to represent the diverse communities that make up the seat of Ballarat and listening to the needs of the many communities.”

The original proposal before the Australian Electoral Commission had been to include Inverleigh in Ballarat, however feedback resulted in that town remaining in Corangamite.

Golden Plains Shire input into the AEC’s process and mayor Cr Helena Kirby said while everything that was asked for didn’t happen, retaining Inverleigh in its current electorate was a good thing.

“During the Electoral Commission’s recent consultation process on its draft boundary proposal, council was proud to put in its own submission encouraging Inverleigh, Teesdale and Lethbridge to be retained in the Corangamite electorate,” she said.

“Council welcomes the news that the Electoral Commission gave consideration to council’s objection and those of members of the Inverleigh community and agreed to leave Inverleigh in Corangamite.

“While it wasn’t everything we advocated for, it is still pleasing to see the Electoral Commission listen to the concerns of our local community.”

Meanwhile, a change in the name of Corangamite to Tucker has also been rejected.

The proposal had been to rename the seat after Yorta Yorta women and Aboriginal rights campaigner Elizabeth Tucker.

Former Member for Corangamite and current Victorian Senator Sarah Henderson objected to the name change.

“I was very pleased to make an in-person submission to the AEC about my concerns including that the word Tucker could be graffitied on signage and other materials and bring the electoral process, including candidates for election, into disrepute,” she said.

“At the last election, many of my signs were vandalised by my political opponents with crude and obscene words which is particularly an issue for female candidates.”

Current Member for Corangamite, who defeated Ms Henderson at the 2019 election by 2170 votes on a two-party preferred basis, initially backed the name change.

“I endorsed this decision when it was first announced,” she said. “We need more electorates named after women, especially our First Nation’s women.

“However, after much consideration with my local community, I believe the AEC has made the right decision. Corangamite is a federation seat. It has a strong connection to the region, and [the] name itself is derived from the Gulidjan word for bitter.”