Amalgamation Is That The Question?

Click here for more information on Madeleine Ogilvie MP Shadow Local Government

From Tasmania Times: "Gutwein let Glenorchy community down by ignoring council Madeleine Ogilvie MP Shadow Local Government and Planning Minister 27.01.17 3:12 pm 

 Minister sat on his hands while things fell apart 

 Glenorchy residents deserved better 

 Minister must answer questions around costs of inquiry 

Local Government Minister Peter Gutwein should have acted months ago on the Glenorchy City Council to help mediate in the best interests of ratepayers. .................... Shadow Local Government Minister Madeleine Ogilvie said while it was clear to even the most casual observer that the council was not doing the best for its ratepayers, Mr Gutwein watched from the sidelines in the style typical of the hands-off Hodgman Government. .................... “My sympathies lay with Glenorchy residents who deserve a Minister who can help deliver a functional council,” Ms Ogilvie said. eing met. .................... “As Minister responsible for all councils, he should have been around the table attempting to sort out the problems and helping the council mediate. .................... “But – once again after the debacle of the Huon Valley Council – he has shown he is totally incapable of good management of local government, which is very important to the individual strengths of local communities. .................... “Now that he has asked the council to show the government why it should not be suspended, Minister Gutwein needs to tell Glenorchy ratepayers how much money has been wasted on inquiries to get to this point. .................... “And once again he needs to be honest with Tasmanians and tell them if this move, like the move on Huon, is the first step toward forced council amalgamations.” .... - See more at: http://tasmaniantimes.com/index.php/press-releases/#sthash.HiPb7AXA.dpuf

eMAIL The Shadow Minister madeleine.ogilvie@parliament.tas.gov.au

EDITORS NOTE:  Ms Ogilvie needs to take a longer look and a more proactive stance in regard to what’s happening in Local Govt. in Tasmania. The first thing to acknowledge is that the Tasmanian Local Govt. Act 1993 is way past its use-by-date. It is an enormous and cumbersome (clumsy and dysfunctional!) document that's been patched up and repatched. This has gone on for far too long and now that it is the 21^st Century it’s time for a local governance model that fits 21^st C circumstances.

Then there is the number of councils in the State. It’s said over and over that 29 councils is too many for the size of Tasmania’s population but it turns out that too many people are reliant upon ratepayers largess for them to be advocates for anything other than more, and more of the same. 

It’s said that there is something like $2.3 Billion  spent in Local Govt. in Tasmania that could and should be better spent. We are unlikely to see that argument advanced by the present recipients of ratepayers’ largess. However, Tasmanians cannot afford for it to go on.

Ms Ogilvie also needs to look at the current patched up Act very closely and see where it devolves far too much power to the operational component of local government.

The objections to ‘forced amalgamations’ are pretty much all to do with the loss of representation, local representation that is. However there is/are models where that can be retained and in fact the current Act does not deliver ‘local representation’ in practice or a real and practical sense – and especially so when councillors/aldermen get sidelined.

In 1990 a delegation from Launceston went to New Zealand to explore what that country had done and much was learnt. However, too many had too much at stake, rather too much to lose, and nothing of substance came of it eventually and rates keep getting higher and so on and so on!

NSW and South Australia use Citizens Assemblies (Juries?) to include ‘the electorate’ in the exploration of new concepts, contentious ideas, etc. to break stalemates and that’s an idea that deserves support.Perhaps this time round, the dysfunctionalism might just galvanize someone into meaningful action.