Rapidly-growing suburbs in Logan City mean some of its state electorates will likely be redrawn or even renamed.
But political parties can’t agree on what updated seats should look like.
The seat of Logan, which comprises most of the city’s west, is the second most overgrown electorate in Queensland, making it one of the Queensland Redistribution Commission (QRC) top priorities.
It is currently 29.17% over quota, and projected to be more than 50% over by 2032.
The QRC reviews enrolment numbers every few years and adjusts electorate boundaries to ensure each district remains within 10% of the average enrolment.
The last redistribution was back in June 2017, when Logan City’s population was around 321,000.
Seven years later, the city is predicted to be north of 410,000 residents.
When redrawing seats, the QRC says it also considers other factors such as economic, social, regional or community of interest factors, ways of communication and travel within districts, physical features, existing boundaries and demographic trends.
In a submission to the QRC, the Labor Party suggested the Logan electorate be extended west to include suburbs like Flagstone, New Beith and Greenbank that are currently sitting in the Jordan electorate, which mostly covers Ipswich.
“These communities on the growing fringes of the Logan region have stronger communities of interest with the Logan region than with Ipswich,” the ALP submission read.
The LNP in its submission suggests Logan be made smaller “around the edges” to allow surrounding under quota electorates to grow.
“…. while retaining its civic and hospital precinct at Logan Central,” the submission read, despite Logan Central being part of another electorate.
The ALP wants the seat of Springwood in the city’s east, which is 7.64% below quota and projected to be almost 16% below by 2032, to receive new suburbs where “communities of interest follow roads that cross the M1”.
The LNP says Springwood should absorb Redlands, most of residential Rochedale, and Cornubia, with the seat’s boundary to be marked by the Logan River.
Macalister should, according to the LNP, be renamed ‘Beenleigh’ and expand to include Bethania, but drop the suburb of Cornubia for the Springwood electorate and Carbrook for the Redlands electorate.
This would help the latter two electorates meet the quota, while keeping Macalister within the 10% margin.
The LNP wants the Woodridge electorate to move west towards Browns Plains, taking in adjacent neighbourhoods that “rely on Grand Plaza and the Logan Motorway, yet remain anchored on the Woodridge rail hub”.
The Labor party has not proposed any changes to Macalister or Woodridge, which are projected to remain within the quota.
Neither party has suggested changes to the seat of Waterford, which is only 0.56% above quota and projected to be only 0.98% above by 2032.
The Greens have proposed boundary changes, but most notably submitted that the city’s electorates be renamed, with Logan becoming ‘Logan Village’; Macalister becoming the Yugambeh word ‘Dugulumba’; Springwood becoming ‘Daisy Hill’, and Waterford to be ‘Berrinba’.
Â
