Squeaky Wheels

No great surprises in the now-released revised Government proposals for local government amalgamations. As already announced, all of Vincent is proposed to be amalgamated with the City of Perth. And, as already surmised from maps inadvertently released, the 'Greater Fremantle' proposal has been adopted (so the total number of local governments proposed is now 15. And City of Stirling gets to keep those parts of Mt Lawley it currently has (but not other areas that go to Bayswater/Bassendean).

These are more sensible outcomes than the initial proposals for forced amalgamations, but it is by no means certain that they are really what the communities want. Vincent's plebiscite, for example, clearly demonstrated that most wanted to keep Vincent as it is.

Squeaky wheels might get the grease (Vincent, Fremantle and Stirling seem to have been the most vociferous and best organised communities - although that might partly reflect where I live), but at least some of the worst aspects of the initial proposals have been removed.

But there are some strange bits of detail that take some explaining. I've already mentioned the Banks riverside area of Vincent that is excluded from the City of Perth amalgamation. There's also an odd area south of Roe Highway that goes from Canning to the greater Melville (despite being effectively cut off from it by Roe Highway), presumably because it includes the City of Canning Recycle and Waste Disposal Facility.

And the City of Stirling, without Inglewood, looks rather strange with its protrusion to the south-east. Much though I hate to say it, perhaps the opportunity should have been taken to unify the Mt Lawley Centre by putting the Stirling part of Mt Lawley into Perth, if there are going to be changes. Not that the City of Perth would want that, of course, having set their sights on a smaller, but highly lucrative, land grab.

http://metroreform.dlg.wa.gov.au/Page.aspx?PID=ProposedNewLG