UPDATE: As the Ward Boundary and Councillor Review closes, only one of the lower house reps for the Canning area, the Member for Riverton, publicly voiced concerns at the speed and appropriateness of staff and commissioners instigating attempts to get wide-spread changes to the governance model and ward boundaries through prior to the return of a democratically elected Council in October.  MLAs Bill Johnston and Ben Wyatt, both set to benefit from large developments in their electoral areas, failed to issue their promised media releases.

Throughout this rushed exercise CEO Lyn Russell and Chairman Commissioner Steven Cole failed to inform the people of Canning they were not required to expedite this review.

MEDIA RELEASE
Dr Mike Nahan MLA
Member for Riverton

Monday 20th April 2015

City of Canning Ward & Councillor Review

The City of Canning is inviting residents to take part in its Ward Boundary and Councillor Representation review to prepare the City for the October council elections.

The review has been instigated to resolve an anomaly in Nicholson Ward, which could leave residents in that area under-represented under the current structure. As part of the review, the City has released a discussion paper that provides a number of proposals to remedy this situation.

Riverton MLA Mike Nahan today urged local residents to take part in the review by providing a submission to the City of Canning.

“This review is of extreme importance, as it will change the City’s ward structure, and can potentially alter the number of Councillors representing certain areas in Council,” Dr Nahan said.

“Since the suspension of the Council in 2012, many residents have demanded a return to democracy in Canning. Given this review has the potential to dramatically change the make-up of future councils, I strongly urge residents to participate in this review.”

As part of the review, the City will consider new ward boundaries, the number of wards, as well as the number of Councillors in each ward. The City is also seeking comment on the method in which the mayor is elected, though this will not be altered before the October elections.

Dr Nahan said while he encouraged residents to take part in this review, he did have some reservations with the timing of the review and the speed in which it is being conducted.

“With the City still under the administration of Commissioners, I do not believe major changes should be implemented without elected representatives in place,” he said.

“I do however recognise that Nicholson Ward would be under-represented under the current structure, and that changes are required to resolve this anomaly before elections.

“It is therefore important that only necessary changes are made and I am pleased that the review is not seeking to alter the method for electing Canning’s Mayor before the October election.”

To view the discussion paper and to provide an electronic submission, visit www.canning.wa.gov.au

Media Contact: Dr Mike Nahan