The Local Government Board recently released an Options Paper on the future of local government in Tasmania. Local councils are in for a shake-up within the year with amalgamations and compulsory resource sharing again on the agenda.
“Because of our geographical isolation and not directly bordering other councils it would be extremely impractical to amalgamate King Island Council with any other,” Mr Blackie said.
However, Mr Blackie said, councillor numbers could be reduced in future. Residents of King Island , as well as the rest of the state’s 29 councils should know within six months just what local council representation will look like. Mr Blackie said he was proud to say the council was financially sound, so not vulnerable on that front.
“Overall I am not concerned at this stage about possible amalgamations. “Shared service nodes are clearly the desired way forward, but we are already doing that with Service Tasmania, so again is nothing new to us.
“Similarly, we are ahead of the curve in our NW regional alliance with the Cradle Coast Authority and gain lots of synergies through that initiative. “As I have seen in other Australian states in the past decade plus, local government reforms have focused on professionalisation of elected councillors, especially in rural areas.
“To underpin this they have heavily examined councillor numbers commensurate with population and size of the jurisdiction. “Because of that and the current reduced population of King Island, total representative councillor numbers will clearly be re-examined for our future construct.
“If they did decide to reduce councillor numbers, the upside for King Island could be better remuneration for remaining elected members and the opportunity to professionalise or attract other candidates that would not run for economic reasons.
“This has a while to play out and I will keep residents and rate payers informed on the subject throughout 2023.”
Mr Blackie said it was early days on the release of the Future of Local Governments Stage 2 paper and they did not officially get briefed on it until next month. Lead by highly regarded former MP and councillor Sue Smith, the report outlines 33 specific reform ideas.
A final report with recommendations to the Local Government Minister Nic Street is expected by July this year. The report puts forward three ‘pathways’ for structural reform. Moving to a system of fewer, much larger councils.
These options are underpinned by the common aim of improving the capacity and capability of our local councils to support the future wellbeing and prosperity of our communities. Our communities’ face the local impacts of an ever-expanding set of global issues, including climate change, economic disruption, and population ageing.
“Our package of 33 specific reform ideas includes options for how councils can better support community wellbeing, more effectively represent their communities and ensure they provide essential services and infrastructure in a fair and sustaibable way,” Ms Smith said.
Many councils – despite their best efforts – find it hard to do all the things their communities increasingly need and expect.
If we are to deliver the best outcomes for local government, some kind of ‘scaling up’ is needed.
Local Government Minister Nic Street said the Board had put forward a number of ideas to improve local government. Minister Street said, “I’d really encourage all Tasmanians to look at the options paper and to have their say.’’
To read the Options Paper and submit a response goes to http://www.engage.futurelocal.tas.gov.au.
Feedback is due by February 18 2023. Meanwhile, Tasmania’s first compulsory Local Government election, which was held in October last year, will be the subject of a review with voters and other stakeholders being asked to contribute.