Index - Our index of previous Munelect' 99 title pages.

O n Saturday, 20 March 1999, 20 of Victoria's 78 municipal councils will be conducting their triennial election for new councils.
These include seven of the eight inner Melbourne councils (Darebin City Council elected a new council last September), Nillumbik Shire Council of Outer Melbourne, three councils of the Ballarat-Geelong region, Greater Bendigo City Council of North Central Victoria and all eight councils of South West Victoria. Following this weekend's governance poll, Melton Shire will not be electing a new Council in March.

A total of 166 council seats are being contested in 122 Wards and Ridings. Two Councils, Ararat Rural City and Southern Grampians Shire are unsubdivided so each voter will cast votes for entire seven-member Council. In two other Councils, Melbourne City and Nillumbik Shire, voters will have two votes. They elect a single councillor for their own Ward and a number of councillors (five for Melbourne, four for Nillumbik) who represent council-wide districts.

Fifteen council elections will be conducted by postal vote and five by attendance ballot. Five Councils have changed from the traditional attendance poll to postal ballot since the last elections in 1996; Greater Bendigo City and Colac-Otway, Corangamite, Glenelg and Southern Grampians Shires.

The Australian Electoral Commission will be running eight of the elections while the Victorian Electoral Commission is responsible for the remaining twelve.

Commissioners to Stay

M elton voters have decided to keep the Commissioners. In a choice between State Government-appointed Commissioners and elected councillors, 60.45% of voters supported the option of Commissioners.
73.65% of enrolled voters participated in the compulsory poll.
The current Commissioners of Melton are Alistair Fraser (Chairman), John Hyett and Brian Morison, in office since the constitution of the new Melton Shire on 15 December 1994.

Of course, we followed the election throughout the poll culminating our exclusive 'live' coverage on Saturday.

Editorial PS.
One of the ironies of the Melton election besides the unique concept of elected Commissioners are its three phantom Wards.
In anticipation of a return to elected councillors, Melton Shire was on 19 September 1996 subdivided into three Wards, the single-councillor Cambridge Ward and the dual councillor Cochrane and Watts Wards. Meltonians voted to keep their Commissioners on 19 December 1996.
Again, on 5 November 1998 with another governance poll looming, the Ward boundaries were redrawn to maintain a balance altered by population changes.
No doubt by the time the next governance poll is due, October 2001 (ask the Office of Local Government why then), a further resubdivision will be required.