Our Shire has officially been declared water deficient.
Farmers have recently completed surveys indicating what supplies they have and what is needed to keep their stock watered.
An online article about the Shire's declaration has been published on the Perth Now website.
Disturbingly, there are some derogatory comments aimed at farmers following the article. Many of these show terrible ignorance and discrimination.
The water situation is one that will not go away. It may be eased by rain and by the carting of water in to the Shire, but the fact remains that the infrastructure needs urgent attention.
The pipeline, built with volunteer labour from the local farmers, is now 20 years old. It wasn't large enough in the first place and this is the reason our shire is running out of water.
In times of low rainfall, more water is drawn from the pipeline as town dams run out. The pipeline simply can't cope with such demand, so we're running out of water.
Farming is an industry which uses water, just like any other industry. Farmers build dams to maximise their water resources, but if it doesn't rain, dams are useless.
Farmers provide food and export dollars for our nation. They need to be able to rely on proper services such as any other industry would expect.
The Department of Water along with the Water Corporation must start making some vital decisions to ensure the long term availability of this basic service. Our State Government must look at investing Royalties for Regions funding into building better water infrastructure. The provision of water is a basic right. If we were a Third World country, the government would be donating millions of dollars to improve water infrastructure.
Water Defiency Declaration
Meeting with Troy Pickard
Council had the opportunity to meet with the President of WALGA recently at the Shire Offices. Only four councillors were available for the discussion, Cr's Crosby, Stephens, Featherstone and myself.
The discussion proved very fruitful and allowed us to gain a deeper insight into the workings of the ministerial office and how WALGA are continuing to advocate for country councils at State level.
Some of the topics discussed included the need for upgraded water infrastructure and water shortage situations, Multi Peril Insurance, Amalgamations, Royalties for Regions regional component percentage and TIRES funding.
Mayor Pickard outlined his vision for local government into the future. Though his vision is regional, it still ensures that small local governments like ours continue to remain as we are, but are more involved with the decision making processes affecting our region.
We must ensure that if we continue to decline the option to amalgamate, that we have a viable alternative to offer to the Minister.
Forced Amalgamation: How Big is the Threat?
This was the title of a breakfast meeting that CEO Peter Bentley and Cr's Stephens, Crosby and I attended in Perth last week.
Lawyers from the company, Kott Gunning gave the presentation. Before joining Kott Gunning, Anne Wood, one of the presenters, was the Policy Advisor for a number of local government Ministers.
The analysis was based on some of the 25 recommendations in the Local Government Advisory Board. The recommendations dealing with legislative change to the 'forced amalgamation provisions' are the ones that were analysed.
These recommendations deal with changing legislation ie. The Local Government Act 1995, to empower the Minister to to target those Local Governments which either did not want to amalgamate, eg. Kent, Narrogin, Bassendean or, those that did, but couldn't find partners - eg. Katanning, Bunbury.
It appears at first glance, that the Local Government Advisory Board consists of 5 members, with only two being nominated by the Minister.. However, the other three people are still chosen by the Minister, from a list submitted by WALGA (WA Local Govt Association which represents councillors) or LGMA (Local Govt Managers Association which represents Senior Staff).
So, in essence, they are handpicked by the Minister.
Rather than go through all the horribly boring details of the Act and it's meaning for us, suffice to say,
WALGA are fighting on behalf of local governments against the changes the Minister wants to make to the Act.
Strategic Plan
I have been remiss in not keeping this blog up to date. My apologies to readers who like to keep up with Shire of Kent happenings.
There are regular newsletters in our local newsletters for local people to keep informed, but for those outside of the Shire, I will attempt to be more consistent with my blog entries.
The Shire has undertaken a major revision of the Strategic Plan. Council employed the services of Darren Long to engage the community through a workshop in each town. Council then had a series of workshops with Mr Long which resulted in the Draft Strategic Plan for 2010 to 2015.
It was an interesting process which took us through 7 Key Focus areas - Organisational Development & Governance, Technology, Economy, Business and Land Use, Infrastructure Development, Community and Social and Environment. Each area has a number of objectives which we will aim to achieve within the timeframe of the plan.
