The Federal electoral boundary changes have been finalised by the augmented Electoral Commission for Victoria, with both Casey and Aston to gain townships.
With the approved abolition of the Higgins electorate, redistribution of these suburbs, townships and residents was required to meet the enrolment quota ahead of next year’s election.
Electoral Commission chairperson Susan Kenny AM KC said she was grateful to all the individuals and organisations who contributed to the redistribution process.
“All written objections and comments, as well as the information presented at the inquiry, have been carefully considered in deciding the final names and boundaries,” she said.
“The augmented Electoral Commission has unanimously accepted the Redistribution Committee’s proposed abolition of the Division of Higgins, to retire the name of the Division of Higgins, and to modify the boundaries of 11 of the electoral divisions initially proposed in May 2024.”
The Casey boundary has expanded slightly, with the electorate now taking in Wonga Park and parts of Kangaroo Ground, Panton Hill, St Andrews, Christmas Hills and Kinglake.
Casey MP Aaron Violi posted to social media welcoming the new townships to the electorate.
“I am excited that our existing community remains together, and we now have these new communities within our boundary where many of us have existing connections – including myself, with my mum, a former teacher at Christmas Hills Primary School,” he said.
“I can’t wait to get out and hear what matters to locals in these new areas and represent their views in Federal Parliament.”
The Aston electorate also gained new voters, expanding into what were originally parts of Deakin, with Kilsyth South and parts of Ringwood, Heathmont and Bayswater North all transferring under the new boundary.
“I’d like to give a warm welcome to everyone in those areas to Aston. I’m looking forward to meeting you all over the next several months as we head towards the next federal election,” Aston MP Mary Doyle said on social media.
“Thankfully, we have not lost any suburbs in the redistribution process – so if you are currently in the federal electorate of Aston, you will remain there at the next election. It’s been great working with all of you and I’m so glad you get to stay in Aston, and I’ll see you around.”
Victoria was identified last year as needing to reduce the number of parliamentary seats from 39 to 38.
This means in the next election, there will be 150 members of the House of Representatives, down one from the current 151 seats.
An initial proposal from the Labor Government sought to abolish the Casey seat entirely to meet the voting population requirements.
In May, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) proposed the inner-east seat of Higgins be abolished instead.
This triggered the domino effect of the boundary changes but Ms Kenny said the adopted redistribution would see “a very small increase in the number of electors who will change their electoral division”.
Despite many calls and objections for the Casey electorate to be renamed Barak after prominent and renowned Wurundjeri ngurungaeta (clan leader) William Barak, all names will remain the same for the 38 seats.
Maps of the new electoral boundaries will be made available on 17 October.
