The middle of the Australian Botanic Garden at Mt Annan is also the boundary that separates the two local government areas of Campbelltown and Camden.
This also means half the botanic garden finds itself in the state seat of Campbelltown, while the other half is part of the seat of Camden.
Plans to change that long standing arrangement and move the entire botanic garden within the seat of Camden have upset Campbelltown City Council so much they plan to lodge a submission against them.
It’s all part of the regular electoral redistribution that takes place after each state election to ensure all 99 seats in NSW contain the same number of voters, to within a 10 percent margin.
Quick witted readers would by now have spotted the anomaly here, which is that there are no actual voters living in the botanic garden.
But that’s not the point, argues Campbelltown Council, which has now endorsed a submission to the Redistribution Panel of the NSW Electoral Commission expressing opposition to the proposed boundary adjustment between the electoral districts of Camden and Campbelltown “in order to include all of the Australian Botanic Garden in the electoral district of Camden’’.
“The importance of the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan to the people of Campbelltown cannot be overstated,’’ said a report to council.
“The Australian Botanic Garden covers an area of 416 hectares and is home to over 4,000 native plant species.
“The Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan is a valued shared resource in the Macarthur and Greater Sydney region, with the current boundary reflecting both the Campbelltown community engagement and the historical association with Campbelltown and the site through the original land grant in 1818.
“The current state electoral district boundary through the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan aligns with the local government boundary between Campbelltown LGA and Camden LGA and the federal electoral boundary between the federal electoral division of Macarthur and the federal electoral division of Hume at this location.
“The boundary adjustment proposed by the NSW Electoral Commission Redistribution Panel in relation to the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan will create unnecessary inconsistency with the other levels of government.
“Whilst the proposed Australian Botanic Garden boundary adjustment does not affect any electors, Campbelltown Council requests the Redistribution Panel consider retaining the current boundary through the Australian Botanic Gardens Mount Annan for the State electoral districts of Camden and Campbelltown.’’
