Riverina towns to swap NSW electorates in boundary shuffle; 'minimal' changes to Wagga seat

In its final determination handed down last week, the NSW Electoral Commission's panel added two small areas, mostly comprised of state forest south-east of Batlow, to Wagga's electorate.

Independent Wagga MP Joe McGirr said he was glad the panel had made its determination as it would "provide certainty for voters in NSW as we approach the 2023 general election".

"In the seat of Wagga, the panel made only slight boundary adjustments with minimal changes to voter enrolments," Dr McGirr said.

"There were no objections lodged on these new boundaries when draft plans were released for public comment.

"I am happy to see the electorate of Wagga is largely unchanged and am looking forward to continuing to work hard for my electorate."

Wagga will gain an estimated one additional voter from the seat of Albury and will have a projected 57,343 voters in total by April 2023.

In other news

The town of Jerilderie and the former Jerilderie Shire Council area will move from Albury to the seat of Murray.

Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Murray MP Helen Dalton said the changes made it harder for rural people to have their say in Parliament.

"Jerilderie is a wonderful town with great people and I welcome to chance to represent them, but this decision just marginalises country people even more," she said.

"My seat is already much bigger than Scotland and now they've made it bigger. The NSW government needs to urgently look at why people are leaving small towns, and work on reversing that trend.

"Simply increasing the size of seats is not the answer, it just disenfranchises neglected country communities even more."

The redistribution will move part of the Hilltops local government area currently in the electoral district of Goulburn, including the town of Boorowa and surrounds, into Cootamundra's boundaries.

The decision will add 1964 voters to Cootamundra, which is currently held by Nationals MP Steph Cooke.

"The Cootamundra electorate is a network of tight-knit towns and villages, which I have strived to support as the local member," Ms Cooke said. "I am relieved the boundary redistribution will be largely undisruptive."

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