Much of Council's own observations and desires for the Shire reflected those of the community, which Mr Long found surprisingly refreshing. It shows that Council is on the right track and is moving forward in the direction that their community wishes them to.
The Strategic Plan will be available for public comment. It's a very readable document and I urge you to take the time to pick up a copy from the Shire Office in Richmond St, Nyabing and read it. Council are keen to hear what the public feel about the Draft Strategic Plan.
Local Government Convention 2010 Day Four
The final day of the convention included presentations to of the Long and Loyal Service and the Distinguished Service Honour Awards.
Mr Terry Gray was presented with the Long and Loyal Service Award for his services on the Shire of Kent.
Following the awards, our keynote speaker came to the podium and held the audience in the palm of her delicate hand for the next 45 minutes. I've never know such a hush to be held over the entire auditorium as there was when Gill Hicks spoke to the delegates.
Gill Hicks was severely injured in the 2005 London bombing and is a passionate advocate of inter-community relations and peace, worldwide. She is Ambassador for Peace Direct, an international peace initiative.
Gill's story was one of incredible survival, humanity, kindness and strength. Her near death experience led her to 'sign' a contract to stay alive and work towards making our world a more tolerant and peaceful place. She lost both legs below the knee and now uses artificial limbs and a working stick.
Her account of the struggle to live and all that took place during her recovery was one that brought tears to the eyes of many in the audience. One gentleman asked if she would marry him, during the Q & A session afterwards.
Her gentle demeanour and humble attitude had us all in love with her.
The WALGA AGM was held in the afternoon. Cr Crosby and I attended as delegates in order to vote on the numerous motions.
Councillors then joined the Broomehill/Tambellup crew at dinner that evening.
Overall, I'm not happy with the convention program this year. I've suggested in the feedback on the white board provided that concurrent sessions be held in future to cater for the huge diversity of the shires in our state, including rural, remote and indigenous councils.
Local Government Convention 2010 Day Three
Dr Karl Kruszelnicki led the opening session on Friday 6th August. His fast-paced rapid-fire presentation left us all feeling a little dizzy. His topics included and eclectic range of ideas, facts and figures such as Moore's law:
Transistors shrink in size every 18 months.
So, the silicon chip will soon be almost invisible!
If you cover your roof with solar panels and feed back into the grid, you will have an energy payback time (the time it takes to create enough power savings to payback the cost of purchasing and installing the system) is only 19 to 40 months. The systems should have a life of 30 years.
My ears pricked up when Dr Karl discussed the lack of government funding for alternative energy research and promotion. That's something I find untenable, given the issue of climate change that dominates the political landscape. But, what really made me mad was hearing him state, "Fossil fuel companies have received around $9billion worth of subsidies." I'm not sure of the length of time being discussed here, but it makes any climate change policy that either political party spruiks sound pretty lame...
The Danes have the largest alternative energy system in the world with their Wind Energy industry. Why isn't Australia tapping in to the most abundant form of energy in our land?
My belief? Developing a Solar Energy Industry should be a major policy for any government serious about doing something to help stop the use of fossil fuel for energy purposes.
Following on from Dr Karl's energetic presentation, Laurel Papworth, a social networking expert held my attention. If you click here, you can go to a slide show of the presentation which she offered. Her topic centred around the clever use of social media - eg, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc. She advocated the use of these various applications for local governments to connect with their rate payers on a more personal level.
One Council went as far as to put up their budget online and allowed community input into the development of the budget for the coming year.
If you look to the side of my blog and down a little, you'll see a real time Social Media Count. This shows the incredible reach and power of social media sites.
An interesting snippet from Laurel showed that Facebook is being used by a huge number of over 50's people to keep in touch with family members. I find that so encouraging and think it's a great positive in reconnecting the GenX and Y to those born up to fifty years before!
I now have a Twitter account which I use to keep up with Laurel, Dr Karl, ABC Q & A, ABC News and various other Twits.
The next session was entitled "A Ministerial Dialogue". We endured incredibly boring speeches from Minister Castrilli, Minister Day and a reasonable one from Eric Ripper, Leader of the Opposition.
