Councils oppose forced amalgamations in the Inner West

Five inner west Councils have united in their fight against forced amalgamations to ensure their communities fully understand the impact of the State Government’s proposed “Fit for the Future” program.

The Mayors and General Managers of the City of Canada Bay, Ashfield, Burwood, Leichhardt and Marrickville Councils have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to work together to prepare responses for the State Government and to voice their concerns about the potential of forced amalgamations.

The five Councils have been grouped together along with Strathfield Council as part of the State Government’s plans to overhaul local government in NSW. Strathfield Council has not signed the MOU.

“We are doing all that has been asked of us by the State Government in terms of talking to each other, assessing our credentials and talking to our community as best we can – with the limited information we have,” the Mayors said in a joint statement.

Sharing information with the community is key to the Mayors’ aims, as they said the community deserves to be fully informed.

Questions were raised over the impact on rates, contact with local representation and access to Council run community facilities.

“Our communities deserve to know why this is considered the best option… What will the benefits be? We simply do not know as the State Government has not provided this information.”

All six councils are concerned about the lack of information provided and the lack of community involvement in the decision-making process.

“We do not believe a super council will service the needs of our communities and there does not appear to be evidence that such a drastic change will bring cheaper rates and better services,” they said.

“The proposed amalgamation will see a Council looking after 342,000 residents, equating to an average increase of around 300% in the current populations of the inner west Council areas. It will also take in areas stretching from Sydney Airport to Bankstown and Glebe.”

The Councils that signed the MOU strongly oppose forced amalgamations but are undertaking joint research on the economic and social impacts on any move to bring the Councils together.