Last year, the Australian Electoral Commission said that electoral boundaries had to be redrawn – with NSW losing one seat to WA – to ensure approximately equal representation across Australia (178,000 residents per electorate).
The upcoming ‘redistribution’ triggered really strange proposals from political parties and political aspirants. Each party looked to maximise their own chances of forming government by splitting the seats of their opposition, then assimilating the most favourable polling booths to strengthen their own position.
But these proposals were disappointing because they put their political ambitions before the needs of the people.
In my own submission, I suggested that it made sense for each Local Government Area to be represented by ONE Member of Parliament, rather than for an LGA to be split apart like rags among two or three members. The problem with having multiple MPs for an LGA is that their constituents never get a good deal… they end up with MPs whose attention is divided and who do not have the opportunity to give them the attention they deserve.
So I was very pleased to see the independent committee’s proposed redistribution boundaries when they became publicly available yesterday. The boundaries have been adjusted to now mostly follow LGA boundary lines, and it provides certainty and improved service for (most of) the residents of our eight Northern Sydney Councils.
1️⃣ All Hornsby Council residents are now proposed for the federal seat of Berowra.
2️⃣ The entirety of Ku-ring-gai Council plus the vast majority of Willoughby Council are now proposed for the federal seat of Bradfield.
3️⃣ The entirety of Ryde, Hunters Hill and Lane Cove Council as well as a small sliver of Willoughby are now proposed for the federal seat of Bennelong.
4️⃣ The entirety of North Sydney and Mosman Council are now proposed for the federal seat of Warringah.
Of course, it’s also sad to see that NSW’s slower population growth has led to the loss of one seat (North Sydney) but I am of the view that with population growth we will get it back again next decade.
Boundaries and MPs will continue to change with the seasons, but it’s important to recognise the contribution of each of our local MPs. I have a great deal of respect for each of the incumbents regardless of Liberal, Labor or Teal.
