GWYDIR shire will have something of a split personality when it comes to this year’s federal election, with the area to be split between the electorates of Parkes and New England.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The final determination of new federal electoral boundaries was announced by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) yesterday with only minor changes to what had been proposed late last year for the region’s two federal seats.
Under the initial proposal, Gwydir shire, including the towns of Warialda and Bingara, was largely shifted from Parkes to New England – a move opposed by the local council.
In a submission to the AEC, Gwydir Shire Council argued the area was “on the cusp” of the north-west plains and had “only marginal attachment to the New England area”.
The community of interest for the shire, mayor John Coulton argued, was with the adjoining areas to the west, including Moree Plains and Narrabri shires.
But yesterday, that bid was found to have been only partly successful, with the AEC deciding to move Warialda back to Parkes but keep Bingara in New England.
The remainder of the initial proposal for a changed seat of New England is the same, including the shifting of Gunnedah back to Parkes and the addition of part of the Upper Hunter shire.
Parkes is now one of the largest electorates in Australia under the changes, stretching all the way out to the South Australian border.
A submission by the NSW division of the Liberal Party had argued for the shifting of Tenterfield Shire and Glen Innes Severn councils into the division of Page to the east, but that has been dismissed.
After the initial announcement of the need for federal boundary changes, both communities had made it clear they were keen to remain in New England.
The AEC was forced to cut the number of federal seats in NSW from 48 to 47 due to enrolment numbers, with the number of Western Australian electorates rising from 15 to 16.
The current division of Hunter was abolished in the process, with voters divided between New England and Paterson.
But the seat of Hunter was created at the time of Federation in 1901, so even though the seat has been abolished, the name will be retained, with the renaming of the seat of Charlton.
In other changes, the current seat of Throsby has been renamed Whitlam in honour of the late Labor prime minister, Gough Whitlam.
