New EMRS figures released yesterday show nearly three-quarters or some 73 per cent of Tasmanians believe there is a need to merge councils in Tasmania.
Tasmanians for Reform Chairperson Mary Massina said the result represented a four per cent increase on the same question asked in May this year and showed the community had well and truly made up its mind on the issue of council mergers.
“What the independent EMRS survey shows is with nearly three quarters of Tasmanians supporting Council mergers, the Tasmanian community has made up its mind on the issue and simply wants
decision makers to get on with the job,” Ms Massina said.
Ms Massina said not only did the figures show increased support for mergers, but a whopping 75 per cent of the community believe 29 councils were too many and a stunning 79 per cent believed 281
Councillors and Aldermen were too many.
“On the issue of there being too many Councils, as well as Alderman and Councillors, there has been a strong increase since the May polling, with rises of 10 and 12 per cent respectively to 75 per cent and 79 per cent,” Ms Massina said.
“However it doesn’t stop there, with the polling also showing 73 per cent of the community believe Councils will save money if they merge,” Ms Massina said.
“As they say in the classics there are a lovely set of numbers, and on every indicator be it numbers of councils, numbers of elected officials, benefits from mergers and the need of mergers, the response is the same – an overwhelming majority just say ‘do it.’
“In addition, not one single indicator supporting the status quo shows was above 20 per cent, with undecided figures ranging between five and nine per cent, compared to a statewide voting intention undecided rate of some 24 per cent.”
“These results reflect the community’s current attitude and make the case for local government reform simply too compelling to ignore,” Ms Massina said.
“These latest figures are hardly surprising considering the recent Deloitte Access Economics report that revealed efficiency gains of up to 35 per cent of council operating expenses can be achieved from local government reform in Tasmania,” Ms Massina said.
Tasmanians for Reform is now the largest of its kind in Tasmanian history, with peak organisations representing chemists, car dealers, plumbers, hoteliers, real estate agents, small businesses, hair dressers and butchers, just to name a few.
Download the EMRS report:
TFR_EMRS_Nov_11_Figures.pdf