Following that was a presentation by Lord Mayor of Perth, Lisa Scaffidi, which should have been entitled, "Look at me, aren't I gorgeous". I did enjoy the light entertainment prior to this, an enactment by Edith Cowan's grand niece, playing her grand aunt. What an amazing woman she was!
I then chose one of the concurrent sessions being run and that was Laurel Papworth's. I was a little disappointed as she really didn't address the issue that most of the audience seemed to want and that was, the 'how' part of getting into social networking. Laurel focussed on the 'why' part, reasons we should be involved.
After joining Twitter and trying to find out more information, I now realise that it wasn't necessary to provide the answers as to how to get started as all that info is already available on Twitter sites. Laurel explains carefully how to start using social networking sites like Twitter here.
Local Government Convention 2010 Day Two
The first session of the Convention that I attended was entitled, Better Governance, From Good to Great and was presented by Cr David Parsons from the UK and Prof Graham Sansom, Director of the Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government.
I didn't take any notes during this presentation as it held little interest for me being not particularly relevant to small country shires. Aside from the fact that our little bags we received on registering at the convention held no pads or pens!!
The next session was far more interesting. This time I was able to take notes since I'd snaffled a pad and pen from the Census Booth at morning tea.
Richard Hill from the MindScience Institute discussed management approaches which can generate positive attitudes in the workplace. Though interesting, this session was predominantly for CEO's and Senior Staff. As a councillor, I have no input into how our office runs, how it is designed or how senior staff and administration staff work together.
The main topic of his talk was about change. His theory is that for good change and growth, people need to be creative, adaptive, flexible and engaged. Richard has a book out called "How the Real World is Driving us Crazy".
As I was taking notes, Cr Crosby wrote this word in my notepad:
Yes, I agreed with her
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Dr Linda Friedland from the Health and Media Institute who introduced us to a new health issue affecting working people in Japan. It's called Karoshi and means death from overwork!
Her presentation focussed on mental health and the ability to cope with stress.
She emphasized the need for resilience and the ability to adapt and change - there we go again, change.....meaning get yourselves ready for amalgamation, or am I just being paranoid?
The final session of the day held little of interest to us, but we enjoyed listening to three young migrants tell their stories of life in their adopted country. Then our Local Government Minister launched a new government initiative, "Implementing the Principles of Multiculturalism Locally."
Good to hear that Katanning had input into this initiative with the Senior Finance Officer, Carl Beck being on the working committee during the formation of the booklet.
All in all, not a huge amount gained on our first full day. We hope for a better outcome tomorrow.
Local Government Convention 2010, Day One
Four councillors and the CEO, Peter Bentley attended this years Local Government Convention at the Convention Centre in Perth.
On the Wednesday, Cr Cathy Crosby, Peter Bentley and I attended a meeting of the Great Southern Zone of WALGA where Transport Minister O'Brien responded to questions from the group. One positive from the meeting was a pledge to spend a large sum of money upgrading the Chester Pass Rd.
We then attended an interesting meeting in the evening where a group of councillors from country shires met to express their dissatisfaction at the lack of representation of country shires by WALGA. Three motions were presented, but no one felt they could vote as these had not been discussed at council level.
I, therefore put forward a motion, "That this meeting form a working group to pursue a range of options to improve the representation of country local governments at a State level".
This motion was passed and, since I put the motion forward, I am now on the working group. I will keep my blog updated with the working groups actions.
New Chief Executive Officer for the Shire of Kent
It's been some time since I've posted to my blog. Apologies to those who use this blog to keep abreast of local government affairs in the Shire of Kent.
It's been a very busy period in the last few months, with our previous CEO, Alan Wright, retiring from Local Government. Alan served here for five years and undertook many projects in his time with the Shire of Kent.
We wish both Alan and his wife, Suzanne all the very best for their retirement in Narambeen.
New CEO, Peter Bentley, began his term in April and has hit the ground running. With the completion of various R4R projects to be signed off, new ones implemented and a budget to bring down in his first few months, he has certainly had his work cut out for him.
