Proposed Golden Plains Shire electoral structure in doubt

Ministerial push for single ward municipalities raises questions about future

GOLDEN Plains Shire Mayor, Cr Owen Sharkey has said the council is “surprised” by the Local Government Minister’s proposal to mandate single ward and undivided municipality structures across Victoria.

The push follows a representation review from the Victorian Electoral Commission which recommended the Golden Plains be subdivided with three wards and seven councillors.

Under the recommendation an eastern plains ward would have three councillors and the other two wards, goldfields and central plains, would each have two.

The VEC report is currently with the Local Government Minister, Adem Somyurek for his consideration and potential implementation, but since his office received the recommendation, the Minister has made this broader proposal for state-wide reform.

Cr Sharkey said council has heard no more about the review since it was presented to the Minister, having paid $40,000 to conduct a comprehensive consultation process.

A State government spokesperson said that the Minister is considering the feedback from community and councils.

“The Golden Plains report is still under consideration and a decision will be made by the Minister in due course,” the spokesperson said.

Having made a submission to the review, favouring a ward-based structure, Cr Sharkey is eager to hear.

“Many residents supported the notion of more local representation and after extensive community engagement, the VEC listened to council and community members with its decision to recommend a three-ward structure to the Minister for Local Government,” he said.

There are several reforms proposed for the new Local Government Act that the council disagrees with and Cr Sharkey said were “detrimental to strong community representation at the local council level.

“The will of the people of Golden Plains Shire, so clearly expressed in the consultation for the VEC review, is being ignored by the Minister, in favour of making all councils fit into two defined structures.

“There is no doubt that these measures were being considered, and may have been decided, well before the VEC completed its expensive exercise,” he said. “Instead, we were allowed to continue only to have the positive outcome of this transparent and genuine process ignored by the State government.”

According to Cr Sharkey, councils across Victoria have expressed concern about the potential reforms.

“We hope that the State Government will address these issues and engage in a positive discussion with local government representatives to ensure a strong new Local Government Act that best represents the interests of the people.”

Member for Polwarth, Richard Riordan said single ward, undivided municipalities are a better idea in “more homogenous” city communities.

“A shire like Golden Plains, you’ve got people living on the fringe of Geelong, to a community living on the fringe of Ballarat, to farming communities like Rokewood, Meredith and spots in there that are very much their own identity,” he said.

“If we go down this route, communities in Golden Plains would be at a huge disadvantage, because you’ve got upwards of 10,000 people living in Bannockburn, and if you only have one electorate, it’s going to be very difficult for a community member who’s actively involved at Rokewood, or Dereel, to get enough votes to be elected.

“There’s not a lot of sense in it, and of course the government is looking to disregard this review Golden Plains has had anyway, so who knows?” Mr Riordan said.