Across NSW local councils of all political persuasions have been successfully resisting the NSW Government’s Fit for the Future (FFF) forced amalgamations agenda. In doing so, they are defending grassroots democracy. All parties in the NSW Parliament except the Liberals and Nationals have spoken out against forced amalgamations.
Greens policy is to resist forced amalgamations: clause 34 of the Local Government Policy is to require a referendum in each affected council area to decide to amalgamate. Most councils are standing firm and not putting their hand up for ‘voluntary’ amalgamations. So what can the Minister do if he does not get ‘volunteers’?
What risk is there really to councils/councillors of not amalgamating?
Some councils have been told that their council will be sacked if they do not voluntarily amalgamate. This has very little basis in either fact or law.
The Minister cannot just sack councils who do not hop to his Fit for the Future agenda. He has only limited powers to sack councils under the Local Government Act 1993:
- Under Chapter 9, Part 2 Division 6 the Minister can declare all a council’s civic offices vacant only after considering the results of a special public inquiry (s438U) which reports to Parliament (the IPART, Sansom etc reports do not count). In reality this is something more like a Parliamentary inquiry or ICAC inquiry than something that happens lightly.
- The Minister can dissolve council areas (s212) – but again only after a public inquiry (the IPART, Sansom etc reports do not count).
- The Minister can suspend a council (s438I) if it’s necessary to restore the proper or effective functioning of the council – but there can be no amalgamations or alterations (s438T) to the area during such a suspension, so it is not relevant here.
- The Governor, on advice from the Minister, can amalgamate council areas (s218A) but only after:
- The Minister, the Council or at least 10% of affected local residents resolve to make an application for amalgamation (council must give its own public notice periods, take submissions, etc);
- The Minister has given public notice and received formal representations from the local area(s); and
- The Minister has received a report from the Boundaries Commission (this requires extensive polling and numerous public hearings, and the Commission must consider attitude of residents amongst other things) and the Department.
Each of these options engages local residents in extensive public consultation, which would attract media attention and strong local campaigns. It cannot happen by fiat.
The current status of ‘Fit for the Future’
The Government has asked the NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) to determine criteria for assessment of councils’ financial positions, and submissions on the methodology remain open until 25 May. This office is drafting a submission on behalf of the Greens NSW. Almost all councils are doing this as well.
Following this process, presumably IPART will assess councils, and then there will be further pressure to amalgamate. However there is unlikely to be anything legally enforceable that gets around the requirements for extensive public consultation before councils can be forced to amalgamate.
In short, unless councils volunteer to amalgamate themselves it is a very hard and damaging road for the NSW Government to travel if they want to force amalgamations on local councils. So please stay strong!