Minister wants Aramac amalgamation to work

Local Government Minister David Crisafulli is vowing to work with Barcaldine Regional Council to heal the wounds from the forced amalgamations.

A submission from a group in Aramac to de-amalgamate has been unsuccessful in its attempt to have its case referred to Boundaries Commissioner Col Meng and Queensland Treasury Corporation for further investigation.

Mr Crisafulli said with a small population base, the cost per ratepayer could be as high as $1,700.

The submission’s costings also relied heavily on road maintenance contracts for capital revenue, which is difficult to predict in this economic environment.

“While I understand the community will be disappointed, this has been far from a waste of time,” Mr Crisafulli said.

“This has been a great exercise in democracy by giving people a chance to voice the concerns they were denied five years ago.

“It was always going to be more difficult years on to build a case to operate separately because of the work that has gone into unifying staff, services and infrastructure.

“But this proves the embers of de-amalgamation still burn and I want the Council to use this information to address some of the concerns.”

Each group had to meet a set of strict guidelines including a strong, evidence-based, community-backed submission based on the pre-amalgamation local government boundaries.

They had to provide a detailed estimate of the potential financial costs and include a petition signed by at least 20 per cent of the voting population that showed an understanding of all the cost implications.

Petitioners also needed to demonstrate an understanding that the former shire wishing to de-amalgamate would have to meet all costs involved, including their own, and those of the Council they wished to break away from.

Mr Crisafulli said he will be calling on the Council to address the concerns raised in the submission.

[ENDS] 18 June 2012

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                            Andrew Longmire 0418 216 627