Come together: Is 'amalgamation' a dirty word? Or can they enhance the skills base of a council? PWPro investigates.
By Jill Park
As of 1 January 2014 four Queensland shires returned to the boundaries that were in place at the time of the amalgamation process in 2008. Of the 19 applications, to date only Douglas, Livingstone, Mareeba and Noosa have de-amalgamated.
Some may say that Queensland’s council amalgamation process has been a cautionary tale. Yet council amalgamations are still firmly on the agenda in Western Australia, New South Wales and Tasmania at the moment.
History of amalgamations
Queensland undertook council amalgamations in 2008. Although the amalgamations took place under the Bligh premiership, they were a legacy of the Beattie government whose Local Government Reform Committee had recommended Queensland’s 156 councils be reduced to 72.
The issue was placed firmly back on the table by the Liberal National Party in Queensland when upon returning to power on 24 March 2012, it invited submissions from former shires to de-amalgamate.
Victoria went through the process even earlier in the 1990s when the Kennett government reduced local government from 210 to 78 councils.
Council experience
Monash Council is one of the most populous communities in Melbourne with 182,485 people living in more than 65,500 dwellings. The council was formed from the amalgamation of the City of Waverley and most of the City of Oakleigh in 1994.
Monash Mayor Paul Klisaris admitted that there was a degree of uncertainty about how the amalgamation would work, but the result has been stability.
“I think overall it’s been a great period of growth and stability since amalgamation and we’ve been able to improve facilities for our community,” he says.
Following the amalgamation, the council determined in February 2002 that it would replace the old Clayton Fitness Centre and Library/Auditorium with the Clayton Community Centre. The $24.2 million Centre officially opened in May 2008.
“The Clayton Community Centre is an outstanding example of the large scale investment that can come from being a larger council with more resources,” says Mayor Klisaris.
Chief Population Forecaster at ID, Matthew Deacon points out that historically a lot of smaller municipalities in Victoria used to resource share.
“Three or four councils would negotiate a rubbish bin contract, or something like that, to try and get the best deal,” he says.
“Obviously, the ability for smaller places to do that is still something that you can do without having to amalgamate your councils, but it is obviously a step on the path to doing that.”
Community impact
Council amalgamations can have a big impact on a community, especially in the regions where local government can be one of the big employers.
“They are the cornerstone of the community,” says Deacon. “Once these people are no longer in that area, those towns, they struggle.”
Ultimately amalgamating councils is a politically-loaded move, Deacon argues. He points to the WA experience where the focus has been on the metropolitan councils. Plans to amalgamate councils in WA were ended in February when ratepayers in East Fremantle, Kwinana and South Perth voted against them.
Council amalgamations can have their benefits, but they are not always the best, or only, option. Queensland’s experience should be taken as a cautionary tale. Councils should have a say in the future of their region. Without an element of buy in, the future of an amalgamation is never going to be certain.