The old boundaries.
Camera IconThe old boundaries. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Changes to City of Cockburn’s ward boundaries after postponed review

Bryce LuffCockburn Gazette

WARD boundaries in the City of Cockburn are set to be altered for the first time in nearly a decade, with the State Government signing off on the changes this month.

While the City will retain its west, central and east ward titles, the City will be divided into three strips running north to south.

Under the changes, the first review of the boundaries since 2008, South Lake and Cockburn Central will move from east ward to central ward.

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The west and central ward boundaries will be extended to follow the Stock Road and Rockingham Road alignment through to the City’s boundary with Kwinana.

The recently developed section of Munster west of Rockingham Road will be annexed from central ward to become part of west ward.

Henderson will also be transferred from the central ward to west ward.

While the redrawn central ward will initially have a larger percentage of Cockburn’s elector base, the City has considered population forecast data and is confident that councillor-elector ratios will balance out in the future.

Each ward will retain three councillors and the mayor will still be chosen by electors.

While councillors are not restricted from addressing issues outside the wards they are elected to, it does allow them to focus their efforts and gives residents a point of contact for their area.

Cockburn’s governance and community services director Don Green said a planned ward review had been postponed due to the local government reform process.

“The review was due in 2015, however was delayed because of the previous Liberal state government’s amalgamation agenda, which subsequently failed,” he said.

Mr Green said the changes would be in place ahead of October’s local government elections, where six positions will be up for grabs.

Mayor Logan Howlett will have to re-contest his role, while west ward councillors Kevin Allen and Lyndsey Sweetman, central ward’s Phil Eva and Bart Houwan and east ward’s Lee-Anne Smith are in a similar position.

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