City of Ballarat to shift to single-councillor wards

Sessions will be held next week to discuss the future of Ballarat's local government electoral system in a sweeping reform of the state's council ward system.

Under changes introduced in the Local Government Act 2020, all metropolitan, interface and regional city councils will be required to implement a single-councillor ward system by the next council election in October 2024.

The system would see one councillor elected per council ward, as opposed to the City of Ballarat's current system of three councillors chosen from three wards.

Beginning on Monday, June 26, the Victorian Electoral Commission will be hosting online information sessions for City of Ballarat residents to attend.

The sessions will discuss the appropriate amount of councillors and wards for the municipality, the location and the names of the future wards.

Former City of Ballarat mayor and federal Greens candidate John Barnes said the single-councillor ward system would be a return to the ward system Ballarat had in the late 1990s and early 2000s, following council amalgamation.

He said a single-councillor ward system may have the effect of reducing the diversity of viewpoints within the council by creating a barrier for minority candidates.

"Where there are three councillors in each ward, there is the prospect of somebody who might be a minority type of candidate, but getting sufficient support, who could get up," Mr Barnes said.

"I think single ward councils will see a much more homogenous council. You are less likely to get people who are representing smaller ethnic groups, smaller political interests, environmental focuses, LGBTQIA+."

A Victorian Electoral Commission spokesperson confirmed a preferential voting system would be used in a single-councillor ward election.

Under the provisions of the act, each ward would be required to have an approximately equal number of voters per councillors, within 10 per cent of the average.

However, it is not certain whether Ballarat's existing three wards would be divided into nine, which will be discussed as part of the consultation period.

Mr Barnes said he expects residents to be confused about a potential reshuffle of local government ward boundaries, a year out from the next council election.

"They will not necessarily divide up the current three ward structure equally, because there has been a lot of growth in Ballarat's west.

"In order to get nine electorates of similar size, we are going to have to go through a whole new subdivision of the council.

"People will find that confusing, that there will be new electoral boundaries that may or may not coincide with what exists now and may not have very much in common with state or federal boundaries."

This comes after the regional shires of Moorabool, Hepburn and Central Goldfields were required to change their electoral structure in early-2023.

Under the same Local Government Act 2020, the smaller rural shires were given the options of unsubdivided, multi-councillor wards with equal number of councillors per ward, or single-councillor wards.

An online information session for the ward changes will be held at noon on Monday, June 26, and at 6pm on Tuesday, June 27.

A preliminary report will be released to the public on June 28, with the final report provided to the minister by August 23.

For more information, visit https://vec.vic.gov.au/ballarat

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