Submission Comments

Monday, July 27, 2009

For your convenience, you may use my blog to make comments that you would like to add to Council's Submission to the Minister regarding the Assessment Outcome for our Shire.

I will then pass all of the public comments received here on to our CEO, Alan Wright and DCEO, Christie Smith.

Please be as clear as possible and address your concerns without using emotive language. This is certainly an issue that affects us emotionally, but for our voices to be heard we need to be clear and rational in our arguments as to why we do not want to amalgamate.

Submission - what do we write?

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Many community members are adamant that they do not want or need amalgamation. The general feeling is that in addition to it being an extremely costly exercise, we can see no benefit to be gained by amalgamating the Shire of Kent with any of our neighbours. In fact, the opposite seems to be the case.
We are a shire with a large area, though sparsely populated. True of any shire who's main land use is broad acre agriculture. Our shire is serviced by two small towns, providing community facilities such as paved streets, bitumised roads, town halls and excellent sporting & recreational facilities. With Katanning to the west and Lake Grace to the east, the community has no need of banks, doctors or other services that can be obtained in these two towns.
So with this is mind, it is necessary to think about what the Minister claims amalgamation will achieve.
In the Local Government Steering Committee's Structural Reform Report Guidelines, February 2009, the following list was supplied as to the outcomes that would be achieved through amalgamation:

•  increased capacity for local government to better plan, manage and deliver services to their communities with a focus on social, environmental and economic sustainability
• increased capacity for local government to have adequate financial and asset management plans in place
• enhanced efficiency in the processing of planning, building and other license applications made by business and the community
• greater ability to attract staff, including the provision of further career opportunities
• greater competition for positions on council, and, in conjunction with other reforms, potential for enhanced government capacity
• larger local governments with greater capacity to partner with State and Federal government, and the private sector, to further improve services to the community

In my submission to council, I have address each of these 'advantages' and put them into the context of the communities of the Shire of Kent. I argued that such efficiencies and abilities would not assist the communities of Nyabing and Pingrup to grow and prosper, rather they would only be providing  the new entity with the ability to grow and prosper the large town in which the new council will be administered.
Put simply, in my view, amalgamation would destroy the small towns within the Shire of Kent.

Cr Cathy Crosby has sent information to everyone in the Shire of Kent with further 'benefits' outlined by the Local Government Advisory Board. Please read these in order to describe counter arguments as to why amalgamation would not be effective in providing such benefits for our communities.

Amalgamation - a little background

The Minister for Local Government, John Castrilli announced in February that he wanted all 139 Western Australian local governments to begin the process of reform through amalgamation. Although he later announced that no forced amalgamations will ensue, he has indicated that he could legislate in order to allow forced amalgamations.

Council were required to complete a checklist and submit this by April 30th. The checklist contained questions about Council's Finance and Asset Management planning, Long Term Strategic Planning, Natural Resource Management, Service Delivery to Communities, Governance and Political and Community Advocacy.

During this time, Councillors and staff attended a number of meetings and seminars to try to find out more about the Ministers proposal. We came away with the idea that no one really knew the agenda. Our local government association, WALGA, appeared to be equally in the dark as it seemed the minister has simply thrown out their reform recommendations as outlined in the SSS Report, released early in 2008.

Council and staff met with neighbouring shires to discuss sharing arrangements and possible Voluntary Regional Organisations of Councils as reform measures that would negate the need for amalgamation.

Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding to form a VROC with the Shires of Lake Grace and Kukerin/Dumbleyung at the July Council Meeting.

In completing the checklist, Council felt at the time that many of the questions didn't apply to shires of smaller populations such as ours. However, the questions were answered honestly and accompanied by the required documentation.The response from the Minister's office, based on the checklist, was received on the 8th June, 2009 and indicated that the Shire of Kent was assessed as Category Three: "significant structural reform including amalgamation and formalisation of regional groupings is required to ensure long term community and organisational benefit in order that the needs of current and future generations are met." As a result of this response, the Shire of Kent held public meetings in both Pingrup and Nyabing to gauge public response to this assessment. Both communities indicated by resolutions that they were not willing to amalgamate.

The Shire now has to complete a submission to the Minister based on both community and council responses.
The community must have their submissions to Council by close of business Friday 31st July, 2009. Council will then complete a Draft Submission and release this for public viewing on 10th and 11th August. Council will hold a Special Meeting on 12th August to finalise the Draft Submission.
At the August Council Meeting on the 19th, Council will ratify the Submission and it will be sent off to the Minister's Office.

The Minister is holding a number of public meetings around the state to provide a forum for community discussion. I will be attending the meeting in Wagin on August 4th. If anyone wishes to come along with me, please let me know.


Timeline:

• Community Submissions due: July 31st
• Draft Submission available for public viewing: August 10th and 11th
• Meeting in Wagin with Minister Castrilli: August 4th
  
• Special Meeting of Council to review Submission: August 12th
• Monthly Council Meeting where Submission will be ratified by Council: August 19th
  

Council don't expect to hear anything from the Minister until much later in the year. Final recommendations will be announced in February 2010.