By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
Multi-councillor wards recommended for Geelong would be an “abject failure”, according to a former mayor.
Barbara Abley, mayor from 2002 to 2004, accused the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) of “fiddling with boundaries” in its recommedation to the State Government.
The VEC final report recommended Geelong switch from 12 wards with a councillor each to three wards with three councillors and one ward with two.
A 1993 law requires a reduction in Geelong councillors from 13, including the mayor, to a dozen, meaning one ward councillor must go.
Ms Abley said councillors from around Victoria with experience of multi-member wards had told her the system was “an abject failure”.
“Constituents feel short-changed because they believe the larger, redesigned wards do not adequately take into account naturally aligned communities, nor are the decreased numbers of assigned councillors able to represent the ward ratepayers without compromise.”
Ms Abley said Geelong’s council had undergone numerous VEC reviews, none of which substantially achieved its desired outcome.
“The proposed recommended changes to the ward boundaries clearly do not take into account the diversity of this very large local government area.
“Elected representation should be increased in line with the growing population and increased statutory responsibilities of councillors, not decreased.
Geelong already had far fewer councillors per capita than the national average, Ms Abley said.
“Conversely, Geelong appears to be over-governed by a large number of state representatives, both lower and upper house. Perhaps it’s time for a serious discussion regarding the abolition of the second tier of government.“
State MP for South Barwon and former Geelong councillor Andrew Katos questioned whether the VEC recommendation aligned with a state review of the city’s process for directly electing its mayor.
“The ward review goes hand-in-hand with the way the mayor is elected. There’s no point in changing the way the mayor is elected unless the ward system is in line with that,” Mr Katos said.
“It should have been done together instead of having two reviews running in separate directions.”
