![Wodonga deputy mayor Libby Hall has reservations about how wards would work in the Border city, but is keen to hear the community's thoughts. Wodonga deputy mayor Libby Hall has reservations about how wards would work in the Border city, but is keen to hear the community's thoughts.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/beau.greenway/e86fd0d3-55a2-4b4f-b01a-dca4dcc11611.jpg/r0_0_4797_3198_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Two Wodonga councillors have voiced concerns about the possibility of the city being divided into wards by the Victorian Electoral Commission, saying it would be too difficult to achieve.
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Speaking at the June 26 council meeting, deputy mayor Libby Hall and councillor Danny Chamberlain didn't see a benefit in Wodonga moving to a wards structure in response to the Local Government Act 2020.
Councillors passed a motion 6-1 to support the Victorian Electoral Commission's campaign to ask for community participation at each stage of the electoral review and encourage submissions on all options, including remaining unsubdivided as per the current arrangement for Wodonga.
"I believe not having wards would suit our community better. The major problem I see with wards is that a councillor representing a particular ward would overlook the betterment of the whole community for their own wards' sake or their own wards' betterment," Cr Hall said.
"That's not always the case, but that's a possibility. It has been a real issue with some other councils in the past.
"As a councillor, you should be taking into account the whole community, not just your ward.
"I understand why this happens when a council is made up of different districts in different towns.
"Wodonga is little bit different to that. We do have some areas that could be seen to be going that way, Baranduda could be one, or it could be Killara, Bonegilla, Bandiana and also Barnawartha (North).
"I do understand that reasoning with wards, but will that be any benefit going forward? It would depend on how the areas are broken up.
"I don't believe like some other councils that we're at substantial populations in those areas as of yet."
![Councillor Danny Chamberlain does not see a need for Wodonga to move to a wards structure, but Kev Poulton (left) is open to the idea. Councillor Danny Chamberlain does not see a need for Wodonga to move to a wards structure, but Kev Poulton (left) is open to the idea.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/beau.greenway/451b8bc8-4ef8-47d8-83ab-156e5254ff00.jpg/r0_0_5472_3648_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Cr Chamberlain feared the Victorian government and the state's electoral commission may have already made its mind up.
"It's difficult to say how this will wash out given the fact that the state government and electoral commission seem to be hell-bent on the fact that wards are going to be mandatory," he said.
"If it's made that we have have individual wards for individual councillors, it's going to make for some very interesting lines on some maps as to how they plan those wards out and how that works.
"I'd hope that the people that get elected in the city of Wodonga have got enough vision to be able to speak for the entire community and not just their own area.
"My personal opinion is Wodonga is a bit of a unique case in Victoria and I don't believe a ward structure would be beneficial.
"Having said that, I don't for one second believe that my opinion is going to carry a lot of weight with the Victorian government."
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Councillor Kev Poulton was the lone vote against the motion and didn't see wards as a bad thing.
"Potentially, some of those things that we traditionally argue would be a problem in ward structure, could actually be a positive step forward for the city and its residents," he said.
Councillor Olga Quilty said she hadn't formed a final opinion, but could see pros and cons to each option.
"On the one hand, being a single ward allows us to focus strategically, on the other hand perhaps some areas of the city will benefit from having champions of their own," she said.
"However, I am really looking forward to knowing what the community's opinion is because I think that is the most important factor in this process. It's how people want to be represented, not how we want to represent them."
Public briefings to discuss plans for Wodonga will be held online at 12pm on July 3 and 6pm on July 4, before the release of a preliminary report on July 5.
Submissions will be accepted until 5pm on July 26.
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