The Government has annouced today its reform proposals reduce number of local governments from 30 to 15 Fremantle and Melville kept separate but expanded After consultation, Minister lodges boundary proposals to strengthen local governments to cope with Perth’s growth.
The City of Melville and the City of Fremantle will remain separate identities with expanded boundaries, most of Mount Lawley will stay within the City of Stirling, and North Fremantle will remain part of Fremantle under the State Government’s boundary reform proposals formally lodged with the Local Government Advisory Board (LGAB) today.
The proposals, which incorporate feedback received from the community and local governments since July, also show the northern part of the City of Cockburn included in Fremantle and Melville, the high-growth northern part of the Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale joining the City of Armadale, and the southern part joining the Shire of Murray.
The proposals halve the number of metropolitan local governments in Perth from 30 to 15. Local Government Minister Tony Simpson said the changes made to the original maps that were released in July, demonstrated the Government had listened to community feedback. “It’s a sign of a flexible and consultative Government that we have listened to these views and taken suggestions on board,” Mr Simpson said.
“We’ve invested four months in refining our preferred model and now it’s over to the LGAB to gather input from local governments and communities and conduct a thorough review to make final recommendations to me next year.” The independent board will assess all proposals it receives, taking into account the financial and community implications as set out in the Local Government Act. The LGAB is expected to start its formal inquiry in December and report back to the Minister with its recommendations by mid-2014. The Minister may accept or reject the board’s recommendation for change but cannot amend it.
“Reform is happening. The local government sector is ready for it. I’m pleased to witness the work being done by mayors, presidents and CEOs behind the scenes to progress it. They’ve opened their minds to plan for the future of their districts,” Mr Simpson said.
“The easiest option is to do nothing. But with our population set to grow by 500,000 in the metropolitan area over the next 13 years, we must, no question about it, strengthen our councils. This will give them the capacity to plan for and implement the extra facilities and services to cope with that growth.”
In summary, the new model proposes:
- An expanded City of Perth, including the City of Vincent
- Local governments consisting of:
- The high growth City of Gosnells and the City of Canning
- The City of Bayswater and the Town of Bassendean
- The City of Belmont and the Shire of Kalamunda
- The City of South Perth and the Town of Victoria Park
- The City of Swan and the Shire of Mundaring
- The City of Kwinana with the City of Cockburn, shifting the northern border of the City of Cockburn further south
- Retaining the City of Fremantle with the suburb of North Fremantle and the Town of East Fremantle
- Expanding the City of Melville to take in parts of the City of Cockburn, the City of Fremantle and the City of Canning
- Seven local governments (Cambridge, Claremont, Cottesloe, Mosman Park, Nedlands, Peppermint Grove and Subiaco) in the western suburbs into one, plus the suburbs of Wembley Downs, Churchlands and part of Woodlands
- Retaining part of Mt Lawley, including the aquatic centre and golf club, in the City of Stirling
- Shifting the City of Armadale southern boundary to take in the high growth urban areas of the Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale
- Shifting the Shire of Murray border northwards to take in the rural areas of the Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale
- No changes to the boundaries for the cities of Rockingham, Wanneroo and Joondalup
The impact of these proposed changes to SES Units and Volunteers is yet to be determined. However the SESVA has written to the Premier expressing the concern of SES Volunteers. Also SESVA, on behalf of its members, request that they be involved in discussions by Government departments on this matter, to ensure the current level of service delivery to the community is either maintained or improved.
