The independent research, commissioned by the WA Local Government Association, also found that the community is adamant it wants to be both consulted and have a vote on any proposed amalgamation.

Conducted by research consultancy Knowledge, more than 1250 West Australians were randomly surveyed from across the State.

Key findings were that almost half those people surveyed (48%) had an interest in the Local Government reform process while 74% believed that the process should consider alternatives to amalgamations of Councils.

Of those surveyed, 63% agreed that the State Government should not force Councils to amalgamate and they overwhelmingly (83%) wanted to have a vote on any amalgamation proposed for their Local Government.

WALGA President, Cr Bill Mitchell said the large sample size, with its high level of confidence, and that the survey was conducted independently, demanded that the findings be given due credence.

“This survey demonstrates that the community is interested and more importantly wants to have a say in the future of their Councils,” Cr Mitchell said.

“It is encouraging that they want to get involved and are not stuck believing that amalgamations are the only option for better Local Government”.

Those surveyed were asked a series of questions on their opinions. Responses to key questions are as follows.

	Agree	Unsure	Disagree
Interested in Local Government Reform Process	48%	31%	21%
I want to be consulted by my Council before any decision to amalgamate with another Council	75%	15%	10%
The community should get a vote on any proposed amalgamation of their Council	83%	12%	5%
The reform process should look at other ways to improve Local Government other than amalgamations	74%	20%	6%
My Council should amalgamate with one of our neighbours	21%	36%	43%
The State Government should not force Councils to amalgamate	63%	24%	13%

As to the validity of the results, the survey has a 2.75% error rate at a 95% confidence level. This means that if the entire population of WA had been surveyed, there is a 95% likelihood that those results would be within 2.75% of the research findings.

ends