Peter has been seen around our communities at various functions and although Council haven't had an official 'welcome function', many people have taken the opportunity to chat with he and his family. We welcome you all to our Shire and look forward to a long and effective relationship.
Pingrup Caravan Park Upgrade
The Pingrup Caravan Park has had an upgrade recently using Royalties for Regions grant funding.
New cement pads were installed plus artificial turf laid down under the clothes line area. The lawn looks wonderful and gives a fresh appeal to the area when seen from the main road.
The Pingrup Progress Association has also revamped two of the accommodation units with new furniture. These two rooms are now available for hire to couples at a very reasonable cost. The PPA have purchased a mobile phone which is solely for the booking of the facility. The units are currently closed and will re-open in August with a new manager.
Watch this space!
Kent Shire Council 2010
Following the October elections, the Shire of Kent has three new councillors. Cr Mark Stephens, a local business owner, Cr Gordon Browne, a farmer and Cr Renae Jury, also farming.
Farewell to Neil Grant-Williams and Lucy Skipsey and thank you for your input during your terms on Council.
Our new councillors were welcomed and ex-councillors thanked at a recent function held in the town of Pingrup. Volunteers from the various agencies and organisations within the Shire of Kent were also invited to attend a dinner catered by the Pingrup Primary School P & C.
A wonderful meal was enjoyed and Shire President Cr Cathy Crosby thanked everyone for their attendance and paid particular thanks to Neil Grant-Williams for his service to council over the years, many of them as Deputy President.
We have challenging and exciting times ahead of us.
Minister's Request
The Shire of Kent has received a letter from the Local Government Minister thanking us for our consideration of reform options.
The letter states that after considering our decision not to 'embrace the opportunity for voluntary reform', he has determined the 'best way forward is through the creation of Regional Transition or Regional Collaborative Groups.'
The idea is that these groups will then provide the basis for becoming amalgamated by 2013. The Minister states that there will be no 'opt out' clause, so if you decide that the group you have joined is not in your best interests as a shire, there's no opportunity to look at other options!
The Shire of Kent have formed a Voluntary Regional Group of Councils with the Shires of Dumbleyung and Lake Grace. The Minister does not appear to be recognising a VROC as a regional collaborative group. If it isn't a regional collaborative group, then what is?
Many Shires in the Wheatbelt have received the same letter. Shires are planning to band together to protest against the Minister's actions. The Minister has claimed that 54 local governments had advised in their submissions that they were amenable to amalgamations. Yet, local governments, such as ours, that did not indicate any such thing have been advised that they should form these regional groupings.
Of the 139 local governments in WA, only 9 have agreed to voluntary amalgamation. This appears to indicate a distrust of amalgamation as a reform, and a slap in the face for the Minister and his wonderful ideas.
The Minister is not answering his calls or emails, not even from our local government body, WALGA apparently! Everyone has questions, such as 'who's going to pay?', but the Minister has no answers.
The Shire of Kent moved a recommendation that we write to the Minister and indicate that we are not interested in forming his 'Regional Transition or Collaborative Group'. We will continue with the VROC we have formed.
In speaking with some ratepayers, it appears that a couple of people from the eastern end of our Shire are interested in breaking away and joining Newdegate to become part of the Lake Grace Shire. If there are more than a couple of ratepayers thinking this way, please contact me as I believe we would need to have a Public Meeting to determine whether the original stance of 'no amalgamation' still stands in our Shire.
Council needs to do what it's people want, so if our people have changed their minds, then we must look at our options once more.
Letter to politicians
Cr Cathy Crosby and I have written a letter to a number of key figures in Parliament and the Opposition outlining our views on the issue of amalgamation.
We haven't used our position as councillors in sending this letter, but as ordinary citizens of the Shire of Kent.
Here is the letter below. This particular one is to the Minister for Local Government, John Castrilli:
This letter was sent to 10 different politicians - Brendon Grylls, Colin Barnett, Troy Buswell, Terry Redman, Terry Waldron, Graham Jacobs, Eric Ripper, Roger Cook and Paul Papalia.
