Shire of Waroona supports retention of 16 regional seats for WA’s lower house in redistribution comments

A Peel council has called on regional representation in State Parliament to be retained ahead of looming changes.

Electoral boundaries in the State’s lower house are currently being reviewed to determine what changes need to be made before the next election in March 2025.

Several submissions to the electoral distribution commissioners have called on the number of country seats to be reduced from 16 to 15 at the next election, but the Shire of Waroona has joined calls made by other regional councils to retain the status quo.

In a joint statement commenting on submissions to the commissioners, Shire president Mike Walmsley and chief executive Mark Goodlet described continued parliamentary representation as “priority” for regional areas.

“The retention of the current 16 regional seats in the Legislative Assembly is supported, to ensure that there is an equitable and fair distribution of electoral power going forward,” they said.

“The regional electorates have provided effective representation for regional areas since their introduction and have ensured the needs and concerns of regional communities are heard and addressed by the government.”

Mr Walmsley and Mr Goodlet said the current model allows voters to choose an MP who understands regional challenges and has the knowledge to advocate for their interests.

As part of changes already made for the next election, all members of the upper house of State Parliament will represent the entire State rather than being split between six regions — half of which represented regional areas.

Lower house seats will no longer need to fit within those upper house region boundaries as a result, which could allow for suburbs on Perth’s outer fringe to be included in rural electorates.

The proposed boundaries will be revealed by the commissioners sometime in mid to late July, following which a 30-day objection period will be held.