Councillor vows to fight to keep voters

By Emma Sun and Mara Pattison-Sowden
BILLANOOK Ward councillor Tim Heenen has vowed to fight for the 523 Mount Evelyn voters he will lose should the Victorian Electorate Commission (VEC) change ward boundaries.
Those voters will be moved to the Chandler Ward to balance out the number of voters in each ward of the Yarra Ranges, effectively cutting Mount Evelyn in half.
Cr Heenan said he was very angry with the move and will be fighting to keep his voters. “I know every inch of that area, there are two schools and my very own church, and I’m devastated the VEC are taking it out – they’re virtually haemorrhaging the Billanook Ward,” he said.
“I will fight it – I don’t want to lose a section I’ve been connected with for so long.”
The move comes with the rise in population in Mount Evelyn, which means boundaries need to be changed to ensure each ward has a similar number of voters in it.
The review ensures the number of voters represented in each ward is within 10 per cent of each other.
The VEC report proposed a number of changes to ward boundaries between Billanook and Chandler wards and Melba and Walling wards.
However, resident Alan Fincher took a positive outlook to the change when the Mail asked followers on Facebook on their thoughts.
“(The move) means that (523) voters in Mount Evelyn will have great representation from Cr Graham Warren,” he wrote.
Walling Ward will grow by 1056 electors, by increasing the amount of Mooroolbark electors within the ward.
The VEC’s Proposed Ward Boundaries Report contains details of the planned changes and information on how to make a submission.
The report is available from www.vec.vic.gov.au by calling 13 18 32 or from the Yarra Ranges Shire offices at 15 Anderson Street, Lilydale.
Submissions must be made in writing before 5pm on Wednesday 7 March.
If the changes are accepted they will come into effect for the council elections on Saturday 27 October.