Background

In February 2009, Local Government Minister John Castrilli announced the State Government's package of wide-ranging local government reform strategies.

The strategies are aimed at achieving greater capacity for local governments to better plan, manage and deliver services to their communities with a focus on social, environmental and economic sustainability. The Minister released a circular and media release announcing the reform strategies.

Minister Castrilli has invited each of the 139 councils in Western Australia to:

• Take steps to voluntarily amalgamate and form larger local governments
• Reduce the total number of elected members to between six and nine, and
• Form appropriate regional groupings of councils to assist with the efficient delivery of services

Councils were requested to advise the Minister of their intention by 30 September 2009.

Other key strategies of the State Government’s reform package include:

• Adoption by local governments of a longer term strategic planning framework, including asset and financial management and workforce planning
• Development of measures to enhance the skills and competency of elected members and staff
• Examination of options to maintain local community identity and greater community representation including consideration of community-based committees
• Identification of proposals to amend the local government legislation to facilitate local government sustainability
• Examination of the ability for local governments to form corporate entities to undertake urban regeneration projects and other business activities
• Identification and implementation of approaches to reduce town planning and building licence approvals time, and
• Development of measures to encourage a diverse range of citizens to stand for council

The Minister for Local Government established a Local Government Reform Steering Committee and four working groups to progress reform and improve sustainability in the local government sector.