Well, we are told that the end of the process that has been under way for the better part of the last four years is drawing near.
Following the submission of Fit For the Future proposals at the end of June, the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) submitted its assessment of the ‘health’ of each individual council to Cabinet on 16 October. The Minister for Local Government made this report public just four days later.
On the basis of their individual Improvement Proposals (see Palerang Improvement Proposal and Queanbeyan Improvement Proposal), both Palerang and Queanbeyan Councils have been declared financially sustainable, but they have been declared ‘not fit’ because they did not propose to amalgamate (see Palerang Report Summary and Queanbeyan Report Summary). IPART maintained [debatably] that the two councils could save $51 million over the next 20 years if they merged, and that this was more important than the argument presented in favour of remaining independent. In Palerang’s case, the primary issues were the fundamentally different nature of the two councils, one being essentially urban and the other essentially rural, and the difference in population, which would leave Palerang residents with little ability to influence the policies of a merged entity dominated by a significantly larger urban population. These issues will obviously concern some sectors of the Palerang community more than others.
The alternative suggested by the Independent Local Government Review Panel (ILGRP), and supported by Palerang Council, was participation in a regional Joint Organisation (JO) of councils. Palerang’s participation in the Canberra Region JO (formerly the South East Regional Organisation of Councils) already provides access to a number of cost-saving shared services opportunities and, perhaps more significantly, a platform for regional collaboration and higher-level government interaction. Significantly, the JO structure provides both of these benefits that are usually associated with larger organisations while retaining effective local representation.
The IPART report will be on exhibition until 18 November, and councils that have been deemed ‘not fit’ have been ‘encouraged’ to reconsider their position and nominate a merger partner. The Minister has committed to make his decision on the future of all councils before the end of the year.