Let’s talk about the new ward structures at a local government level.

When Local Government Minister Melissa Horne announced in February that the State Government had accepted the recommendation of the Electoral Representation Advisory Panels to change 30 councils across Victoria to single-member ward structures, the full extent of what that meant at a local level had not been explored.

Although in the Wimmera, the three affected councils – Horsham, Yarriambiack and Northern Grampians – had made submissions to oppose the move, as had some residents, it was seemingly ignored.

At the time, Ms Horne said it was to ensure compliance with the Local Government Act 2020 because ‘having an uneven number of councillors across each ward is not compliant’.

The panels made recommendations for the total number of councillors for each municipality, the ward structure, the number of wards, number of councillors per ward, ward boundaries and names.

For Horsham Rural City Council, it resulted in seven single-councillor wards – the first time the council has had wards since amalgamation in 1994. 

So what has this meant for the current council election?

Each of the wards – Green Park, Horsham North, Kalimna, May Park, Oatlands, Pine Lake, and Wyn Wyn – had varying numbers of candidates.

Kalimna and Wyn Wyn had just one candidate nominate in each.

Even these candidates, who will be elected unopposed, admitted at last week’s Horsham candidates forum that it was not how they wanted to be elected.

They would rather have been voted in by residents, rather than given a ‘free pass’.

Without a requirement for a councillor to live in the ward they represent, any candidate could nominate for any ward.

For those playing the game, candidates could have waited until the last minute to nominate in a specific ward, therefore seeing who, if any, opposition they were going to have.

It could also mean we have more than one quality candidate standing against each other in a ward where only one will be elected.

Or on the flipside, the community could end up with three ordinary candidates in the same ward, with one of them elected as a councillor.

How is this electing our best representatives?

In rural and regional municipalities where there is often a lower number of candidates and the municipality is centred on one major town, a ward structure simply does not work.

It’s understandable to have a ward structure if the municipality has more than one major town – such as Northern Grampians or Hindmarsh – but when most of the population lives in Horsham and uses services throughout the city, it is not needed. In fact it’s counterproductive.

Horsham is not the only council where the new ward structures have not been welcomed.

In Mildura, former independent state MP and current candidate for Mildura, Ali Cupper, pointed out last week that it ‘was far better insurance to have nine councillors responsible for everyone’.

“The argument that having one dedicated councillor for each dedicated area will enhance representation falls apart when you realise that your one councillor will be automatically outnumbered 1-8 on every micro issue that relates to your ward,” she said.

“We have close combat, winner-takes-all races in other wards, which have made the whole experience unnecessarily desperate and divisive.”

Ms Cupper quoted the Final Report of the Electoral Representation Advisory Panel for Mildura which admitted ‘… the recommended model is the result of necessary compromise to adhere to the narrow structures of the Act’; and some candidates could be deterred from standing in the larger wards – ‘increasing the risk of uncontested or failed elections’.

If elected, Ms Cupper said she would ‘be fighting to have this stupid system overturned, and the unsubdivided structure restored’ in time for the next election in 2028.

Hopefully Horsham councillors join the fight.

The entire October 16, 2024 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!