Mosman independence "not a lost cause" - Mayor

Mosman Mayor Peter Abelson has shared his concerns about the State Government‘s proposed forced amalgamation of the local government area with Manly and part of Warringah after being invited to address a community meeting attended by more than 200 Mosman residents and ratepayers.

Cr Abelson told last night‘s gathering that Mosman Council, contrary to NSW Government statements, had “strongly opposed” the proposed merger and that Council‘s stance was in line with community sentiment from Mosman and the Northern Beaches.

“Any suggestion that this is the preferred merger is just a nonsense,” Cr Abelson said. “But I don‘t think this is a lost cause.

“There was almost total opposition to the proposed merger (at the public inquiries), when speakers asked who supported the merger, not a single hand was raised.”

Cr Abelson, a noted economist, criticised the KPMG report which is a basis for the proposal saying it “lacks any detail, contains elementary errors” and that “no private enterprise would accept it as a basis for a takeover”.

Teens from Mosman‘s Youth Forum also spoke against the proposal at the meeting, which followed strong attendance at the NSW Government‘s public inquiries held last week.

At the 2012 Council election, more than 81% of Mosman voters opposed amalgamation and in more recent polling only 23% of residents supported a possible merger with North Sydney, 17% with Manly and 7% the six-council model proposed by the Independent Local Government Review Panel.

For more information or to make an online submission about the Mosman, Manly and part Warringah proposal visit yourvoicemosman.com.au/merger.