Support for local government

There is growing concern that the WA State Government’s reform agenda will forcibly remove local councils and hand over development responsibilities and self-regulation to the industry-dominated development assessment panels (DAPs).

Further, the articles below suggest that the break up of local councils will give “massive windfalls in profits to the state” government as it completes an aggressive asset stripping program of councils similar to when Mr Barnett’s blueprint for the break up of the Perth City Council occurred back in 1995.

Bigger Councils will mean local government will move from being free of party politics to being dominated by party-supported candidates. These fears have driven new independent candidates to stand at the next state election in March 2013.