The 1997 Victorian local elections were held on 16 March 1997 to elect the councils of a number of the 78 local government areas in Victoria, Australia.[1][2]
Background
For a number of LGAs, the elections were the first since significant reform was introduced by the Kennett state government in 1994. The reforms dissolved 210 councils and sacked 1600 elected councillors, and created 78 new councils through amalgamations. In suburban Melbourne, 53 municipalities were reduced to 26.[3][4][5]
