On April 3rd, Shellharbour City Council in New South Wales unanimously supported Mayor Kellie Marsh in her opposition to amalgamation.
Shellharbour’s stance was taken in response to the appointment by NSW’s Minister for Local Government, Don Page, of a Local Government Review Panel, which has been set up to investigate, amongst other things, options for governance models and boundary changes. The Panel has been charged with taking into account the NSW Government’s 2011 election policy of no forced amalgamations.
In her Mayoral minutes opposing amalgamation Kellie Marsh states that, “Shellharbour City is a unique area with its own priorities, services and standard of living for residents. In addition, Shellharbour has its own vision and goals for the future and risks losing these in the event of an amalgamation with another Council.
“I believe it is in the best interest of all our residents that Council takes a firm stance against amalgamation for our City.”
Amalgamation is one of the most delicate issues facing councils across Australia, with financial sustainability and accountability the main driver behind the push. It will be interesting to see, as the year unfolds, how those councils intent on resisting amalgamation respond to what many believe is an inevitable consolidation of forces.
