The Australian Services Union has slammed the Tasmanian Government’s Future of Local Government Review Interim Report, saying it “dangerously” creates more questions than it answers.
ASU Vic Tas Branch Secretary, Lisa Darmanin said imposing forced amalgamations of councils and the centralisation of services “risks everything and solves nothing”.
“The government have betrayed their commitment of not forcing amalgamations onto Tasmanian communities. They are telling Tasmanians we can’t be trusted to understand what is best for our own communities. They argue democracy is for the few, not for all,” said Ms Darmanin.
“When we talk to workers and community members, we hear them say the government’s decision to force mergers is a predetermined outcome. The government thinks they can fool Tasmanians by using words like ‘boundary re-draw’ or ‘consolidation’, but these phrases are weasel words.”
“The government is determined to force amalgamation, jamming council regions together to make bigger councils. And Tasmanians are awake to it.”
The Phase 2 interim report states that the majority of Tasmanians believe the state has too many councils for its population.
“Only one-in-three believe the current number is right or that we should have more… Almost half of Tasmanians think things will get worse over the next 20–30 years if there was no change to how councils work. Only 14% think things will get better. The main reasons for this pessimism included councils and councillors not being appropriately equipped to be ‘forward thinking’ and manage future issues, including challenges with population growth and ageing,” the report states.
It continues, “There is very strong support (over 80% state-wide) for councils sharing more services to deliver better outcomes to the community; 80% of Tasmanians do not mind which level of government provides services locally, as long as they are delivered well; People place a high value on councils’ role in providing roads and other infrastructure, but feel this should be improved. This is particularly the case for people living in rural councils, who are on average – less satisfied with their council’s infrastructure management performance.”
Ms Darmanin says less than a third of Tasmanian councils have expressed support for amalgamation.
“Those councils saw what happened in NSW and Victoria when councils were decimated in the name of neo-liberal ‘efficiency’ – the rate hikes, loss of services and jobs, reform costs to the ratepayer, disposal of public assets, and loss of local representation,” she said.
“Many councils have never recovered, and many people in those councils live with entrenched lack of resources and amenity. Council workers saw wage cuts, while a bloated middle and upper management grew ever larger.
“Council workers live, work, and spend in their local communities; they understand better than central committees what people want. Workers tell us if they are forced to travel further for work, in a time of real wage decline and high living expenses, they may have to leave their jobs.”
Ms Darmanin says the quoting of council workers in the report as saying they “would” work for an amalgamated council doesn’t mean they want to.
“It means some have little choice in economies straightened and strangled by amalgamation,” she says.
“Losing council workers in parts of Tasmania would cause economic chaos, ripping through and potentially destroying some towns.
“It will cause devastating and permanent damage to large and small Tasmanian communities, withering their ability to determine their own futures and needs.”
The Tasmanian Government will next move to the third and final stage of the LG review, before releasing a package of reform recommendations which will include a combination of structural change and specific ‘supporting reforms’.
Feedback on the report is open until 21 June, 2023 at submissions.lgboard@dpac.tas.gov.au.
