Cutting councils in the West

A once-in-a-century shakeup of local government in Western Australia is likely to see a swathe of shires stretching from the Northern Territory border to the Southern Ocean erased forever from the State's political map, WA Today reports. The revelation means a legion of candidates elected in the upcoming October 17 local government elections will not serve out their full four-year terms. A list of condemned councils, penned by the powerful Local Government Reform Steering Committee and obtained by WAtoday.com.au, will see the State's least sustainable shires, cities and towns culled.

The committee was hand-picked by Local Government Minister John Castrilli. The Department of Local Government has already told at least 45 shires on the secret list that amalgamation is "required". WA has 139 councils and is the last state in Australia to embark on significant local government reform.

The result is, predictably, turf warfare with a localised outbreak between the Cities of Stirling and Swan and the City of Bayswater. Stirling and Swan councils have teamed up against the City of Bayswater after the council "secretly" lodged a submission to Local Government Reform taskforce asking for a reduction in the larger councils' electorates. The State Government is looking to reduce the number of councils and make them more sustainable and efficient as part of its voluntary reforms. The city's submission proposed a merger with the Town of Bassendean and moving their eastern, western and northern boundaries to take in 14 of Swan's and Stirling's suburbs combined.

Meanwhile country shire councils, afraid of the State Government's plans for local government reform and possible forced amalgamations, have flooded the Department of Local Government with their submissions. Local Government Minister John Castrilli said more than 115 submissions had already been received, with more still coming in even though the State Government had initially imposed an August 31 deadline.

Mr Castrilli, who had been chastised earlier in the year for his "amalgamate or else" stance, said many local councils had highlighted potential areas for reform and had displayed enthusiasm about the strategic benefits that lay ahead. There are 85 local councils in WA serving populations of less than 2000 people, and Mr Castrilli believes the benefits from amalgamations across the state, including metropolitan Perth, would be very significant.

The Labor Opposition has, predictably, joined in, with the Member for the South West, Nigel Hallett, and the Member for the Agricultural region, Max Trenorden, releasing a report casting doubt over the benefits of amalgamations. The MPs travelled to South Australia and Queensland to research the implications of council amalgamations and concluded the process is often expensive and unneccessary. Mr Trenorden says they found some councils should have remained unaltered.