Denison independent MHR Andrew Wilkie
Denison independent MHR Andrew Wilkie has revealed a pro-merger stance, saying that 29 councils for Tasmania was "patently ridiculous''.
Local Government Association of Tasmania president Barry Easther slammed the comments as uninformed and election posturing.
Mr Wilkie made the comments after reports that most Southern councils were opposed to mergers despite a Southern Tasmanian Councils Authority review, co-authored by Saul Eslake, backing them.
Apart from the Launceston City Council, there is little appetite for mergers in the North, with Northern Tasmania Development releasing a report that quashed the idea last year.
Mr Wilkie said amalgamations would address what he described as Tasmanians being ``unhappy with the performance of their councils and struggling under crippling rates bills''.
He called on state MPs to force amalgamations if necessary because change would not come from within the local government sector.
``But regrettably they refuse to do so because they lack that backbone and in particular the sort of strong leadership figures needed to pull off big and difficult reform,'' he said. Cr Easther described the comments as the ``biggest load of rubbish spoken''.
``There are not huge dollars to be saved by having less councils,'' he said.
Greens leader Nick McKim said the debate was an important one to have.
``But it is equally important that this debate is owned by local communities and by local government,'' he said.
Both the state government and the opposition have said that they would not force amalgamations and that it was a matter for local councils to decide.