WA councils rail against rate capping

Minister backs away from inquiry but wants discussion.

11 August, 2015

West’s councils cry foul on community sports cuts

Funding sinks to unprecedented lows.

25 June, 2015

WA’s libraries facing financial horror story

More cost shifting to councils on the cards.

12 March, 2015

WA councils demand referendum on Perth boundary changes

The battle between WA councils and the Colin Barnett government has intensified as local governments demand communities be able to vote on proposed mergers if they are “significantly affected”.

7 July, 2014

Conflict of interest disclosures draw fire in West

Western Australian local governments are demanding answers as to why the state government has stealthily suspended the requirement to declare conflicts of interest for the group reviewing the structure of metropolitan councils.

17 June, 2014

WA Premier Barnett slammed by councils over rate hike blame game

Hostilities have erupted between the Western Australian government and the local government sector over State Budget cuts to funding for controversial metropolitan council mergers.

30 May, 2014

Councils slam rate pegging slug in South Australia

A pledge by the South Australian Opposition to force rate pegging onto local governments after the March election has put councils immediately offside.

3 March, 2014

WA’s country councils shake Barnett and Buswell for royalties revenue

Regional communities in Western Australian are pushing the state government hard to scrap cuts and restore funding needed to clear a $2 billion project backlog.

20 February, 2014

Perth councils divided over Barnett’s boundary overhaul

By Paul Hemsley An ambitious and controversial bid to overhaul Perth’s metropolitan local government areas by Western Australian Premier Colin Barnett has triggered widely differing reactions from councils targeted to have their boundaries radically redrawn. Formally revealed this week, Mr Barnett’s plan will slash the number of Perth-based councils from 30 to 15 and has […]

13 November, 2013

WA councils warn freight rail closure will rip-up local roads

By Paul Hemsley The Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) has hit out at Brookfield Rail’s planned closure of two grain freight lines in the state’s Wheatbelt, claiming that the shutdown will force thousands of heavy trucks onto local roads which can’t deal with the big-wheeled burden unless councils are allocated new funding for upgrades. […]

9 October, 2013

Perth’s council merger triggers conservative revolt

By Julian Bajkowski and Paul Hemsley Attempts in Western Australia to push through reforms that would allow the government to halve the number of metropolitan councils have come conspicuously unstuck after local government reform proposals triggered a fiery backlash inside Premier Colin Barnetts’ own party room. The WA Premier this week ducked putting the issue […]

20 September, 2013

WA road safety cuts collide with councils

By Paul Hemsley The Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) has accused the Colin Barnett government of being asleep at the wheel on road safety after the Police Minister’s office informed WALGA President Troy Pickard that the state has cut funding for the RoadWise community awareness program by half. The highly successful WALGA-managed program has […]

16 August, 2013

Councils call for central rubbish tsar

By Julian Bajkowski Councils in Western Australia have called on the state government create a new statutory garbo-in-chief to deal with ballooning amounts of waste being created as a byproduct of Perth’s population as the city tries to stay on track to meet tough targets for recycling and the diversion of waste from landfill. The […]

9 July, 2013

WA laws aim to silence barking dogs

By Paul Hemsley The Western Australian government has unleashed an ambitious plan to help councils stop dogs from barking. At least barking so much that they make a nuisance of themselves in populated areas. A newly proposed provision by Minister for Local Government Tony Simpson under the Dog Amendment Bill 2013 will provide councils with […]

28 June, 2013