Benjamin Millar and Goya Dmytryshchak
Booming population growth in Melbourne’s northwest has triggered proposals for a dramatic redistribution of federal electoral boundaries.
The Redistribution Committee for Victoria published a report on Friday proposing names and boundaries for Victoria’s federal electoral divisions, including changes to Gellibrand and Maribyrnong.
The seat of Maribyrnong, held by Bill Shorten, would pick up 7650 voters from Kensington. It would lose 8400 voters from the suburb of Maribyrnong, 5827 from Braybrook, 5535 from Footscray and 5132 from West Footscray-Tottenham, with these electors transferred to the proposed division of Fraser held by Daniel Mulino.
Gellibrand, held by Tim Watts, would be expanded to take in 7375 voters in the southern part of Point Cook and 1310 in Truganina.
Gellibrand would lose 5048 voters in Footscray, 6699 in Seddon-Kingsville, 2479 in West Footscray-Tottenham and 5389 in Yarraville, with these areas to fall under Fraser.
Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers said the redistribution has been forced by the need to increase the number of electoral divisions in Victoria from 38 to 39.
“Under the proposal, the boundaries of all but nine of Victoria’s existing electoral divisions would change, the additional division of Hawke would be created and one electoral division would be renamed,” Mr Rogers said.
“Ongoing population growth in parts of Victoria has led the Redistribution Committee to propose a number of substantial changes to some of the state’s electoral division boundaries.”
The proposed new Division of Hawke is named in honour of Bob Hawke, Prime Minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991. Mr Hawke died in 1999.
Written objections to the proposed redistribution must be lodged by 6pm Friday, April 16.
Further details: www.aec.gov.au
