Community Gives Voice to Anger

In the heartland of what would be the Western Suburbs mega-council according to Emperor Col, 70-80 mainly Subiaco residents met at the Onslow Park Tennis Club this evening to express their anger at what was being forced on them by a Premier who promised he wouldn't do forced local government amalgamations. They were joined by Heather Henderson, Mayor of Subiaco, and Max Hipkins, Mayor of Nedlands, whose Council last night, at a Special Council Meeting, took the unprecedented step of withdrawing from the WA Local Government Association in protest because it doesn't believe that WALGA is acting in the interests of local government.

Several speakers prefaced their remarks by saying they were lifelong Liberal voters (although one did say he once voted for Bob Hawke) but were devastated by the proposal to remove the Dadour Amendment from the Local Government Act, effectively removing the democratic right of people to determine how they should be governed.

A motion was passed unanimously to oppose any moves to amend, remove or dilute the provisions of the so-called Dadour Amendment.

The meeting was predictably orderly, but there was a real sense of anger at what was being done to local governments and their communities. The more Liberal voters can get the message to their state members of Parliament in the next couple of weeks, the less likely it is that the Dadour Amendment will go - as those Liberal members see their majorities disappearing at the next election.

So write to your members of Parliament in the next week or so. Write to all members of the WA Parliament, if you can. Express your anger at the possible removal or reduction of your only real protection in the Local Government Act.

MPs' contact details are at http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/parliament/memblist.nsf/WAllMembers?openform.