Talks for a great southern council are “dead in the water”, according to Glamorgan Spring Bay mayor Michael Kent.
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Last week the council voted down a motion to continue investigating voluntary amalgamations seven to one, following more than two years of deliberations.
Mayor Kent was the only councillor who voted in favour of putting the discussions to a Local Government Board review, despite a council survey showing 76 per cent of residents supported amalgamations.
The decision has left Bicheno residents in the dark about potential municipality boundary adjustments, which could have seen the coastal town and Coles Bay incorporated into Break O’Day Council’s region.
Bicheno Community Development Association president, Michael Symons, said a significant opportunity had been missed.
“The door has been slammed shut,” he said.
“We as a community don’t really feel there are any other avenues to take this forward now. A lot of people put significant effort into being informed and educated on this matter, and the council have ignored that to act in their own self interest.”
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Prior to last Tuesday’s vote, Glamorgan Spring Bay deputy mayor Cheryl Arnol expressed concerns over government assurances that the amalgamation process would remain voluntary, in light of a state election.
But Break O’ Day mayor Mick Tucker said Local Government Minister Peter Gutwein had always been very clear that there would be no forced amalgamation.
“As a council, throughout this whole process we have done a lot of work to ensure we were being 100 per cent open and transparent with everyone involved,” he said.
“The minister always said on record that there would be no forced-amalgamation. Really this decision is disingenuous of the ratepayers and of the local government.”
Glamorgan Spring Bay Council spent $32,000 on the amalgamation process, which was first put forward in December 2015, while the state government contributed upwards of $200,000.