SOME Brimbank seats will be altered and others renamed as part of a proposed overhaul of Victoria’s electoral boundaries.
The electoral commission last week released maps of redrawn boundaries for the state’s 88 lower house seats and eight upper house regions.
The Electoral Boundaries Com- mission has proposed changes for both houses of State Parliament to ensure each vote has equal value.
Under Victorian law, electorates should contain roughly equal numbers of electors, not varying by more than 10 per cent from the state average.
In Brimbank, Derrimut district would be renamed St Albans, while Keilor would become Sydenham.
While Brimbank would have parliamentary representation in six districts as opposed to the current five – a small section of Tullamarine falls into the new Sunbury district – University of Melbourne lecturer Nick Economou said the proposals were likely to change. “These are just proposals, and with two districts being proposed to be removed, the Liberals and Nationals will go berserk,” Dr Economou said. “The boundaries will change and districts have new names, so people need to be aware who they’re voting for.”
The parties are analysing the proposed boundaries and what that could mean for their MPs at next year’s state election.
Submissions to the proposals can be made until July 29, with final boundaries declared by October.
The state’s electoral boundaries were last changed in 2005.
Details: ebc.vic.gov.au.
