GAWLER and Evanston will be represented by different state MPs from 2022 under draft plans to redraw South Australia’s electorate boundaries.

The Electoral Districts Boundaries Commission (EDBC) released its draft changes to South Australia’s electoral zones last week ahead of the 2022 State Election.

Under the draft changes, Gawler and Evanston are set to be in different electorates, while a number of towns in the north will find themselves voting in different seats to the 2018 state election.

Gawler will be split in two as part of the proposal, with Gawler, Gawler South, Gawler East and Willaston to move into the Liberal’s seat of Schubert, held by former transport minister Stephan Knoll.

Meanwhile, Evanston, Hillier, Kudla and Uleybury will remain in the Light electorate, held by Labor’s Tony Piccolo.

Light will also see Blakeview and a portion of Craigmore moved into the electorate, in a move which will make it an even safer Labor seat.

When contacted by The Bunyip, Mr Piccolo declined to comment on the changes to his electorate, saying he needed time to “digest what it all means”.

He also declined to comment on an InDaily report from Monday which suggested Labor could push him to run against Mr Knoll in Schubert.

The Schubert changes are set to make the former transport minister’s seat one of the Liberal Party’s most vulnerable electorates in 2022, with Labor requiring a 5.4 per cent voter swing its way to win, based on the EDBC’s modelling.

This, coupled with Mr Knoll’s resignation from the Premier’s cabinet in July over the Country Members Travel Allowance, is likely to make Schubert a key battleground seat in two years’ time.

While the seat is gaining Gawler, it is losing the southern Barossa towns of Cockatoo Valley, Williamstown, Kalbeeba and Barossa Goldfields to Liberal-held Kavel.

Lewiston, Korunye, Freeling, Roseworthy, Templers, Ward Belt, Wasleys and other nearby townships are also drafted to leave Schubert and be included into a vastly-changed Frome electorate.

Frome is currently held by independent Geoff Brock, but he has already indicated he will run for Stuart in 2022.

Mr Knoll welcomed the release of the EDBC’s draft report and was “committed” to representing Schubert.

“I welcome the release of the Draft Report of the EDBC and will examine this in detail over coming days,” he said.

“A key consideration will be how this will affect communities of interest in the Barossa.

“The Marshall Liberal Government has a strong record of delivering for Gawler and the Barossa, particularly during this challenging year.

“I am proud to represent the people of Schubert and remain committed to being its Member of Parliament.”

According to the draft report, if the state voted 50-50 for the two main parties in 2022, Labor would win government by one seat with a 24-to-23 majority.

If the polling results were the same as 2018, the Liberals would hold onto Government, but do so with four tight marginal seats.

The EDBC reviews the state’s electorate boundaries every four years ahead of state elections, with the 2016 redistribution offering a boost which helped the Liberals form government.

Its proposed changes are currently out for public consultation, with the final redistribution to be confirmed in November.

Major electoral shake-up proposed for the north

DOZENS of northern towns will be represented by a different MP under the Electoral Districts Boundaries Commission’s (EDBC) draft changes to the state’s electoral zones.

The EDBC is an independent body which re-evaluates and redraws the state’s electoral boundaries every four years ahead of the upcoming state election.

Last week, it released a draft of its latest redraw which will affect the 2022 State Election, with the north set to receive a major shake-up

The biggest changes are in the Adelaide Plains and Light Regional Council areas, where towns such as Two Wells, Lewiston, Mallala, Roseworthy, Freeling and Kapunda have been included in a much-changed Frome electorate.

Frome is currently held by Port Pirie-based independent Geoff Brock, but he has already announced he will contest the seat of Stuart in 2022 after his home town was moved into the Liberal-held electorate.

It means Frome voters could be electing a new MP come 2022, although the EDBC’s report expected it to be a safe Liberal seat.

A number of southern Barossa towns are also set to move to a new electorate, with Williamstown, Cockatoo Valley, Kalbeeba and Barossa Goldfields to become part of Kavel.

The seat is currently held by Liberal Dan Cregan, who is based in Mount Barker.

Liberal MP Fraser Ellis’ Narungga electorate will move outside the Gawler region, with the towns of Mallala and Dublin moving into the aforementioned seat of Frome.

What was the state’s most marginal seat at the 2018 State Election, King – held by Liberal Paula Luethen – is slated to lose Hillbank, Yattalunga, Bibaringa and Uleybury, while gaining areas further south.

“The Commission notes that while the required swing of 1.9 per cent places 24 seats on the Labor side of the pendulum, the most marginal seat of King at 0.4 per cent reflects a margin of approximately 106 votes,” the EDBC’s draft report read.

“The Commission does not consider that its task should attempt to deliver a predicted outcome with a level of greater precision than what is currently estimated based on the results from the last election.

“Its task is to provide a set of boundaries that afford a fair contest.”

The draft changes are out for public consultation and the final redistribution will be released in November.