The Victorian Electoral Commission is currently undertaking a representation review of the City of Melbourne, under the Section 219D of the Local Government Act 1989, which aims to ensure 'fair and equitable representation for the persons who are entitled to vote at a general election of the Council'.

 

The review is considering if change is needed to the current electoral structure, and the appropriate number of councillors for the municipality and whether the City should be divided into wards.

 

A preliminary report has been released, setting out six options for representation, the preferred one of which recommends that that Melbourne City Council consist of nine councillors (plus the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor) to be elected from an unsubdivided municipality.  Currently there are nine councilors including the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor.

 

Melbourne City Council is the only Victorian council whose electoral structure is set by legislation. Under the City of Melbourne Act 2001, the Melbourne City Council consists of nine councillors. The Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor are elected directly by the voters as a team, and the other seven councillors are elected in a separate election. The city is unsubdivided, which means that all voters vote for all the candidates in an election. There has been no provision for review of this structure, so Melbourne City Council has been unreviewed while all other councils in the State have undergone electoral representation reviews.

 

The preliminary report is available here

 

Response submissions are due by  23 February