The Tasmanian Government’s announcement, in June, that Local Government amalgamations will go ahead, has seen the State’s 29 Councils reduced to fourteen. Six Councils, West Coast, Circular Head, Hobart, Glenorchy, Flinders Island and King Island, remain unchanged, while the remaining 23 will form eight new Councils.
The Minister for Local Government, Denise Swan, has announced elections for the new Councils will take place on 25 August. The new Councils come into being on 1 September 1998.
In the lead up to these elections, the Minister has requested that Councils work with their partners in the new Councils through local transition committees.
She said that a number of Councils and their management teams had moved quickly to initiate transition arrangements.
“These Councils recognise that they can best serve their ratepayers and staff by getting new arrangements in place as quickly as possible,” the Minister said.
Three Metropolitan Councils, Hobart, Glenorchy and Clarence, retain their independent status but have signed an agreement with the State Government that they will establish two new joint authorities.
The Hobart Regional Authority will coordinate policy matters, while a Commercial Services Authority will be responsible for construction, maintenance and waste management.
The Local Government Board had recommended to the Government these three Councils should only continue if they put in place arrangements that would deliver the same benefits that would have arisen from creating a single Council.
The recent announcement of a State Election on 29 August has not affected Council elections. Postal voting for the new Councils will conclude just four days before Tasmanians make a decision on their State Government for the next four years.
