Neil Grose said the chamber was pleased the council defeated Councillor Peter Kearney’s proposal.  

“The Chamber of Commerce is strongly of the view that Tasmania requires fewer councils with better boundary alignments and his proposal would solve no problems nor create any efficiencies,” he said.

“Creating a new ‘city’ on the boundaries of Launceston does nothing for the West Tamar region and only clouds the real issue, which is to reduce the number of local government authorities in Tasmania.”

He said Riverside and Trevallyn should be part of Launceston.

“The debate surrounding the motion highlights the need for state government intervention in the amalgamation process rather than the current voluntary process, which is yet to deliver any progress,” Mr Grose said.

The bid was denied at Tuesday’s council meeting.