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Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Victorian local government review prompts concerns about female representation - ABC News

Aspiring female politicians in Victoria are worried an overhaul of local government ward structures will block their chances of election.

Councillors in Victoria are currently elected to un-subdivided, multi-member or single member wards.

But a review commissioned by the Minister for Local Government and Victorian Electoral Commission is assessing whether 39 councils, stretching from Mildura to Port Phillip, should be overhauled to meet standards set by the Local Government Act 2020.

President of the Municipal Association of Victoria David Clark said the changes could disadvantage the election hopes of women and minorities.

According to the Act, most councils must have a single-councillor ward structure, with the local government area divided into sections represented by a single councillor.

Man in pink shirt stands on street smiling at camera
David Clark is concerned changes to council structures will disadvantage women and minorities. ( Supplied: Municipal Association of Victoria)

"We understand that [single-councillor wards] favour the major political groupings," Mr Clark said.

"What we've seen when you have single member versus multi-member or un-subdivided is, you don't get that representation across the community.

He said across a whole local government area a single member might get enough votes but "in a single member ward, you'd never get enough [votes] to get those kinds of people on council". 

vec volunteers begin vote counting in mildura
The next Victorian local elections will take place in October 2024. (ABC Mildura: Christopher Testa )

A risk of going 'backwards'

The Women for Election organisation provides training to equip women of all backgrounds to run for public office in Australia.

Along with the Institute of Community Directors Australia and the Victorian government, it runs the Women Leading Locally program — a fellowship designed to equip 125 women with the skills to campaign for local council elections in October 2024.

Chief executive Licia Heath said women already face a number of barriers to election and "a lot will be lost" if representation in local politics goes backwards.

"If you diminish the percentage of female and diverse candidates at local government, it stands to reason that you're going to diminish that in state and federal politics as well," she said.

"Within one election cycle, you can go backwards significantly."

A Victorian government spokesperson said the recommendations of the advisory panel were being reviewed by the minister in line with the review process.

Campaigns to come

Andrea Otto has been participating in the Women Leading Locally program and is preparing to run for election in her local shire of Gannawarra, which encompasses Kerang and Cohuna in northern Victoria.

Professional picture of a middle-aged woman in a pink blazer, with short brunette hair, smiling at camera
Andrea Otto believes wards are a problem for local government representation. (Supplied: Andrea Otto)

The council area is currently divided into four wards, with two represented by multiple councillors. One of the seven councillors is a woman.

Gannawarra Shire Council could become un-subdivided under the review. The other proposal is for two wards with three councillors in each.

Ms Otto believed the wards were "part of the dysfunction".

"We don't need any wards. We want one ward, and that's Gannawarra shire."

She said anything that could reduce the diversity of representation on councils in Victoria needed to be carefully considered.

"We need all councillors to be working together collectively in order to achieve great things for our community," Ms Otto said.

A potential 'opportunity'

Teagan Mitchell, 20 is campaigning for election to the City of Greater Geelong next year.

woman in pink shirt with glasses standing in front of black wall
Teagan Mitchell said the restructure could be an opportunity. (Supplied: Teagan Mitchell)

Ms Mitchell said there was "obviously some issues with going to the single member wards" but "we don't know until we try it".

"I see it as an opportunity rather than a threat," she said.

"It's not perfect, and you're not going to please everybody."

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Victorian local government review prompts concerns about female representation - ABC News
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