Colac Otway mayor disappointed at Corangamite redistribution

THE mayor of the Colac Otway Shire has expressed his surprise and disappointment with the Australian Electoral Commission’s decision to exclude Colac from Corangamite.

The augmented Electoral Commission for Victoria handed down the outcome of its deliberations on the proposed federal redistribution last week.

Despite many objections, including from the Colac Otway Shire and the Liberal Party, Colac voters will be casting their ballots for a candidate in Wannon, not Corangamite, as of July 13.

Colac Otway mayor Joe McCracken said he was “extremely frustrated” that the northern part of the shire, including Colac, Beeac and Cressy would become part of neighbouring Wannon, an electorate he said “envelops no less than 10 local government areas”.

“We had a strong position that we didn’t want Colac Otway Shire split up into two electorates and that our advocacy and representation as a council would be best served if we remained wholly in Corangamite.

“This decision means our biggest community, Colac, will be represented federally as part of the same electorate as Warrnambool, Hamilton, Ararat, Port Fairy and other neighbours to our west.”

Cr McCracken said the shire enjoyed great relationships with other councils and towns to its west, but strategically Colac had much more in common with Geelong and the Bellarine.

“Clearly, we’ve put a lot of energy into G21, the Princes Highway duplication to Geelong and a range of other strategic work aimed at maximising opportunity for Colac in partnership with its eastern neighbours.”

Incumbent Corangamite Liberal member Sarah Henderson was likewise “incredibly disappointed” that her electorate would no longer contain Colac and district, parts of the Golden Plains and Geelong suburbs Belmont, Highton, Wandana Heights and parts of Grovedale.

Labor candidate for Corangamite Libby Coker said the new boundaries were “a fair and even distribution that grants the electorate a cohesive character”.

Politically, the changes are likely to make the marginal seat of Corangamite even more marginal.