Shire wards to be reviewed, public engagement requested

Published on 13 October 2020

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The Shire of Broome is embarking on a six-week review of its wards and representation, with members of the public invited to have their say.

In line with WA State Government recommendations, Councils are being encouraged to assess their wards and jurisdictions to ensure a fair representation for residents.

The Shire of Broome currently has nine elected councillors, split across two wards – seven representing the Broome Ward and two representing the Dampier Ward.

The review will give respondents the opportunity to state whether they would like the current system to remain the same, the Broome Ward to increase in size to take into account the region’s population distribution or to abolish the ward system entirely. The Shire is also open to other options and feedback from the community.

Shire of Broome president Harold Tracey said community engagement would be critical to the process and encouraged residents to have their say.

“Over a six-week period, the Shire will be engaging with the community through a number of platforms and avenues, with an online and hard copy submission form available for interested parties,” he said.

“Shire representatives will also be conducting extensive consultation with our Aboriginal residents and communities, to ensure everyone across our jurisdiction has the opportunity to provide input.

“After the public submission period, councillors will consider the feedback, before providing a report to the Local Government Advisory Board for its consideration.

“We want people to feel they are represented well at local government level and it is in everyone’s best interests to conduct the review ahead of the next local government elections, which are due to be held in October 2021.”

The public submission period will close at 4pm on Friday, November 27.

A Discussion Paper has been prepared to provide more information and is available here(PDF, 2MB).

This public submission period has now closed.

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