Shire of Narrogin to seek exemption from local government reforms requiring it to lose two councillors

The Shire of Narrogin is planning to ask for an exemption from a local government reform that would force the Shire to lose two councillors based on population. Local Government Minister John Carey has written to all 138 local governments outlining a voluntary pathway to enact the reforms, which were finalised in July. In the letter, he asked local governments to indicate by the end of October how they planned to implement the reforms. The reforms include the introduction of preferential voting for all council elections to bring them more in line with the State and Federal voting systems. The reforms will also restrict the number of councillors a local government can elect based on population. Local governments with a population of up to 5000 residents — which includes Narrogin — will have to decide on having five, six or seven councillors, including the president. The Shire of Narrogin had a population of 4779 at the 2021 census, down from 5162 in 2016 — the first year the census went digital. The Shire has nine councillors, including president Leigh Ballard, which means they would have to drop at least two elected members under the reforms. Mr Ballard said the Shire would be seeking an exemption from that specific measure due to its population being on the cusp of 5000. He said the Shire believed there were more than 5000 residents living in its boundaries, some of whom were not included in the latest census. “We are actually working on a report back to the minister, with a number of other regional councils, because for the first time in over a decade we have dropped under 5000 residents, but we believe there is an issue with the census,” he said. “With it being digital last year, we believe a lot of people in Narrogin don’t have access to internet and missed that census. We aren’t the only Shire who believes that, there are quite a few who believe the numbers aren’t quite correct. “We are only just under 5000, so between that and the future developments we have coming up in Narrogin then believe we have a case to be heard.” The southern Wheatbelt shires of Williams, Lake Grace, Kulin and Kondinin will be forced to drop at least one elected member under the reforms. The remaining shires in the region have seven or less councillors and will not be affected by the reform measure, unless they choose to limit their own council members. The Shire of Narrogin is working with the Wheatbelt Development Commission and the Western Australian Local Government Association to gather more information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics about the latest census. Mr Ballard said they were trying to clarify their population. “Our population has apparently dropped 300 or 400 people yet you can’t find a vacant house in Narrogin — so it just doesn’t add up,” he said. “From our perspective, we are right on the balance and the question is then when the next census comes back and we have 5100 people, then can we have nine councillors again?” Mr Ballard said despite wanting to retain all nine seats on council, he believed the council could still function effectively if it lost two elected members. “What it would actually impact is you would lose two different points of view,” he said. “Now if everyone thought the same then it wouldn’t make a difference but we have quite a diverse council at the moment, which is fantastic. “Losing two of those views wouldn’t necessarily be detrimental, but I think we wouldn’t be as effective as we are now.” Mr Ballard said after the Shire received responses from the ABS, they would write to the minister asking for an exemption.