Electoral regions of Victoria

Not to be confused with Electoral districts of Victoria.

The Victorian Legislative Council is elected from 8 multi-member electorates called regions.

Current Regions

The system changed for the 2006 Victorian election, as a result of major reforms passed by the Labor government, led by Steve Bracks, in 2003. Under the new system members serve fixed four-year terms unless the Assembly is dissolved sooner. The state is divided into the following eight electoral regions:

• Eastern Metropolitan Region
• Eastern Victoria Region
• Northern Metropolitan Region
• Northern Victoria Region

• South Eastern Metropolitan Region
• Southern Metropolitan Region
• Western Metropolitan Region
• Western Victoria Region

Each region consists of 11 contiguous Legislative Assembly districts with about 420,000 electors who elect five members of the Legislative Council by the single transferable vote. There are now 40 members of the Legislative Council, four fewer than before. The changes have introduced proportional representation. The opportunity was also taken to remove the Council's ability to block supply. The reforms have made it easier for minor parties to gain election to the chamber and possibly gain the balance of power, as opposed to majority control by a single major party.

Provinces 1856 to 2006

The Legislative Council was formerly elected from 22 single-member electorates called "provinces". The members of the council sat for two assembly terms so two members sat for each province. This is a list of the provinces as of 2005:

• Ballarat Province
• Central Highlands Province
• Chelsea Province
• Doutta Galla Province
• East Yarra Province
• Eumemmerring Province
• Geelong Province
• Gippsland Province
• Higinbotham Province
• Jika Jika Province
• Koonung Province
• Melbourne Province

• Melbourne North Province
• Melbourne West Province
• Monash Province
• North Eastern Province
• North Western Province^#
• Silvan Province
• South Eastern Province
• Templestowe Province
• Waverley Province
• Western Province^#
• Western Port Province

The following provinces also existed but were abolished prior to 2002:

• Bendigo Province (1904–1988)
• Boronia Province (1967–1996)
• Central Province^# (1856–1882)
• Eastern Province^# (1856–1882)
• Melbourne East Province (1904–1940)
• Melbourne South Province (1904–1937)
• North Central Province (1882–1908)

• North Yarra Province (1882–1908)
• Northern Province (1882–c.1979)
• Nunawading Province (1976–1992)
• South Western Province^# (1856–c.1979)
• South Yarra Province (1882–1904)
• Southern Province^# (1856–c.1970)
• Wellington Province (1882–1940)

      ^# = Original Province of inaugural (upper-house chamber) Legislative Council 1856

The old system tended to favour the Liberal Party of Australia and the National Party of Australia (often in coalition) over the Australian Labor Party and other parties^{[citation needed]}. This caused many instances where a Labor-controlled Assembly faced an opposition-controlled Council — a rare occurrence elsewhere in Australia.

Electoral districts 1851 to 1856

The Victorian Legislative Council was initially a single chamber (unicameral) when first created and consisted of members some of whom were nominated and some elected. The electoral districts were:

• Avoca
• Ballaarat
• Belfast and Warrnambool
• Castlemaine
• Geelong
• Gipps' Land
• Grant
• Kilmore, Kyneton and Seymour
• Loddon
• City of Melbourne
• Murray

• Normanby, Dundas and Follett
• North Bourke
• Ovens
• Portland
• Ripon, Hampden, Grenville and Polwarth
• Sandhurst
• South Bourke, Evelyn and Mornington
• Talbot, Dalhousie and Angelsey
• Villiers and Heytesbury
• Wimmera

^a added in the expansion of the council in 1855.

References

• "Re-Member (Former Members)". State Government of Victoria. Retrieved 19 October 2012.