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Govt: Forced Council Amalgamations Off the Agenda
Media release – Jeremy Rockliff, Premier; Nic Street, Minister for Local Government, 16 July 2023
No forced amalgamations
The Rockliff Liberal Government is taking action to end the fear and uncertainty over the future of Local Governments across Tasmania.
“There will be no forced amalgamations,” Premier Jeremy Rockliff said.
“We have listened to the concerns of Tasmanians and councils, and I want to end their fear and uncertainty today.
“The Local Government Review Board is continuing their important work, but I want to make it clear, this will not result in forced amalgamations.
“Communities and councils will decide their own future.”
Local Government Minister Nic Street said different communities have different needs, and the Government’s process will ensure they have the final say.
“Today, I want to provide some comfort to Tasmanians by outlining the pathway that we will follow when the Board hands down its final report on October 31,” Mr Street said.
“Each council will be invited to review the final report and make a submission to Government, about what they want.
“Any plans agreed by councils will be taken to the community for a vote, to ensure it has community support to go ahead. There will be no changes unless both the council and community want them.
“I am confident that some councils will be eager to participate in this process, while others will not. But, importantly, it is for councils and communities to determine and they will have the final say, but with the benefit of the extensive work that has been undertaken by the Board.”
“We commenced this review of local government in good faith and for all the right reasons, I do not want to see rates rises of 10 per cent or more become the new normal because councils can’t cover their costs.
“Labor and the unions have tried their best to derail this process with fear mongering, and I won’t have that. This should be about what is best for local communities, which is what is informing our approach.”
Minister Street said the level of community engagement and research undertaken by the Board had been exceptional, and their final report would provide a strong foundation for the future of local government in Tasmania.
“The Board has shown great leadership in this process to provide options to strengthen the local government sector and ensure it delivers for all Tasmanians,” Minister Street said.
“This will ensure we can build a system of local Government that can both seize the opportunities and meet the challenges we will face in the decades to come.”
Media release – Luke Edmunds MLC, Shadow Minister for Local Government, 16 July 2023
Weak Premier abandons signature reform to save his political skin
Premier Jeremy Rockliff’s decision to abandon his signature reform to local government is nothing more than a see-through attempt to save his own political skin as community discontent with his shambolic government grows by the day.
The only fear and uncertainty he’s responded to in making this decision is his own fear and uncertainty about his plummeting popularity – including inside the Liberal Party.
It was clear from Labor’s wide engagement with councils that people, especially in regional areas, had genuine fears about losing their local voice.
If the Premier and Local Government Minister Nic Street had really been listening to the community, their grand plans for forced amalgamations would have been scrapped a long time ago.
Instead, they’ve dragged this process to a point that is has cost the taxpayer more than $3 million, which now might as well have been thrown down the drain.
Ever since Local Government Minister Nic Street infamously told Leon Compton that his desire for amalgamations wasn’t about reducing rates for ratepayers, it’s been clear this reform was being driven by the wrong priorities.
Instead of tackling the real issues facing local government, Street and Rockliff turned the whole discussion into one about lines on a map.
If it wasn’t obvious the Premier was planning an election before, this clearing of the decks makes his intentions abundantly clear.
*Local Government Minister Nic Street on Leon Compton on ABC radio on April 20: “The one thing you will not hear me promise, Leon, is that amalgamations will reduce rates for ratepayers because that simply is not the case. And it’s not been the experience anywhere. We’re not talking about reducing rates … for me this has never been about cost cutting for ratepayers.”
Media release – Josh Willie MLC, Member for Elwick, 17 July 2023
Premier in name only as political capital runs dry
The Premier abandoning his signature local government reform yesterday was the clearest message yet that his political capital has run dry.
When Jeremy Rockliff first sat in Peter Gutwein’s premier’s chair last year, he promised an ambitious reform agenda.
While this was broadly welcomed, questions were asked whether he was up to the job.
A year later, the answer has been revealed – and it’s a resounding no.
Since he took the reins, the hallmarks of Premier Rockliff’s government have been in-fighting, ineptitude and inaction.
His government is achieving so little, that it has only introduced 14 bills to parliament this year, with just eight being passed.
Now, it looks like the Liberal Right has taken control and completely sidelined his reform agenda, which begs the question – what’s Michael Ferguson going to make Rockliff scrap next?
After 10 years in office the Liberals’ fuel gauge is on empty and Jeremy Rockliff is premier in name only.
Will he have enough in the tank to limp to the next election, or will Ferguson wrestle the wheel off him for the last leg of the Liberals’ journey?
Media release – Local Government Association of Tasmania (LGAT), 16 July 2023
Local government association welcomes the Government’s commitment to no forced amalgamations
The Local Government Association of Tasmania (LGAT) welcomes the announcement today by the Minister for Local Government, Nic Street, that the Government will not be forcing any council amalgamations on Tasmanian communities.
