Kwinana council condemns merger proposal

Sound Telegraph

Kwinana Council has condemned the current amalgamation proposal in its final submission to the Local Government Advisory Board.

The submission was moved on Monday at a special meeting in response to the board's latest re-draw of the boundaries in the south-metro area, which would stretch the Kwinana-Cockburn entity further north, claiming back Bibra Lake and stripping more population from the City of Fremantle.

In its submission, the City continued to advocate for a return to the proposal put forward by the Minister for Local Government Tony Simpson, which would create equally sized and resourced local governments in the region.

The latest submission touches on the legitimacy of the Cockburn Community Steering Group E1 proposal.

Kwinana Mayor Carol Adams said the City was deeply concerned the board was basing its potential recommendation to the minister on a proposal which was "severely flawed" and she believed to be "misleading".

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Cr Adams said the most effective way to ensure stronger unity of the new entity was to move the south- ward boundary to Russell Road and recommend the City of Kwinana's proposed structure.

"This will provide a more equitable split of representation and will ensure the Western Trade Coast community of interest is not fractured across ward boundaries," she said.

Cr Adams was also concerned the latest board proposal would mean Kwinana's representation and voice on the council would plummet.

Submissions closed on Monday.

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