Tag Archives
Council de-amalgamation: Rage Against the Machine
Opinion by Peter Hehir Monday night saw the ALP machine get a well-deserved kick in the teeth and the result was a great win for democracy! The ALP Councillors, voting as a block, as is the ALP caucused custom, were soundly thrashed by a majority of 10 to 5 when their rescission motion; which effectively […]
De-amalgamation vote: The rescission filibuster
Opinion by PETER HEHIR It’s been suggested by those who oppose de-amalgamation that the argument for it, is simply nostalgia or some unsubstantiated notion that smaller is better. This clearly needs to be examined in some detail. Prior to amalgamation Leichhardt was in the top 10% of financially viable councils in NSW. The KPMG report […]
De-amalgamation to go to a vote: The Heat is on…
Opinion by PETER HEHIR At last night’s special council meeting a most extraordinary thing happened. The citizens of the Inner West actually had a victory! On a debate that was at times acrimonious, with the proponents of the embarrassingly and hugely in debt mega council – including Labor mayor Darcy Byrne and his cohorts in […]
“Breaking up the beast”: Inner West residents to be given vote on de-amalgamation
By ALLISON HORE Inner West residents will be polled in the upcoming local council elections asking if they would like to see the Inner West council split up. Ever since the Leichhardt, Marrickville and Ashfield councils were forcibly amalgamated by the NSW Government in 2016, there has been controversy surrounding the decision. But with the […]
De-amalgamate or perish?
Opinion by PETER HEHIR Those of you who have been following my opinion pieces in City Hub over the last two or three years are well aware of my attitude towards politicians in general; and the major political parties in particular. I was an avid supporter, and still am, of the Open Council concept first […]
IPART approves Inner West council’s proposed minimum rates
By ALLISON HORE In a decision which will leave many households out of pocket, the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) have given the Inner West council’s proposed new rates structure the green light. Under the approved plan, rates across the whole Inner West Council area will be harmonised to at least $850 a year […]
Another one bites the dust: Inner West Council GM calls it quits
By ALLISON HORE Following mayor Darcy Byrne's referral of his own council to the auditor general over its handling of the Dawny refurbishment, a senior official in the Inner West Council has decided to call it quits. In an email sent to council staff on Tuesday afternoon, acting general manager of the Inner West Council, […]
The coming storm…
Opinion by PETER HEHIR Toxic soup in the harbour, poisoned air, the amalgamation debacle, the huge debt the Inner West Council has incurred and the inevitability of increased rates begs the question. What is it that you, as a concerned individual, can do? Send the report and the SMH article to as many of your […]
Rates harmonisation winners and losers
By ALLISON HORE Upcoming changes to the way rates are calculated in the Inner West will leave some ratepayers out of pocket up to 20 percent more. Currently there are three rates structures across the Inner West. This disparity comes as a result of the three pre-amalgamation councils- Ashfield Council, Leichhardt Council and Marrickville Council- […]
Inner West Council demerger urged
BY ALEC SMART The newly elected Inner West Council is considering overturning the forced amalgamation that brought three councils together in May 2016, and return them to their constituent parts. At the Inner West Council meeting on 24 October, councillors debated whether to hold a plebiscite on de-amalgamating Inner West Council. The issue was ultimately […]
