DRASTIC boundary changes to the federal electorate of Lyne will be upheld after the Australian Electoral Commission confirmed that it would stick with the majority of redistributions proposed in October 2015.
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The new boundaries mean that Lyne, represented by Nationals MP Dr David Gillespie, will no longer have Port Macquarie within its borders.
The shift south also means that the Lyne electorate picks up Forster, Bulahdelah and Dungog, which were all part of the Paterson electorate held by Bob Baldwin.
Port Macquarie will now join Coffs Harbour in the Cowper electorate, a move criticised by Dr Gillespie when the proposal was announced in October.
Dr Gillespie said at the time that putting Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour into the one electorate "does little to demonstrate that there is an understanding of the 'communities of interest' in the region, nor the projected growth."
Following the confirmation last week that the boundary changes would be locked in, Dr Gillespie said that he would "focus on the positives" and that he was looking forward to representing the new areas in his electorate.
While disappointed at losing Port Macquarie, Dr Gillespie said that he was familiar with the Great Lakes area, with "lots of synergies" present between it and the Manning Valley.
The names and boundaries of the redistributed divisions will apply from February 25.