Hopefully, out of one of those, we'll get a response!
We urge you to write your own letters to our politicians and media outlets. The more noise we make, the more chance we have of being heard.
We must be adamant about our position.
We do not wish to amalgamate!
Thank you for your support
Thank you to all those electors who voted for me in the Local Government Elections recently.
I will continue to work with my electorate to develop our Shire to its full potential.
Urgent Action needed for Katanning Saleyards
It's an absolute disgrace that the State Government have prevaricated with the decision to build new saleyards in Katanning.
The Great Southern region must band together and pressure the State Government to utilise the $20million held in reserve since the 2007 sale of the Midland saleyards.
It appears the preference of the government is for privately owned or privately subsidised facility. If this is the case, one wonders what plans they have for the $20 million?
Is it a possibility that the Great Southern Shires can form a group in order to access Royalties for Regions grant money to build the yards? Not talking amalgamation here, but some form of partnership amongst local governments in order to get this project underway.
It is vital that we have a saleyard facility in this region. Katanning is the most sensible since it is central and already has the large and viable WAMMCO meat processing facility.
Max Trenorden disputes benefits of amalgamation
Taken from the ABC website:
Report casts doubt on council amalgamations
Updated October 9, 2009 14:53:00
The MPs travelled to South Australia and Queensland to investigate council amalgamations there.
Mr Trenorden says they found some councils should have remained unaltered.
"There is no clear short term or medium term benefits in any amalgamations that we saw in Queensland or South Australia," he said.
"There are some benefits in the long term but there is a fair bit of pain to get there.
"Each amalgamation is going to cost about two million dollars. The state is not likely to pay that so taxpayers or rate payers are likely to pay that. Queenslands rates went up seven and a half per cent last year and they are projected to go up to that this year."
Waste Management
There's been a lot happening in the Shire of Kent lately to do with waste management.
Council are planning to use Royalties for Regions money to upgrade both the Nyabing and Pingrup rubbish tips.
Pingrup will be first on the agenda, as the tip is unfortunately situated near salt lakes, so needs to be closed down and a transfer station built. Nyabing will follow in a year or two.
The sewerage pits in Nyabing have had to be upgraded following an Environmental Protection Authority order. Since the sewerage pit could overflow into the Nyabing Creek, new pits are needed that will take the town into the future. The total cost of this exercise has been enormous, so council are indeed fortunate that Royalties for Regions money has been accessible for this project. Below is a photo of the works currently underway:
Council have encouraged residents to recycle with the introduction of a kerbside recycling programme in 2007. We are probably the only Shire with a population this size that has undertaken this initiative. Town residents help cover the cost for the facility in their rates, while council picks up the balance in the interest of keeping our rubbish levels down.
Residents of the Shire who are out of town can bring their recycling in and deposit in the bins provided in each townsite. There is no charge for this facility.
If you are uncertain about what can be recycled, ask at the Shire Office. A brochure will be available soon explaining what can and can't be placed in kerbside recycling bins.
I'd like your vote!
I'm standing for election as a councillor for the Shire of Kent once again.
I've been a councillor since 2003 and have seen a number of changes and important decisions made in that time.
Council have been proactive in working with community groups to develop facilities in each town, including the partnership with the Pingrup Progress Association to build accommodation units in Pingrup and with the Nyabing Sports Club to upgrade the Pavilion kitchen and bar in Nyabing.
Council have recently approved an upgrade of the Pingrup netball courts and agreed to in-kind support in partnership with the Pingrup Ground Improvement Committee. The P.G.I.C have worked extremely hard in attaining community support and putting forward a proposal for grant funding for the upgrade of the courts to be multi-purpose playing surfaces.
Council are very supportive of groups that help themselves and will consider any reasonable request for assistance, be it in-kind or financial. I'm always in favour of such partnerships where council work with volunteer community groups to improve the lives of people in our communities.
I've been on council's Building and Land Committee since I first became a councillor and have seen some great projects undertaken in each of our towns.
We've built superb modern three bedroom units and have partnered with the Government Housing Authority to build a comfortable modern home for the school principal in each town.
