New electoral boundaries
by Sandi Miller
8th November 2021
VICTORIA’S ELECTORAL Boundaries Commission (EBC) has released new State electoral boundaries to come into operation at the next State election in November 2022.
The EBC report, tabled in Parliament in October, includes the boundaries of each State district and region, and an explanation of how and why each change was made.
The EBC took account of the 127 written and 25 verbal submissions received from the Victorian community when preparing the final boundaries, which led to several key changes from the proposed boundaries.
The boundaries for Warrandyte have changed with the eastern boundary taking in more of Wonga Park uniting the electors of Park Orchards within Warrandyte District, while in the west, areas of Doncaster East have been incorporated into the district of Bulleen.
The Report noted that Warrandyte District was well under quota, at 10.69 per cent below the district average.
The Commission decided to extend Warrandyte District east to gain 4,091 electors in Chirnside Park from Evelyn District, south-east to gain 4,241 electors in Ringwood North and the remaining share of Park Orchards from Croydon District, and south to include 4,853 electors also in Ringwood North from Ringwood District.
The EBC said it also considered it appropriate to retain Warrandyte North within the district, “as the community ties of Warrandyte North tend to face south towards the locality of Warrandyte and its surrounds”.
These additions took the electorate over quota, but this was balanced by the loss of electors to Bulleen District, which brought Warrandyte District well within quota at 5.47 per cent above the district average.
The EBC is an independent statutory agency made up of the Chief Judge of the County Court, the Electoral Commissioner and the Surveyor General.
The Victorian Electoral Commission provides administrative and technical support to the EBC.
Electoral Commissioner Warwick Gately said he was pleased with the level of engagement in the process.
“Redivisions are a key part of Victoria’s electoral system, as they ensure fair representation and an equal voice for all voters in State elections,” Mr Gately said.
Comparing the existing boundaries with the new boundaries, a total of 910,384 electors (21.28 per cent of all electors) have been transferred to different districts.
The redivision has also replaced nine existing districts with nine new ones.
Earlier this year, the augmented Electoral Commission for Victoria announced the outcome of its deliberations on the names and boundaries of the 39 Federal Electoral Divisions in Victoria.
The Hon. Justice Susan Kenny AM, the presiding member, thanked the individuals and organisations who contributed to the redistribution.
“All written objections and comments, as well as the information presented at the online inquiry, have been carefully considered in deciding the final names and boundaries,” Justice Kenny said.
The Division of Menzies covers Warrandyte and surrounds, and shares boundaries with the proposed Divisions of Casey, Chisholm, Deakin, Jagajaga, Kooyong and McEwen.
In 2025, the Division of Menzies is projected is 112,720 electors, which is less than the minimum number of projected electors required by the Electoral Act.
Menzies therefore had to gain at least 289 electors, or up to 8,485 electors, for it to fall within the permissible range for the maximum and minimum number of electors in an electoral division at the projection time.
The ECB has moved the southern boundary of Menzies to incorporate areas of Blackburn, Box Hill and Mitcham, while to the north areas of Kangaroo Ground, Research and Eltham will be folded into Jagajaga.
A small area of Warranwood will be incorporated into Deakin.
The changes were gazetted at the end of July, and the new boundaries will be used at the next Federal Election, which is due to be held before August 2022.
The full report and an interactive map of the new State electoral boundaries are now available to view on the EBC website ebc.vic.gov.au
The new Federal boundaries can be viewed on the Australian Electoral Commission’s website aec.gov.au.
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