A successful Supreme Court action by three Tasmanian Councils, Devonport, Central Highlands and Southern Midlands, has resulted in the postponement of Council elections scheduled for August.
This has also put on hold Council amalgamations which would have seen Tasmanian Councils reduced from 29 to 14. The Councils’ court action was based on the argument that the State Government had no authority under the Local Government Act 1993 to call elections for ‘proposed municipal areas’.
The Supreme Court’s decision in favour of the Councils, brought down on 5 August, has opened up the amalgamation debate once again. The State Government has announced that it will amend the Act to allow the amalgamations to go ahead, with a new election date set for November 24.
On 29 August, Tasmanians went to the polls to elect their State Government. At the time of printing this result was not available. However, in the lead up to the election the Labor Party has stated that, if it wins Government, any future amalgamations will be voluntary.
