It is very interesting to hear on ABC radio that the City of Cockburn council has decided not to go ahead with the planned merger with the Town of Kwinana, although the two councils had agreed to put a joined submission to State Government.

The question about local government amalgamation comes very much down to the point if we can afford it or not. State Government lost our Triple A economic rating and needs to abandon programs and sell off assets to save money, while local councils can’t afford to pay for the mergers either.

This is a really good opportunity for Premier Colin Barnett to scrap the forced amalgamations without losing too much face, after all, not having money for it would be accepted by most people as a valid reason.

Roel Loopers