City of Perth: Loser

If Jessica Strutt's report on the ABC is correct (and it is consistent with rumours that have been around for the past couple of weeks), the City of Perth will be the big loser out of the Local Government Advisory Board recommendations. Not only will it not get Burswood, it will lose the part of UWA it currently has and will be amalgamated with the whole of the City of Vincent.

Lisa Scaffidi, from the very start when she posed with Colin Barnett atop Central Park looking out over what she wanted to be her expanded domain, has been stridently opposed to joining with more than the southern (largely commercial) part of Vincent. No matter how she dressed it up, her opposition came down to people power - Vincent has twice the number of electors that the City of Perth has.

It would take some major gerrymandering of wards and representation to ensure a CBD majority on the new Council - but we need to be on the lookout for its happening.

Interestingly, the City of Vincent proposal, which has been presumably been recommended by the LGAB, clearly triggers the poll provision in the Local Government Act. Will we now see the City of Perth encouraging a poll and supporting a 'no' vote? Fascinating thought.

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