Size matters

Queenslander!

Andrew Fraser illustrates more concerns about council amalgamations.

"One of the reasons the Queensland Government cut the number of councils in the state from 156 to 72 was to give them size and clout to cope with development pressures."

Both NSW and Victoria have been through the sort of amalgamation process Queensland is now facing.

In NSW, the director of the Centre for Local Government at the University of New England, Brian Dollery, says that as a rule, local government is coping with these challenges of substantial population growths "with difficulty".

Dollary is sceptical about if "big is better". He also questions if the changing of responsibility for deciding land use, the main function of local government, to state government will address the problem.

So am I.

UPDATE:

Friends of Noosa have questioned Premier Bligh's pledge that will "protect building heights, vegetation and signage plus everything else Noosa wants will be included in the legislation".

So far their essential requirements have been ignored in the draft legislation. Looks like a sign of things to come. It is a dog of a policy and a dog's breakfast of legislation.

They have a list of Council Amalgamation myths worth reading also.