NSW NSW Council Mergers

I'm in Canada Bay, not overly happy about merging with Auburn. I hear their mayors throw some good parties though

 

We disagree with this at blacktown council. The IPART report doesnt take into consideration the extreme growth we are currently experiencing here.

 

Ha. The sooner Blacktown council is gone the better, corrupt bunch of crooks.

 

I think the term "corrupt" and "incompetent" get confused often. They aren't all corrupt they just make bad choices

A classic was Innisfail council (was proven corrupt some years ago however) after the last cyclone received government relief money to rebuild etc they spent $250k on a grand piano for the council office foyer! The town is still a shothole! A neighbouring town rebuilt their main street and the place looks great and m now gets the travellers stopping there for lunch etc rather than bigger Innisfail

 

Agree

That's one thing I constantly come across as well. Council makes a decision someone in the community doesn't like, so they must be "corrupt". Nah, you just didn't get the result you wanted, but someone else did.

It's like community consultation, sometimes you get two opposing groups. If one of them doesn't get their way then they weren't consulted with. They were. Their concerns were just balanced against other concerns and specialist reports. Consultation does not equal you getting your own way all the time.

 

No confusion. Blacktown council has had corruption allegations levelled against them for years, which is a different issue to their long standing incompetence.

 

I am genuinely interested what type of corruption charges were levelled against them. Do you have anything to read on this?

 

The latest was this: http://www.blacktownsun.com.au/story/240699/blacktown-council-refutes-maladministration-challenge/

 

Latest news... The Botany Bay/Rockdale one doesnt look too sensible geographically. And while it may make sense for Parramatta to take parts of the Hills and Hornsby from below the M2, (good that Epping town centre will have one council managing it going forward!) North Epping is North of the M2 but can only be accessed from south of the M2. Will it stay in Hornsby or moved with the rest of Epping to Parramatta?
(Also in my mind Auburn and Holroyd are more "Parramatta-ish" than where I am.... but that's just historical snobbery.)

Council mergers: Baird government reveals which Sydney councils will change | smh.com.au

 

Dee Why and Mosman to become part of Manly council. I have an IP in Dee Why and every year they send me two parking stickers, I give one to the tenant and keep the other one. Pretty happy to be getting free parking in Manly and Balmoral beaches. Not complaining.

 

Good to see some action happening

Couple of things I noticed from the map


The hills and hawksbury is a big merger and fairly different areas with the hills development of the last 10 years, and hawkesbury has remained more rural. I'd think let them stand alone. Could make some jokes about hawkesbury but not today
Also mosman I'd think would better match in with willo /nth Syd rather than manly.

 

This is being done 2 reduce corruption.

 

@AndrewTDP you know any stats or cases on actual corruption in the last couple of years? Surely that's just a public perception

 

No corruption here

 

Merging local councils in Qld seems to have worked out OK. Most opposition has been in the rural/regional areas, where people in small country towns felt disenfranchised/ignored after being amalgamated with councils based in larger regional towns.

 

I too find the Mosman / Manly merger as difficult (across the Spit). Nth Sydney/Willoughby ok but business centric, lower north shore, inner-west, Eastern suburbs & Bayside look good too.

 

Parramatta, Holroyd and Auburn should form 1 council.

 

Based on the current merger news it may be worth meeting with mr Mehajer to find out where he owns in holroyd and I'll make a purchase or two in the same street.

 

@Arnoldus the smaller country towns and shires have a different relationship with their councils. The staff would be entirely made up of locals and a lot of long term employees. Probably population <20,000, I'd think "like" their council. Once the pop. get larger it becomes more of a numbers game, rates and higher turn over of staff. Plus it's a lot of gossip that goes on, which fuels the fires and the accuracy and miss information doesn't help anyone.
Some areas with population declining and agriculture becoming more automated they are moving to more "hub" towns with the infrastructure so it's still there just not stagnating in each town.

Around NSW and other states I believe, they are working together to get better bang for buck and working together with pressuring the gub. Central NSW had centroc, I know they got together for sewer relining and packaged up work together rather than dribs and drabs. They save on getting crews to the areas and Also better rates by combining their work together for materials

 

Some people reckon it was spilt this way to make Parramatta a safe Liberal seat. The traditionally less desirable* parts of what I regard as the traditional Parramatta region (Wentworthville etc) will, as I understand it, end up being in the Holroyd/Auburn council, which won't have any proper centre of business thanks to Parramatta also taking over the corridor to Sydney Olympic Park which used to belong to Auburn. And in addition, Parramatta picks up desirable parts of the Hills and Hornsby. I think Parramatta's moving East it seems...

*Complete respect to property owners near to Parramatta... the capital growth has been absolutely phenomenal, possibly the strongest growth of Sydney imo and everyone who bought there before the last boom or early in the boom has made an absolute killing. Simple fibro/weatherboard houses more than doubling.... unbelievable.