Botany MP slams merged councils pressure
The deliberate suppression of key advice to the New South Wales government on the forecast financial workings of the state’s embattled council merger process has come back to haunt policymakers, after the NSW Court of Appeal upheld a crucial appeal on grounds of denial of procedural fairness.
Secret KPMG report brings NSW council mergers unstuck
The NSW Government's council amalgamations have been dealt another blow, with Sydney's Ku-ring-gai winning its court battle to stop a forced merger with Hornsby.
The deliberate suppression of key advice to the New South Wales government on the forecast financial workings of the state’s embattled council merger process has come back to haunt policymakers, after the NSW Court of Appeal upheld a crucial appeal on grounds of denial of procedural fairness.
Secret KPMG report brings NSW council mergers unstuck
The NSW Government's council amalgamations have been dealt another blow, with Sydney's Ku-ring-gai winning its court battle to stop a forced merger with Hornsby.
A panel of three Court of Appeal judges has ruled that the plan to forcibly merge Kur-ing-gai and Hornsby councils cannot proceed in its current form.
The court found the Department of Local Government had failed to take into account the impacts of excising a portion of the Hornsby Council area.
It also found the department failed to properly consider the financial advantages and disadvantages resulting from the merger.
Ku-ring-gai Mayor, Jennifer Anderson, said she was heartened by the court's decision.
"The very real concerns of our council and residents over this merger have been ignored by the Government and we feel vindicated by today's decision," she said.
"This merger should not proceed because Ku-ring-gai ratepayers will be robbed of the means to decide how and where our rates are spent and of any real say in how our local area is managed.
"We believe the court's decision signals a turning point for Premier [Gladys] Berejiklian's Government.
"If they continue with the merger process, they will be flying in the face of our community and the court."
Mayor Anderson said she and her council colleagues would now wait to see what the State Government would do in the wake of the court's decision.
"We will seek meetings with Premier Berejiklian and the Minister for Local Government Gabrielle Upton to press our case against being forcibly merged with Hornsby," she said.
Ku-ring-gai Council wins court of appeal case against merger
Blow to Berejiklian government's council mergers as court rules ...
Ku-ring-gai Council wins court appeal against forced merger