In yesterday’s post I looked at which Victorian councils were effected by the changes to the ward redistribution process earlier this year. In this post I’m going to look at how the wards changed in the fourteen councils which experienced a change.
Fourteen councils have changed their ward structures. Two councils (Mansfield and Swan Hill) were switched from a mix of single-member and multi-member wards to an undivided structure. This is exactly what the representation review recommended in Swan Hill, but the review had recommended no change to the structure in Mansfield.
| Council | 2016 wards | 2020 wards |
| Banyule | 1 x 7 | 1 x 9 |
| Bayside | 3-2-2 | 1 x 7 |
| Boroondara | 1 x 10 | 1 x 11 |
| Cardinia | 4-3-2 | 1 x 9 |
| Darebin | 3-3-3 | 1 x 9 |
| Greater Dandenong | 3-3-3-2 | 1 x 11 |
| Kingston | 3-3-3 | 1 x 11 |
| Manningham | 3-3-3 | 1 x 9 |
| Mansfield | 2-1-1-1 | 5 undivided |
| Maroondah | 3-3-3 | 1 x 9 |
| Murrindindi | 1 x 7 | 1 x 7 |
| Nillumbik | 1 x 7 | 1 x 7 |
| Swan Hill | 4-1-1-1 | 7 undivided |
| Whitehorse | 2-2-2-2-2 | 1 x 11 |
Twelve other councils were confirmed as using single-member wards only.
Four of those twelve councils were already using single-member wards. Boroondara and Murrindindi were set to switch to multi-member wards (two or three councillors per ward) but this was overridden by Somyurek’s new powers. The review recommended an increase in councillor numbers in Boroondara, and this change was carried out, so the existing ten wards were redrawn into eleven wards.
Banyule and Nillumbik underwent reviews which recommended a continuation of the existing single-member system, although the Banyule review recommended the creation of two new seats.
The remaining eight councils did not use single-member wards in 2016 but have been moved to this structure for 2020. All of these councils underwent representation reviews which confirmed the existing multi-member ward structures for 2020, but those reviews were cancelled by minister Somyurek.
The reviews recommended a continuation of the existing councillor numbers and ward structures in Bayside, Cardinia, Darebin, Greater Dandenong, Manningham and Maroondah. The new single-member ward systems will maintain the existing councillor numbers on each of these councils.
The reviews recommended an increase in council numbers in Kingston from nine to eleven, and in Whitehorse from ten to eleven. These extra seats will still be created, just as single-member wards.
Every other council in the state will go to the 2020 election with the same wards as in 2016.
Finally, this interactive map will let you compare the 2016 and 2020 wards in these fourteen councils. I’ve zoomed in the map to show the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, but you can zoom out as far as Swan Hill. It’s a bit cluttered but you can toggle on and off layers or zoom in further to get a clear picture in whatever area you’re most interested in.
You can also download the 2016 and 2020 ward maps from the maps page.
