ARARAT Rural City Council could be subdivided into wards following the release of a Victorian Electoral Commission preliminary report on the municipality's structure.
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The report was the result of a month-long submission period, which formed the first stage of a VEC review, which it conducts every 12 years.
The review looks into how fairly the council structure represents a municipality, and considers things such as the number of councilors and whether a municipality should be divided into wards or left undivided.
An information session was held at the Alexandra Oval Community Centre on February 1, followed by the preliminary submission period.
The VEC received 15 submissions from residents and released its preliminary report Tuesday.
According to the report, the VEC bases its recommendations for particular electoral structures on the following information:
- internal research specifically relating to the local council under review, including Australian Bureau of Statistics; voter statistics from the Victorian electoral roll; and other State and local government data sets;
- the VEC's experience conducting previous electoral representation reviews of local councils and similar reviews for State elections
- the VEC's expertise in mapping, demography and local government;
- careful consideration of all input from the public in written submissions received during the review;
- advice from consultants with extensive experience in local government.
Ararat Rural City Council's existing structure is unsubdivided with seven councilors, and any changes won't come into effect until 2020.
The report recommended two options:
- Option A: Seven councilors elected from an unsubdivided electoral structure; or
- Option B: Seven councilors elected from four wards (one four‑councilor ward and three single‑councilor wards).
Eight of the submissions wanted more wards.
The VEC is now accepting response submissions, in which residents can respond to the preliminary report.
The response submission period closes on April 24 at 5pm.
That will be followed by a public hearing, on April 29 at 6.30pm at the Alexandra Oval Community Centre, 1 Waratah Avenue for anyone who has requested to speak in support of their submission.
If there are no requests to speak, the hearing will not be held.
The final report will be released on May 22, 2019.
Electoral Commissioner, Warwick Gately AM, encouraged community members to get involved by reviewing the report and making a submission.
"We want to ensure all voters are represented in a fair and equitable way, so now's the time to speak up," he said.
"You have one month to consider the options and make your submission supporting or opposing the options."
Submissions responding to the preliminary report should address the options.
Submissions can be made online at vec.vic.gov.au, or by post to:
Victorian Electoral Commission, Level 11, 530 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000.
Copies of the preliminary report are also available for inspection at Ararat Rural City Council offices.
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