![The Northern Grampians Shire Council will have one less councillor from October as the municipality adopts a new, multi-councillor ward structure. File picture The Northern Grampians Shire Council will have one less councillor from October as the municipality adopts a new, multi-councillor ward structure. File picture](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/ben.fraser/91bb46dc-d249-400d-9098-b3a0cd9e25ee.jpg/r0_3_1195_675_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The Northern Grampians Shire Council will have one less councillor from October as the municipality adopts a new, multi-councillor ward structure ahead of the upcoming 2024 local government general elections.
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Six councillors will be split evenly into three wards - Central Ward, Grampians Ward and Kara Kara Ward - meaning only two councillors will represent each region following elections in October.
Currently, the number of councillors and electoral structure of Northern Grampians Shire Council is divided into four wards with a total of seven councillors:
The Stawell Ward has three councillors (Cr Rob Haswell, Cr Murray Emerson and Cr Lauren Dempsey); the Kara Kara Ward was currently has two councillors (Cr Dr Eddy Ostarcevic and Cr Karen Hyslop); the Central and South West wards have one councillor each (Cr Kevin Erwin and Cr Trevor Gready).
Mayor Rob Haswell approved the multi-member ward selection, noting that community feedback had impacted the final decision.
"The independent advisory board undertook extensive community engagement to ensure local views were considered and the recommendation took into consideration the total number of councillors for each municipality, the ward structure, the number of wards, number of councillors per ward, ward boundaries and names," he said.
"The panel received 11 submissions from the community, including one from the council. Population is the main thing; the new structure is fair in that it offers a balanced voter to councillor ratio, allowing for equality in representation and will allow us, as councillors, to provide the fair and equitable representation to our constituency that is required by the Act."
Appointed by the Minister for Local Government, an Electoral Representation Advisory Panel (ERAP) conducted an extensive review before recommending the new structure to the Victorian Government.
Earlier this week, the Minister for Local Government Melissa Horne MP accepted the recommendation, making the decision final.
"The Electoral Representation Advisory Panels have delivered thorough work over an extensive period to ensure that Victorian councils will be set up to effectively represent their communities," she said.
"These new ward boundaries will be in place for the local government elections this year - an important step in our work to reform local government and meet the expectations of communities right across Victoria."
Under the Act, all councils must have a single-member ward structure unless the Government has permitted them to have uniform multi-member wards or an unsubdivided structure.
There are about 10,172 voters in the Northern Grampians Shire currently, equating to a ratio of 1453 voters per councillor.
The Act introduced several changes to local government representation, including the types of electoral structures local councils may have, and requires electoral structures to provide fair and equitable representation and facilitate good governance.
For subdivided structures, each ward must have an approximate equal number of voters per councillor (within plus or minus ten per cent of the average).
Further information is available at www.ngshire.vic.gov.au/Projects-and-Consultation/Ongoing-projects/Northern-Grampians-Shire-Council-electoral-structure-review.