No forced council amalgamations

The post below comes from Mary Jenkins, a West Australian activist who has fought against corrupt pro-developement local governments. From her own experience she has drawn the conclusion that amalgamation of smaller local councils into larger councils and greater intervention by the West Australian government is a means by which this corrupting influence. In a recent newspaper article, Mary Jenkins actually applauded the enforced amalgamations of the Beattie Labor Government. Of course we consider this view to be misguided.

Independent surveying shows local government in Victoria has an approval rating of nearly 80 per cent. These are figures to die for. No other government or large industry could claim such popularity. The community appreciates us, but a small number of misdemeanors unfairly distort public perceptions. Neil suggested Victoria should follow the lead of Queensland and New Zealand and savagely cut the number of councils in order to save millions of dollars. I hate to be churlish, but Neil is about 12 years too late.

Unsurprisingly, Rupert Murdoch's Brisbane Courier Mail newspaper has thrown its voice behind the enforced amalgamations in it's editorial of Saturday 28 July.