Another partnership with State Government helped to build neat one bedroom units in each town. Council also undertook the building of a new home for our CEO.
Council have recently acquired residential blocks in Pingrup and are continually working to try to gain residential land in Nyabing. More people are wanting to retire to small safe towns like ours and Council are proactive in encouraging residential as well as commercial development in our towns.
In the time I've been on Council, I've lobbied for our members as well as our community.
I put forward a motion to change the meeting times to later in the afternoon, starting our Forum at 4pm, rather than 2pm. My reasoning was due to my own work commitments as well as to encourage more men and younger people to join council in the future.
The motion was passed and has proved popular with our male councillors, in particular, since they are able to get more work done before the meeting. Unfortunately, it has moved back one hour as we were finding that we weren't finishing our meetings prior to tea time. It proved difficult to come back to a meeting with full concentration, so we now have Forum at 3pm and our regular meeting at 4pm.
I have recently pushed for a higher remuneration for councillors. Since the minister announced his stance on local government reform to encourage voluntary amalgamation processes, I have attended countless meetings and seminars. Councillors have had a great deal of extra reading and community consultation to undertake.
I believe if we are to encourage young people to come on board, we need to be paying a better rate for people to give up their working day to attend various meetings and seminars, not to mention all the work done outside of this time.
We are all taking on more voluntary work in our communities and our time is becoming more constrained.
We have three young people who have nominated for council in the upcoming local government elections, so I'm hoping that these reforms helped to encourage their interest.
I have personally put in many hours assisting our staff with the preparation of Council's reform submission to the Minister for Local Government. This has been a huge undertaking and it is extremely important that we are able to get our message across to the Minister that our Shire does not need to amalgamate in order to achieve many of the outcomes he is looking to accomplish.
I am a passionate and active community member. I'm on a number of committees and have helped to organise many social events, including the recent successful Variety Night held in Nyabing this year. I support our local sporting teams and always help out where needed, be it scoring for netball, yelling for the Hockey girls or producing the Football Budget for each home game.
I also take a great interest in my local school community and have kept abreast of the changes occurring in the way schools are run. I recently lobbied for our school to become a pilot school for the Independent Schools Programme.
This was an enormous opportunity, but, as with a lot of changes, a difficult decision to make, not helped by Teacher's Union scare-mongering at the last minute.
I believe our schools are a vital part of our community and would love to see more partnerships between our Shire and our little primary schools.
The decision to start a blog came about after talking with people in both communities who felt they didn't have access to information about our local government and the decisions that were being made. I hope that my blog has been informative and has kept people abreast of the current happenings in local government and their affect on the Shire of Kent.
I'm hoping that my past performance has proved to my constituents that I have both of our communities' interests at heart and that you will show your approval with a tick next to my name on your voting slip.
Remember, you can vote at the Shire Office any time up until October 16th, or you may vote on Election Day, October 17th.
Authorised by: Cr Megan Tuffley
Written by: Cr Megan Tuffley
4 Richmond St
Nyabing WA 6341
(08) 98291076
Liam Bartlett hits the nail on the head.
In case you missed Liam Bartlett's caustic comments about our illustrious Minister and Premier in the Sunday Times on September 20th, here's a copy:
"If you've ever wondered how your local council could get any worse, let me give you the answer: Being strong-armed by a shambolic state Government that doesn't have a clue as to why it's doing it or what it wants!
Sound confusing? Well, that's the circus being run by Premier Colin Barnett and his one-armed lion tamer John Castrilli. This perambulating pair of pollies, who are trying to squeeze councils into a one-size-fits-all big top, have done no cost-benefit studies, no social or economic impact assessments and, unless they're hiding it, have no real plan.
But that hasn't stopped them firing up the bulldozer and threatening the small end of town with extinction if they don't get their way.
Now I know that on face value, thinking about the future of your local council is enough to turn the soggiest Sao into dust, but consider this: For dozens of towns in this state, the shire is the glue that holds the community together.
And it's not just jobs from direct employment but also the flow-on effect to local businesses and the provision of other government services, not to mention the stability through the tough times of drought or flood, bushfires and other trauma.
