The seat of Higgins in Melbourne’s inner-east is set to be abolished at the next federal election.
The move will force incumbent Labor MP Michelle Ananda-Rajah to contest a new seat, after defeating Liberal candidate Katie Allen in 2022.
Committee and Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers said the commission needed to decrease the number of seats in both Victoria and New South Wales, while also establishing a new division in Western Australia.
“Under the proposal, some significant changes would occur, with the boundaries of Victorian divisions being amended to accommodate the decrease,” Rogers said.
“38 of the existing 39 division names would be retained with the Division of Higgins to be abolished.”
Under the proposed changes, the division of Higgins will be distributed into neighbouring seats of Chisholm, Hotham, Kooyong, Macnamara and Melbourne.
Meanwhile, a new seat in Perth’s outer-eastern suburbs, to be named Bullwinkel after WWII nurse and war hero Vivian Bullwinkel, will be created.
The proposed seat boundaries in NSW will be announced in the upcoming weeks.
