Important – This may affect how Council functions into the future.

Local Council Electoral Structure Review – Preliminary Report – Greater Geelong City Council

Executive summary – from the VEC (Victorian Electoral Commission) website

An independent electoral structure review panel appointed by the Minister for Local Government is reviewing the electoral structure of Greater Geelong City Council. The purpose of the review is to advise the Minister on the appropriate number of councillors and electoral structure, including ward names, for the Council.

Under Victoria’s Local Government Act 2020 (the Act), Greater Geelong City Council must now have a single-councillor ward electoral structure. The panel is looking at:

• the appropriate number of councillors and wards for the council

• the location of ward boundaries

• appropriate ward names.

All submissions should address all 3 points.

This report outlines the preliminary models the panel is presenting for public consultation, for the proposed new electoral structure of Greater Geelong City Council to meet the requirements of the Act.

Electoral structure models

After considering research and the requirements of the Act, the panel is presenting the following electoral structure models for public consultation:

• Model 1: a subdivided electoral structure with a total of 11 councillors – 11 wards with one councillor per ward.

• Model 2: a subdivided electoral structure with a total of 11 councillors – 11 wards with one councillor per ward, with different boundaries to Model 1.

• Model 3: a subdivided electoral structure with a total of 12 councillors – 12 wards with one councillor per ward.

12 Wards means each Councillor reducing voters per Ward from 19000-21,000 voters reducing to 17,600 – 19000 voters.

Next steps: The panel is now seeking feedback on the preliminary electoral structure models. You can make a response submission to the preliminary models until 5 pm Wednesday 26 July 2023.

This is the link to the VEC preamble for Geelong:

https://vec.vic.gov.au/…/electoral-structure…/geelong

This is the link to download the pdf from the VEC website:

https://vec.vic.gov.au/…/9dc8a757d79f4092b786a5b984d969…

The document goes through the whole process including descriptions of each of the 3 options. The Appendix at the end of the document has the map for each option, so don’t worry about downloading individual maps.

Individuals and organisations can submit comments and preferences for and against the 3 options.

Submissions must be lodged by 5pm Wednesday 26 July.

This process fundamentally changes the current Council structure of 4 wards – 3 wards with 3 elected Councillors and one ward with 2 Councillors – to a new structure with one Councillor per ward.

Note that Option 3 splits Ocean Grove into 2 separate wards.

If you are interested in participation in the OGCA formal response, please email:

Ocean Grove Community Assn <ogcommunityassn@gmail.com>

VEC have informed me that the Minister and VEC will implement the new structure before the 2024 elections.