A northern mayor has hit out at the proposed federal boundary redistribution suggesting the commission had “taken the easy way out”.
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Meander Valley mayor Craig Perkins said the Australian Electoral Commission’s redistribution was “unfair” on the region and its representative.
The change, announced earlier this week, would see Meander Valley moved from Bass to Lyons.
“Lyons is such a big and sprawling region, it’s going to make it much more difficult for people in the urban area of Meander Valley to be able to access their representative if they have to cover anywhere from Port Arthur to the East Coast,” Cr Perkins said.
He raised concerns about reallocating urban areas, such as Prospect and Hadspen, into the predominantly rural electorate.
Cr Perkins said the municipality had been “served well” by its Bass elected members at state and federal levels, and the region considered Bass its logical representative.
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He said the commission had “taken the easy way out” when reassessing the distribution after Dorset Council strongly opposed its move into Lyons.
Cr Perkins said the commission could have made up the required numbers for the electorate from southern municipalities rather than Northern ones.
The new-look Lyons would include southern towns such as Brighton and Bridgewater. Cr Perkins said he “wouldn’t think” the southern areas of the proposed change had the same priorities.
Councillors will discuss the proposed federal boundary redistribution next week, before making a submission to the commission.
A government spokesman said boundaries need to change to reflect population changes.
Due to the recommendation being “significantly different” to the original proposal it requires further community input. To make a submission, click here.
Further objections must be received by the commission by 6pm on Wednesday, July 26.
The Dorset Council strongly opposed the original redistribution which saw it move into the Lyons division by making submissions to the commission.
An inquiry was held in Launceston earlier this month where the submissions were presented.
The reallocation saw Dorset moved back into Bass, but Meander moved into Lyons.