The State seat of Waterford will retain its name after objections prompted Queensland’s redistribution commission to revise proposed electoral boundaries across Logan.
Griffith University elections expert Associate Professor Ferran Martinez i Coma said iboundary changes were necessary to maintain fair representation as people moved into rapidly growing areas and it was too early to determine whether either major party would benefit from the changes.
“It’s, in a sense, the price we’re paying for being in a growing state,” he said.
The commission’s initial proposal would have removed the Waterford locality from the electorate and renamed it Marsden.
Its final determination instead keeps Waterford, Waterford West, Bethania and most of Loganlea together, while adding Marsden and Crestmead to the Waterford electorate.
The commission said objections from Labor, the Liberal National Party and former Member for Logan John Mickel persuaded it that retaining more of the existing Waterford electorate would better preserve local communities.
Under the final map, the Logan electorate will lose much of its western territory to Greenbank, while retaining Jimboomba and Yarrabilba and gaining Mundoolun.
Jordan will be renamed Greenbank and Macalister will become Beenleigh. Woodridge and Springwood will also gain several Logan suburbs and partial suburbs.
Associate Professor Martinez i Coma said Queensland’s independent redistribution process protected electoral boundaries from direct political manipulation.
“In Australia, this is a professional and independent body,” he said.
“If we were in the US, you and I would be from party A and we would be doing all the maths available in the world to make it as political as possible.”
He said independent electoral commissions were positive for Australian democracy and should be protected.
“There are going to be winners and there are going to be losers, but … it’s because people move, not because parties decide,” he said.
The redraw follows major population growth across south-east Queensland.
The Logan electorate had 52,004 enrolled voters when the review began, about 29% above the statewide quota, and was projected to reach 67,444 by 2032 without changes.
The new boundaries will apply from the 2028 state election. Until then, current Members of Parliament continue to represent their existing electorates.
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