“I’m terribly disappointed they’ve even put it on paper.

“I can’t believe anyone would even consider tying us up with Greater Taree (City Council) and Gloucester (Shire Council).” 

The comments came in response to the release of a NSW Local Government Review Panel (LGRP) discussion paper that proposes regional councils amalgamate to form “around 20 new look, multi-purpose County Councils.”

Under the proposal Great Lakes Council (GLC) would merge with Greater Taree City Council (GTCC) and Gloucester Shire Council (GSC) to form the Mid Coast County Council with Taree pinpointed as the “major regional centre.”

In the discussion paper, LGRP chairman, professor Graham Sansom, says that while the issue of amalgamation might be “uncomfortable” to deal with, there are simply too many councils (152) in NSW chasing too little revenue.

“The panel makes it clear in the paper that amalgamations and boundary changes are not the panacea for local government’s problems,” professor Sansom said.

“However, many out of date boundaries and structures remain in place today and our (LGRP) terms of reference require that we provide options to address those issues. We believe that amalgamations and boundary changes are an essential element of a wider package of reforms.”

Local government minister Don Page has repeatedly asserted that the state government will not force councils to amalgamate but will support councils who wish to do so voluntarily. According to professor Sansom, change will require councils and communities to “accept the benefits of mergers.”

It’s unlikely that voluntary amalgamations will be embraced by GLC, given Mayor McWilliams vehement opposition to the proposal which has been made even more undesirable given the release of the NSW Treasury Corporation’s (TCorp) review of all 152 local councils on April 19.

The TCorp review found that GLC is the most financially sustainable council on the Mid North Coast in marked contrast to its immediate neighbours GTCC and GSC who were two of just five councils given a “very weak” rating by TCorp, placing them in the bottom 3.3 per cent of councils. 

The LGRP discussion paper also categorises GTCC and GSC as “at risk” of not being sustainable in the medium to long term.

Given these circumstances, mayor McWilliams believes that an amalgamation with either council would be unwarranted and unpractical.

“It (discussion paper) is still only in draft form, so it’s only in suggestive mode, but we’ve all worked so hard: council, the general manager, all our staff, to bring us up to the position we’re in.  It would not be fair or sensible for us to be lumped in with either Greater Taree or Gloucester.”

The LGRP will release its full report in September and are inviting the community to give feedback on its plans at www.localgovernmentreview.nsw.gov.au.