The Australian Electoral Commission has released the Report of the Redistribution Committee for Victoria into electoral divisions, with minimal change for the electorate of Gippsland.
The report recommends Gippsland be extended to include the whole township of Yallourn North, increasing the number of voters in Gippsland by 950 to a total of 106,850 voters based on figures from September 2017.
Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester said the total number of voters in the seat of Gippsland was projected to grow by a further 1,000 by the end of next year.
“Gippsland was named as one of the electorates which are not required to change”, Mr Chester said.
“However, the process has capitalised on the opportunity to unite the locality of Yallourn North.
“I welcome the addition of the whole locality of Yallourn North to my electorate. Previously Yallourn North was divided by the federal boundary, with part of the town in the electorate of Gippsland and part in the electorate of McMillan.”
The report lists both Morwell and Orbost as towns which had a decreasing population of more than 250 people in the period from 2011 to 2016.
Mr Chester said he would continue to work with those communities and local business to defy the trend.
“I remain relentlessly optimistic about the future of our region and I will continue to work with local shires and community representatives to create new employment opportunities that will bring more people into our region,” Mr Chester said.