To ensure that community voices are heard, the reform process must be collaborative with councils and communities. It must work to understand what councils are delivering well, the challenges they face and importantly, take the time to understand community needs. Forcing amalgamations against local community wishes will not achieve this.
LGAT President and Break O’Day Mayor, Mick Tucker, said that “the commitment by the Minister today to work with interested councils and their communities through the next stages of reform will ensure the process delivers the appropriate change that is in the best interests of individual local areas.”
“Local government reform should focus on delivering what communities need in a sustainable way. The best way to do this is to create a more robust and capable system of local government,” he said.
“Designing new boundaries and shared services requires time and resources. The transition process must be very carefully managed. The commitment from the Minister today to support this process is very welcomed and responds to a number of concerns our sector has been raising,” Mayor Tucker said.
We look forward to supporting Tasmanian councils as they navigate this process and welcome the opportunity to collaborate with the State Government to get this right.
Media release – Rosalie Woodruff MP, Acting Greens Leader, 16 July 2023
Greens Welcome Forced Mergers Decision
The Greens welcome the State Government’s decision to rule out any forced amalgamation of local councils. The Government shouldn’t drop the ball at this point, and needs to keep working on common sense reforms to keep councils sustainable.
Forcing a change to democratic representation in local government, against the majority view of a community, was always going to be resisted – and rightly so. Ruling out forced mergers is a fairly unsurprising – though overdue – step from the Premier considering the widespread backlash to his approach.
Tasmanians value their communities in all their diversities. People were understandably concerned about the loss of local voices by pushing smaller councils under the umbrella of bigger ones. Having councillors who are connected to, and understand, the community they represent is deeply important to most Tasmanians.
The value of strong local communities has been writ large in the response to bushfires and Covid in recent years. There is important work to be done to ensure councils are in a position to increase support for community resilience, as well as delivering other essential services at rates everyone can afford.
The future sustainability of Local Government, through these reforms, is in significant part now in the hands of the Liberals.
Communities and the Local Government Board have already identified many issues that can be improved without resorting to forced mergers. We encourage the Minister to commit whatever support is needed to make these improvements a reality.
Media release – PMAT, 16 July 2023
Government commitment on Council mergers a welcome relief
Premier Jeremy Rockliff’s new commitment that no councils in Tasmania will be forced to amalgamate with their neighbours is a welcome development in a Local Government Review process that has stoked community concern and a widespread campaign to protect the integrity of local government representation and planning decision making, said the Planning Matters Alliance of Tasmania (PMAT) today.
PMAT has held nine public meetings around the state and directly heard the concerns of the community, councillors and council staff about the direction the review process was heading.
“This is a welcome announcement from Premier Rockliff and we know there will be palpable relief in communities across Tasmania,” said Sophie Underwood, State Director of PMAT.
“While it’s a shame the review process created so much community concern and uncertainty, this announcement will offer some relief.”
“Experience interstate is that forced council mergers deliver poor outcomes for communities and local democracy. The meetings PMAT held across the state heard community concerns about the loss of local representation, the sell off of council assets, dismissal of staff and loss of local identity and local decision making.
“Similarly, local councils retaining the role of Planning Authority and making decisions on development proposals is widely seen as critical to retaining local character, independence and genuine community input.
“A past Government decision in April 2023 to defer a decision to remove planning decisions from councils was also very welcome and combined with today’s announcement, takes much of the angst and concern about this review process away.
The future of the Local Government Review process, and what it will now seek to achieve, is however now unclear in the wake of this decision.
“PMAT will continue to be vigilant to ensure Councils are not forced to amalgamate (with any amalgamations based on an elector poll run by the Tasmanian Electoral Commission) and that planning remains within Local Government” said Sophie Underwood, State Director of PMAT.
Peter McGlone of the Tasmanian Conservation Trust also states that “No forced amalgamations is a victory for local democracy and community voice. The Government needs to admit it’s deceptive process caused the conflict”.
Media release – Australian Services Union, 18 July 2023
Tasmania’s Local Government Review is no excuse for centralisation of services
Tasmanians will remember with unease the decision to centralise water and sewerage services from councils to TasWater.
A decade later, communities are still suffering poor utility quality and higher water bills.
Yet the Rockcliff government is now contemplating the very same approach to local council services, as it struggles to find a way to save its moribund Local Government Review.
Centralising services is a direct threat to local jobs and decision making. It moves management into remote and out-of-touch offices in the cities, and local knowledge is lost.
Whether it is planning or scheduling roads maintenance, local insight and experience can’t be replaced by a group of executives in Salamanca thinking they know better than local Tasmanian communities.
The Local Government Review has failed. Failed to address the challenges of our local government. Failed to understand the critical need for a workforce plan to address wages and conditions and skill shortages. It should be abandoned.