STAWELL and Halls Gap will be included in the federal seat of Mallee under a proposed redistribution of electoral divisions for Victoria.
In adding a further 5617 voters to Mallee, the Redistribution Committee for Victoria said the current electorate was the only federal Victorian division forecast to have negative growth over the next five years.
The proposal will increase the area of Mallee by a further 1500sq km to 83,411sq km — about 50,000sq km more than the next-largest electorate of Wannon, which now includes Stawell and Halls Gap.
The Redistribution Committee on Friday published its report, proposing the names and new boundaries for the state’s federal electoral divisions, which will enable an increase from 38 to 39 electoral divisions.
It said ongoing population growth in parts of Victoria had led to a number of proposed substantial changes to some of the state’s electoral division boundaries.
Under the proposal, the boundaries of all but nine of Victoria’s existing electoral divisions would change, while an additional division of Hawke would be created and one electoral division would be renamed.
The proposed Division of Hawke would be centred on Bacchus Marsh, Ballan, Melton and Sunbury in the local government areas of Hume City, Melton City and Moorabool Shire councils.
Even with the addition of Stawell residents, the forecast number of enrolments for the new Mallee electorate is forecast to fall from 119,582 to 118,663 by January 2025 — still 1.33 per cent higher than the current population forecast.
The Redistribution Committee report said enrolment in the current Division of Mallee in January 2025 was projected to be 113,046 electors, less than the minimum number of projected electors required by the Electoral Act.
“The Division of Mallee must therefore gain at least 37 electors, or up to 8159 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 report said.
“The location of the Division of Mallee within Victoria means that it can only gain electors from the east or south.”
The committee said there had been eight suggestions to the redistribution and one comment on suggestions proposed that the Division of Mallee gain Stawell.
There were four suggestions to the redistribution that proposed the transfer of the localities in the Lockington-Gunbower region, which form part of the Campaspe Shire Council, from the Division of Nicholls in the east.
In considering those transfers, the committee concluded the numerical requirements of the Electoral Act were able to be met without further changes to Nicholls.
The committee proposed that Mallee gain the balance of the Northern Grampians Shire Council from the Division of Wannon, including Stawell and Halls Gap, uniting it in the Division of Mallee.
Individuals and organisations are now able to lodge objections to the committee’s proposed divisions.
Written objections must be lodged no later than 6pm on April 16, by email to FedRedistribution-VIC@aec.gov.au, by mail at the Australian Electoral Commission (Att: Redistribution Secretariat), GPO Box 768, Melbourne, 3001, or fax on (03) 6293 7664.
