Change is in the air for voters.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It might be a small change to some of the state’s population but the Tasmanian Electoral Commission has been conducting two reviews into electorate boundaries this year.
The first, for the Legislative Council boundaries, was announced earlier this year and the second, for the federal electorate boundaries is undergoing its inquiry phase.
An inquiry into the objections to the federal electorate boundaries was held in Launceston on Monday and a second will be held in Hobart on Tuesday.
Both boundary redistribution processes have raised one thing in common – the potential for the North-East to be disadvantaged.
The changes to the federal electorate boundaries will see Dorset move from the electorate of Bass, that includes the Launceston area, to the electorate of Lyons.
However, Lyons, which has often been maligned as a sprawling electorate, has increased to include the entire East Coast and parts of the south.
The new electorate of Lyons would include parts of Meander, Flinders Island, the Tasman Peninsula and the East Coast.
The proposed new boundary for Lyons covers 40,914 square kilometres. That is 54 per cent of Tasmania’s total land mass.
Other proposals for change, for example moving West Tamar into the divison of Bass and located Latrobe into the decision of Braddon are understandable inclusions.
They make sense for the communities in those areas and are relatively minor changes.
Latrobe has been located in the division of Lyons for many years, despite being on the North-West Coast, with the rest of the region located in Braddon.
However the new proposed size of Lyons does not bode well for the communities of Dorset and Flinders.
With most of the densely populated areas in the south of the state, it is likely, or at least more likely, that someone from those areas would stand and be elected for the division.
If that happens, it would take them at least five hours one way to cover the span of the electorate.
Derby and other areas in Dorset are beginning to come into their own, with tourism a draw card for many people to visit the region.
It would be a mistake for any elected official to ignore these areas, so we shouldn’t be making it easier for them to do so.