GREATER Bunbury local governments have been warned they could be “deceived” into losing ratepayers in a move designed to avoid backlash to forced amalgamation.
Collie-Preston MLA Mick Murray said questions had been asked in parliament over what he called a sneaky method of changing local government boundaries without gaining public feedback.
Mr Murray said the state government had proposed reforms which could shift boundaries between the City of Bunbury and surrounding shires by 10 per cent of the shires’ total area, which could have a significant impact on Capel, Dardanup and Harvey.
“The word amalgamation has been dropped and they are talking about boundary changes now,” Mr Murray said.
“The 10 per cent is judged by hectares which means if you are talking about the City of Bunbury and the Capel shire, Dalyellup could become part of Bunbury.
“It would throw out the balance – shires could be left short of quite a few bob as far as revenue is concerned.”
But a local government department spokesperson said there was no timeframe for reform to local government boundaries outside the Perth metropolitan area.
Mr Murray said the changes could be made without going to a poll, which was not fair on the community.
“It’s deception – if you are serious about amalgamation, you need the two councils to sit down and work out a common agreement that works for both of them,” he said.
“It needs to be for the betterment of the communities, not for political intent.”
In March, Dardanup shire president Mick Bennett raised concerns that in two years the government would complete mergers in the metropolitan area and would then focus on Greater Bunbury.
The shire formed a No Amalgamation Action Group to raise awareness about the possible impacts of a forced amalgamation.
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