Two suburbs with strong voter support for the Canberra Liberals would move from the electorate of Kurrajong to Murrumbidgee under a redistribution plan drawn up by the committee of the ACT Electoral Commission.
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Forrest and Red Hill would be swapped to the electorate that covers the Woden Valley and Molonglo Valley under the plan.
The electorate of Brindabella would also cover all of Kambah, putting an end to a boundary which divides the ACT's largest suburb in two.
The ACT Electoral Commission on Friday published its proposed electorate boundaries in The Canberra Times, part of the redistribution process before the next territory election in October 2024.
Shifting Forrest and Red Hill to Murrumbidgee would likely improve the result of the Canberra Liberals in the Murrumbidgee seat, which is held for the party by Acting Opposition Leader Jeremy Hanson and Ed Cocks, who entered the Assembly this term after the resignation of former deputy leader Giulia Jones.
The move could also make it harder for the party to win back a second seat in Kurrajong, which is represented for the party by Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee. Candice Burch lost the seat she held in the electorate for the party at the 2020 election to the Greens.
The Greens had recommended to the electoral commission moving Forrest and Red Hill into Murrumbidgee. The Greens hold two seats in Kurrajong.
The Canberra Liberals had said no changes were needed to the electoral boundaries, but offered suggestions for "minimalist changes", when the electoral commission sought public comments on potential changes.
The opposition's suggested changes included moving Beard, Hume, the Jerrabomberra district and Symonston from the electorate of Kurrajong to Brindabella.
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Labor and the Greens had supported moving all of Kambah into Brindabella.
ACT Labor secretary Ash van Dijk had noted including Kambah in Brindabella would bring the electorate above the quota, but argued it would provide a buffer to slower growth in Brindabella in future years.
The redistribution committee must ensure the number of voters in an electorate just after the distribution is within a range of no more than 110 per cent and no less than 90 per cent of the quota.
The committee must also endeavour to ensure the number of voters in each electorate is between 105 per cent and 95 per cent of the expected quota at the time of the next election.
Boundary decisions must also be made with regard to communities of interest, means of communication and travel within an electorate, the electorates' physical features and existing electorate boundaries.
Electoral Commissioner Damian Cantwell leads the redistribution committee, alongside ACT Chief Planner Ben Ponton, Surveyor-General Greg Ledwidge and the Australian Bureau of Statistics' director of demography, Beidar Cho.
Objections to the proposed redistribution can be lodged with the ACT Electoral Commission until June 9.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
