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WA government drops local government reform

  • February 16, 2015

WA government drops local government reform

The progress of three key local government reforms in WA has stalled following a surprise backdown by the state government.

Premier Barnett has signalled that the merger of metropolitan councils in Perth, which was set to cut the total number from 30 to 14, is now on hold.

The government’s policy reversal was sparked by a failure to get support for the amalgamations in ratepayer polls in affected councils. This precipitated the WA Local Government Association withdrawing its support for reform. A backbench revolt in State Parliament also weighed on the Premier’s u-turn on local government reform.

Consequently, a number of council boundary expansions due to take effect on July 1 now appear unlikely to proceed.

Thirdly, the fate of a proposal to create a City of Perth Act is unclear, however it may be the sole reform option salvaged from the now largely shelved agenda.

All three reforms were strongly supported by the property sector in WA and the Property Council is an active participant in the long-running reform process.

“Derailing local government reform runs the significant risk of destabilising the property industry in WA,” said Property Council WA executive director Joe Lenzo.

“Residential development is a major driver of the state’s economy and to undermine the viability of this industry will have profound implications for housing affordability and employment.

“Abandoning reform at this stage is liable to send local planning and building approval processes backwards and rob local economic centres of the support they need,” he said.

“The Property Council is calling on the State Government to keep to its promise of delivering on local government reform. Boundary changes and the new City of Perth Act are still on the table as viable reforms.

“However the Property Council will also move quickly to chart an alternative course in delivering local government reform outcomes like a common development language and consistent interpretation of planning policies, amongst the 140 local governments in WA”.