East Coast councils would not amalgamate more than a decade ago because of the North-South divide, the former local government minister says.
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Then Labor local government minister Jim Cox said he was approached in about 2007 by the then mayors of Glamorgan Spring Bay and Break O'Day councils, Robert Legge and Bertrand Cadart, to amalgamate.
Mr Cox said his government looked into it at the time when the two mayors "passionately" approached him.
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"They decided that they would both welcome the opportunity to amalgamate. They came to see me and asked whether or not we could do anything and what we should do and how we could progress it," Mr Cox said.
"We decided we would do it properly and have a really good look at it. We went to great lengths and to great pains to try and get some process in place. We got a panel together so I went through and I went around the different areas different places and ask people what they wanted how they saw what they wanted to do it."
Mr Cox said it was several "stupid" remarks that made the process not progress.
"People were saying things like 'we can't amalgamate with them because they drink Cascade beer, and we drink Boags'. One of the memorable ones was, 'they read The Examiner, and we read The Mercury, it'll never work'," he said.
The process got a mixed review at the time, but showed it would not work.
"I think that was because Glamorgan was fairly financially stable and Break O'Day was not," Mr Cox said.
He said the whole East Coast was asked to amalgamate, but "wouldn't have a bar of it".
"Governments on both levels have been reluctant to pursue it. I couldn't get commitment from anyone else around the table at that stage," Mr Cox said.
Mr Cox, a City of Launceston councillor, there is no doubt there needs to be amalgamation.
"If you seriously looked at an amalgamation, you would take George Town, Dorset and Break O'Day. And you would run those three together ... And you would bring Flinders Island into that as a representatives because they're all similar environments
Cr Tucker said it needed to be examined as to if lines on a map are as relevant as they were when amalgamations last occurred.
"But to say just move the boundaries and put two councils together is a recipe for disaster," Mr Cox said.
"The only way it will ever work is if government toughen up and say, 'we've got someone to look at this, some one like KPMG - someone that can say like goes with like, goes with like."
He said that three councils would not be enough, but could see the state operating with about nine councils in total.
Glamorgan Spring Bay Council said it would not support amalgamation because its ratepayers do not.
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