Following today's NSW Cabinet meeting (Thursday 12 May), the Minister for Local Government, Paul Toole, has announced that a merger of Great Lakes, Gloucester and Greater Taree will go ahead forming a Mid-Coast Council with effect from today.
It is clear that the feelings of the majority of the local community counted for nought in this decision. Our submissions appear to have been ignored.
If there exists a justification for this decision it could only be ideological because, on the basis of the available evidence, it is not in anyway logical. The identified disadvantages to ordinary community members and rate-payers far out-weighed the claimed benefits.
Already, as the result of constraints placed by the NSW Government upon all councils that were potentially subject to a merger, the quality of service being provided to the local community has noticeably declined. Key staff positions are not being replaced. Much of the attention of senior Council staff has been drawn away from normal Council business to deal with the prospective merger. We can expect such distractions to continue. The Council is likely to be dysfunctional for years as the merger process proceeds.
The only benefit claimed in the so-called business case for the merger was a possible saving of 1% of combined budget. The likelihood of any benefits flowing from that potential saving to residents of the Great Lakes region is miniscule considering the extent of infrastructure backlogs in Gloucester and Greater Taree.
The Premier, Mike Baird said that:
The most comprehensive local government reform in more than 100 years will result in 19 new councils beginning operations from today. Administrators and interim general managers have been appointed to each of the new councils, which will not hold their elections until September next year - 12 months later than those not being merged.
Reducing waste and red tape through local government mergers could free up close to $2 billion over the next 20 years, allowing councils to fund better services and new infrastructure for communities or lower rates.
However the savings claimed for the new "Mid-Coast" Council over that time frame are, at best, $30million.
Also uncertain, at this stage, are the implications for MidCoast Water.
The Councillors of the three former councils have been dismissed and former State National Party member for Myall Lakes, John Turner, has been appointed as administrator for Mid-Coast Council. The interim general manager is Great Lakes' GM Glenn Handford. The deputy general managers of the new council are Ron Posselt (Taree) and Danny Green (Gloucester).
The former Great Lakes Council was deemed to be performing adequately and "fit for the future" so it is disappointing to find that we are now "in administration". Democracy seems to have considered, for now, a dispensible option. And when elections are eventually held in 16 months time, it has been decided that there will be eleven Councillors without wards. For a population of more than 90,000 that means more than 8000 people per councillor. Under this arrangement it is likely to be difficult for areas in the south and west of the new council area to have their voices heard. It will be easy for the new Council to be dominated by the larger population centres of Taree and Forster/Tuncurry.