There are many very good, decent people who have invested an awful lot of time and goodwill into developing their local district, about to be railroaded into oblivion for the sake of simplistic conservative ideology.
WA has 139 local councils and the Dodgy Brothers (aka Barnett and Castrilli) say there should be fewer than that. Terrific. That's a policy objective that could be scratched out on the back of a beer coaster, but what next? Minister Castrilli began this push in February by insisting he would legislate to force small shires to amalgamate if they didn't volunteer.
Nationals leader Brendon Grylls suggested the removal of Royalty for Regions funding for councils that refuse to merge or join a regional organisation and Premier Barnett says state money will be directed to newly amalgamated councils first.
It's a democratic trifecta, isn't it? Threats, coercion and bribery - all in the name of more efficient government. Of course, the minister has now recanted and been quoted as saying, "We're totally committed to the process of voluntary amalgamation", but on a scale of public sincerity, I'd say he ranks right up there
with Kyle Sandilands.
Which is why I am puzzled about the Premier's position. If he's serious about creating significant savings for ratepayers, why not begin by amalgamating supposedly wasteful councils in his own back yard?
Peppermint Grove, for example.
I know Mr Barnett has already taken the Marie Antoinette approach in labelling it WA's "Monaco", but why not show some good old-fashioned Aussie egalitarianism and merge this tiny, inefficient council with, say, Mundaring? It has a ring to it, hasn't it? Monaco meets Mundaring?
The Hills come to the city and the weir meets the Swan - it couldn't be a more perfect fit. And under the Barnett/Castrilli wish list, it wouldn't present a single obstacle. You see, the two shires are only 50km apart and that wouldn't create any difficulty for the respective residents to participate in local
council affairs, would it?
Many of the country shires that these two reckon should merge or "wither on the vine" are already a lot further apart than a mere 50km. I know some rural, elected members who travel more than 150kmjust to attend a council meeting.
If efficiencies of scale are not good enough for Peppermint Grove, why shouldn't the rest of the state be protected in the same way? If it's good enough for the silvertails in Peppermint Grove to pick up the phone and have direct, local accountability from their local councillor, then it's good enough for every other ratepayer around the state.
Obviously there are inefficiencies and duplications across some districts, particularly in the metropolitan area, and overall some councils that do need to be rationalised, but where is the plan and who will pay?
Why isn't consideration being given to the social and economic costs of a town "withering on the vine" as a result of a merger?
There is already a large body of evidence which sets out precisely what not to do and the minister needs only to park his considerable backside on a plane for a handful of hours to discover how to avoid a disaster.
Queensland's obsession with council amalgamation under Peter Beattie has cost in the order of$200 million, most of it paid by now-disgruntled ratepayers through increased rates and/or fewer services.
Far from delivering the touted benefits, many mergers have not worked and some are now considering de-mergers.
I realise our pollies are fond of re-inventing the wheel in order to justify their own existence, but surely the Queensland experience should at least serve as a massive warning sign.
Mr Castrilli's deadline for councils to make submissions is only a fortnight away. So far, the divisive and rudderless process has been going on almost as long as Michael Jackson's funeral and there is still no sign of a detailed explanation from his office as to the economic and social impacts.
Before the minister wipes one council off the official register, he must explain how taking "local" out of local government by creating far bigger districts will make it better. And before one more waffling press release rolls off his office printer, he must tell all taxpayers precisely how the total cost of implementation will be measured and reported and what everyone will have to pay, regardless of where they live.
If a single shire is forced to merge with a neighbour, both the minister and the Premier will be shown to be liars, but perhaps worse still, if "Monaco" is exempted as a "special case", the odious whiff of hypocrisy will be smelt in council chambers throughout the state."
Another 'Hear, hear' from me!
New Blog Address
I hope everyone has visited this new blog address.
I imported it to a new address because I have a number of blogs and needed to create a totally new profile for my Councillor Blog.
I had a lot of comments, reactions & a few followers on my blog that weren't imported. I hope everyone re-joins my blog and continues to add comments.
