VEC sets date for shire councillor countback

THE Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) has decided on a date for the countback to fill the spot vacated by former Surf Coast Shire councillor Rebecca Bourke.

Elected to the Torquay Ward in November 2024, Ms Bourke announced her resignation effective immediately on September 25.

“This decision was not easy. I care deeply for our community, however, I need to prioritise my young family’s wellbeing at this point in time,” Ms Bourke said at the time.

With Ms Bourke’s departure from the three-councillor Torquay Ward, the VEC announced on Wednesday last week that it would run an online countback to fill the extraordinary vacancy at 10.30am on October 27.

According to the VEC’s website, all candidates not elected at the original election, and who are still eligible to be a councillor, are automatically participants in the countback.

In Torquay Ward, Liz Pattison was elected first, followed by Ms Bourke and Paul Barker. Martin Duke, Eric Menogue and Phoebe Crockett were the remaining candidates.

All votes from the original election are included in the countback. To be successful at a countback, a participating candidate needs to achieve a quota, which is the same as the count of votes in the original election – in this case, 2,087 votes.

Before they can be declared elected, a successful candidate must complete and return a declaration stating that they are still qualified to be a councillor. If the candidate does not return a declaration within 48 hours, a further countback will be held.

If there are no remaining eligible candidates to participate in a countback, a by-election is required.

A link to the countback will go live at 10am on October 27 at vec.vic.gov.au