If you had the chance to pick up a
newspaper or read the online version in the past couple of weeks, it hard to
have missed the fierce debate on whether NSW local councils should amalgamate.
The Independent Pricing and Regulatory
Tribunal recommended that Sydney's 41 councils be reduced to 18. Additionally,
local councils have to submit their Fit for the Future applications due in by
June 30, where they must demonstrate scale and capacity, sustainability and
efficiency.
This news was not welcome by many councils
and the backlash to be a stand-alone council started almost immediately.
Mind you the report does state that the
amalgamations are ‘voluntary’ however the question to ask is, is it really?
There are several Facebook pages dedicated
to fighting the amalgamations and even a Save Our Councils Coalition which was formed by councillors,
residents, mayors, community groups and businesses owners to voice their
opinion to NSW government.
Cr Moore from the City of Sydney even described
the proposal as a "power grab" by
NSW's Liberal-National Government.
In another recent article,
Greens MP and Local Government Spokesperson David Shoebridge mentioned that an overwhelming number of NSW residents were
“deeply opposed” to the idea of councils merging and that there was no
“rational case to supersize NSW councils.
Labor's local government spokesman Peter
Primrose said forcing councils to merge would result in a loss of "local
identity". He said that "people
like their local communities. People are proud of the services in their local
communities"
Even doing a quick google search of local
council + amalgamations doesn’t bring up anything positive. Here are a few of
the headline grabbers:
Not only do local councils have a short
deadline to submit their proposals but it is also proving to be a costly
process. The fact that Minister Paul Toole is willing to support every council
and allocate a relationship manager and a panel of experts is generous but is
not that helpful particularly since it will be an expensive process. For
instance these are just what a few councils have spent to date:
1.
Willoughby: Budgeted $190,000;
surveys, a report, consultants
2.
Ryde: Budget up to $500,000 for
surveys, reports and advertising
3.
Randwick: $252,632, no
breakdown given
4.
Lane Cove: About $180,000;
research, surveys and advertising
5.
Bankstown: $80,000 on surveys
and polls
(Statistics from North
Shore Times)
Well now the $1 billion provided as part of
the reform package doesn’t seem sufficient. As Professor Brian Dollery, from
the University of New England Business School mentioned that “the “chaotic” way the process had been
conducted also proved costly. The criteria councils must use to assess
themselves had shifted three times in eight months, the last on June 5”
I am no expert in local government matters
but from my research and what I see in the news, local councils in NSW aren’t
too happy with the idea of amalgamations. I am not saying that they should or
shouldn’t amalgamate but they definitely should be given a choice.
When Aranei was seven she truly believed she could one day
train turtles in the Galapagos. Unfortunately she came to the realization that
such a thing could never happen. A couple of years later, she decided to be a
conference producer and has never looked back. The best part of her role is
exploring different sectors and getting in-depth insights from thought leaders
and well-experienced specialists from varying sectors.
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