Corio seat ‘to go east’ in proposal

Kim Waters
A push to expand the boundaries of the Federal seat of Corio could force Geelong voters to share their electorate with residents of Melbourne’s western suburbs.
The Labor party has recommended to an Australian Electoral Commission review that Corio should merge with part of the western Melbourne seat of Altona.
The recommendation has infuriated Corio Liberal candidate Don Gibson, who said it threatened to strengthen Labor’s hold on the safe seat at the expense of voters.
“Labor has suggested that the Corio electorate moves north to join with the western suburbs of Melbourne, which would underpin the party’s interests,” Mr Gibson said.
“It’s all about strengthening their political position and making it a less-contestable seat.”
Mr Gibson said Corio electorate residents would suffer from the Labor proposal.
“I would anticipate that the issues of the Geelong residents in this electorate won’t get heard independently from the issues faced by the Melbourne residents,” he said.
“They’ll all be lumped in together and the Geelong residents won’t be represented properly.”
But Labor MP for Corio Richard Marles hit back, saying the Liberals had “some serious questions to answer” about their plans to extend Corio further into the Bellarine Peninsula.
Mr Marles rejected Mr Gibson’s claim the proposed Corio change would make the seat safer for Labor.
“Based on the last election, the proposal we have put forward would see less than a one per cent difference to the margin as a result of that change,” Mr Marles said.
“Any suggestion it’s about boosting our margin is patently ridiculous.
Mr Marles said employment opportunities in Melbourne’s west had prompted the Labor submission.
“We see the area to the north of Geelong as utterly central to Geelong’s future economy,” Mr Marles said.
“By reconfiguring the boundaries to join the Corio electorate up with Melbourne’s western suburbs we’re ensuring that the economic engine room for a large part of Geelong remains a Geelong electorate.
“The Liberal submission disconnects the seat of Corio from an area that represents fantastic employment opportunities and that is a disgrace.”