The West Australian Government has announced its plan to amalgamate councils and decrease the number of elected local government representatives.
Local Government Minister John Castrilli has asked the state's 139 councils to voluntarily amalgamate and to reduce the total number of elected members of each council to between six and nine.
Councils have a period of six months to advise the Minister of their intentions to merge with other councils and downsize elected representation. If councils fail do so the Government will introduce legislation that would force them to amalgamate.
Mr Castrilli said local government in its current form was “simply not sustainable,” adding that 85 local councils in WA served populations of less than 2000 people.
“The benefits from amalgamations across the state, including metropolitan Perth, will be very significant,” Mr Castrilli said.
“These include achieving greater economies of scale, elected members clearly focusing on governance and long-term strategic planning.”
Mr Castrilli has asked councils to form regional organisations so that they can deliver services more efficiently and be eligible to receive proposed grants under the recently announced Country Local Government Fund.
The announcement has shocked and angered Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) president Bill Mitchell, who has accused the State Government of breaking an election promise on no forced amalgamations.
“There is nothing voluntary when you are given a six month deadline and told what the outcome has to be and that if you don’t volunteer it will be forced,” Cr Mitchell said.
He said councils were already working towards a process of regional cooperation which could lead to voluntary amalgamations further down the track, but that plan had been undermined by the State Government’s decision to impose a six month deadline.
“What this announcement has done is damage all work towards regional cooperation by local governments who will now be forced only on ensuring their own survival in an amalgamation process.”
Cr Mitchell said there was no guarantee that merged councils would be more sustainable.
“In all our research there was no evidence that the simplistic option of making larger councils was more efficient, rather that two small problems merged into one big problem,” he said.
“For any sustainability improvements to be implemented and maintained in the longer term there has to be local community support which requires a voluntary process.”
As we head into a period of economic revival, it is imperative that managerial staff understand and drive effective performance management systems. Want to hear how industry-leading organisations do it all so well?
more»
As Australia's premier industry forum for contract professionals, this year's 8th Annual Contracts 2010 conference series promises an outstanding speaker line-up of award-winning practitioners.
more»
The ANZSOG Evidence for Policy and Decision-Making course is designed for public sector employees who need to use or critically evaluate research evidence that informs policy and decision-making.
more»
Popular southern beachside suburb, Brighton Le Sands, has seen an increase in safety levels after Rockdale City Council contracted SNP Security to install a state-of-the-art CCTV security surveillance system.
more»
To assist current and potential clients in identifying the most effective security solutions, Wilson Security has established a dedicated Project Management Team.
more»
Enviropoles now offers councils Australia-wide the innovative liquid charged enviropole product range to combat the rising issues attributed to cigarette butts and chewing gum litter.
more»
Blackwoods is a vital part of Australia's industrial and workplace landscape. The Blackwoods brand is, and has been, proudly associated with thousands of strategic projects with both large and small businesses nationwide.
more»
State and territory governments have decided to act on the health and wellbeing of Australia's 10 million workers, according to leading corporate health provider, Good Health Solutions.
more»
Now that most of the global financial crisis is behind us, why not look for the opportunities to help small and medium sized businesses take advantage of technology and save money?
more»
.jpg)
.jpg)
.gif)
.jpg)
