Uncertainty remains over the future of Local Government in NSW and whether councils across the State will be forced to amalgamate.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The NSW Parliamentary inquiry into Local Government met in Armidale on Tuesday and mayors and general managers from Bellingen, Uralla, Guyra, Clarence Valley, Nambucca, Gwydir, Tamworth and Namoi, alongside academics from the University of New England, put their case before the committee.
The Armidale enquiry came hot on the heels of weekend news reports that the NSW Local Government Minister Paul Toole was secretly developing an option to sack the state’s 152 councils, lock stock and barrel, appoint administrators and push through amalgamations.
The accusation – later denied by Mr Toole’s office which said he had “no such plan” – led to Local Government NSW threatening “civil disobedience”.
General Manager Peter Stewart and Councillor Simon Murray represented Guyra Shire at the inquiry.
Mr Stewart said that it is hard to know whether it will make much difference, but that Guyra Shire will continue to put the best case forward in its effort to avoid amalgamation.
“We believe the recommendation by the Independent Review Panel that Guyra should amalgamate with Armidale was flawed,” he said.
“The Fit for the Future process has not been fair and it makes it hard for Guyra to prove it can stand alone – the scale and capacity formula doesn’t work for small rural councils.”
“The committee gave us a fair hearing and we highlighted the support we have received from the community,” he said. “It is unclear which way the Minister will go, but this inquiry may help when the final decision is made.”
Mr Stewart said that the current uncertainty makes it difficult to plan ahead, however there will be changes whatever the final outcome.
If a forced amalgamation were to take place, he believes that 20 percent of current staff would be lost to Guyra, and the flow on effects would be felt across the community.
“Whatever our future is there will be changes, and that change will be hard for the community and hard for the staff,’ he said.
NSW councils submitted their Fit for the Future applications in June and the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) will make recommendations on which councils should merge and which should stand alone in October.