State Government Obduracy a Grave Disappointment

Premier Berejiklian’s announcement, Tuesday 14 February, that the State Government would continue to try to force mergers on Sydney councils while ceasing to force all non-consummated mergers outside Sydney is a grave disappointment.

The NSW Government has not provided any cogent reasons for pursuing our forced merger with North Sydney and Willoughby.

Meanwhile it has disregarded the overwhelming views of Mosman residents where numerous polls and surveys have indicated that 80% of our community don’t want to merge with other councils.

The NSW Cabinet has apparently no empathy for the deep feelings that households have for some control over their lives, services and environment that is lost in larger impersonal and more bureaucratic government units.

We have a proud 123-year history as an independent council and we will continue to fight for independence through the courts.

The action in relation to the Delegate’s revised report on the merger proposal is scheduled to be heard in the Land and Environment Court on 23 March, while our appeal regarding the Land and Environment Court judgment of 20 September 2016 is due to be heard in the Court of Appeal on 3, 4 and 6 April 2017.

We hope that the Premier and her Cabinet may yet change their mind in regard to their proposed forced merger of Mosman Council when (and if) they read our submission to the Minister for Local Government on the disgraceful nature of the revised delegate’s proposal to merge us with North Sydney and Willoughby, which we have submitted as part of our legal case.

It would be an extreme miscarriage of justice if a decision to merge us has been made without following legally agreed process and without proper consideration of the issues.