More than 250 industry representatives attended the launch of the 10-year plan that has resulted from almost four years of consultation and analysis by the WA Local Government Association.

Titled The Journey –Sustainability into the Future, it proposes the creation of a regional system of service delivery that leverages the economies of collective Local Government geographic groups while retaining local Councils to represent the specific interests of their communities.

Unlike sector reform previously recommended by other industry groups, the WALGA plan DOES NOT require any Councils to be amalgamated.

WALGA President Bill Mitchell said even though the process that led to the plan had commenced in 2004, the plan released today would be a draft to enable the sector a further six weeks to provide feedback and comments.

“The plan is predicated on voluntary participation by Local Government as WALGA has maintained that determination of need and action should be the decision of individual Councils and their communities,” Cr Mitchell said. 

“We understand local communities need the opportunity to embrace the need to redress sustainability and commit to the process as any enforced action would have less likelihood of long term success.”

Key research underpinning the plan and uncovered by the review process found that 58% of Local Governments in WA were currently unsustainable on their own source revenue however Cr Mitchell said it did not follow that amalgamations were the solution.

“All the evidence we have found and the experience from reform in other states is that bigger Councils are not necessarily better,” Cr Mitchell said.

“If you have two small problems and you combine them there is the real risk you will just end up with one big problem and nothing would have changed in terms of delivery of value to the community.”

A copy of The Journey –Sustainability into the Future is available for download here.

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