Hannah Hammoud
The structure of Hume council’s wards will soon be changed, with a preliminary report due to be released on November 1, following an electoral structure review.
The review follows on from requirements introduced by the Local Government Act 2020 which detailed several changes, including that all metropolitan, interface and regional city councils must now have single-councillor ward electoral structures.
Hume council must transition to a single councillor ward structure prior to the 2024 council elections.
Council chief executive Sheena Frost said council is yet to receive any detailed information on the proposed review.
“We look forward to this detailed information… being issued, and once reviewed council will decide whether they would like to submit a formal submission to the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC),” she said.
Thirty-nine Victorian local councils are in the process of undergoing these reviews, including nearby Whittlesea, Melton, Merri-bek, Brimbank and Moonee Valley councils.
The reviews have been conducted by two electoral representation advisory panels appointed by the Local Government Minister Melissa Horne to make a recommendation to the minister on electoral structures.
The panels are considering the appropriate number of councillors and wards for each council, the location of ward boundaries, and ward names.
To help explain the review process and answer any questions, the VEC is hosting an online public information session at 12pm on Monday, October 30, and 6pm on Tuesday, October 31.
The preliminary report response submission period opens on Wednesday, November 1, and will close at 5pm, on Wednesday, November 22.
People interested in making a response submission to the preliminary report can map the ward boundaries for their proposed electoral structure online using the public submission tool available on the VEC website as part of their submission.
At the end of the review, the panel will make a final recommendation to the Local Government Minister. It is then up to the minister to review the recommendation and decide what is best for Hume council.
Once the minister has made her decision, any changes will apply at the next local council elections. The final report will be provided to Ms Horne on December 13.
Details: shorturl.at/hltu2
