Michelle Slater
The state electorate of Morwell has been given a boundary shake-up by gaining Moe while losing the rural areas around Toongabbie and Boolarra to Gippsland South District.
The Victorian Electoral Boundaries Commission announced final state electorate changes on Thursday which come into effect at next year’s November state election.
The EBC took submissions into account, including those from Latrobe City Council asking to transfer Moe out of Narracan District into Morwell in order to unite the municipality within one district.
The EBC draft plan had originally proposed no changes to Morwell as it was forecast to remain well within quota, but recognised the strong connections between Moe and the rest of Morwell.
A Latrobe City submission into the draft changes maintained its position that Moe should be moved to reflect the boundaries of the municipality “for economic and social cohesion outcomes”.
A Latrobe City spokesperson said council was “committed to working with all elected representatives to advocate strongly for Latrobe City as a whole”.
“Regardless of which state electorate our communities are part of,” the spokesperson said.
The changes may prove a challenge for Morwell Independent Russell Northe with 2018 election results showing strong Labor support in Moe.
Preferences helped Mr Northe win Morwell with 51.84 per cent of the two party preferred vote ahead of Labor candidate Mark Richards on 48.16 per cent.
Mr Northe said the new boundaries would not impact his decision to run in next year’s election, despite the influx of traditional Labor voters into the electorate.
“For me, it’s having the passion and energy to continue to do my job, with COVID present in the past two years the demands on the job have been greater than ever,” Mr Northe said.
“My main objective at the moment is to continue to represent our community in parliament to the end of the year, take a break and then think about my decision to run early next year.”
Meanwhile, towns including Toongabbie and Cowwarr to the east and Boolarra, Yinnar South and Budgeree to the south will migrate to the Nationals safe seat of Gippsland South.
Nationals Member for Gippsland South Danny O’Brien said he intended to recontest his seat and would be “honoured” to represent these new areas if he was to be re-elected.
Mr O’Brien said he would be visiting these regions to hear about local issues.
“I always work in the basis that past results are past results, and I will have to work hard for every vote in every community,” Mr O’Brien said.
