Rome might not be burning, but Col is still trying (unsuccessfully) to defend the indefensible - and in doing so manages to admit, yet again, that the Government hasn't done its homework on local government so-called reform.All he manages to say is: "I don't think there is any reason at all why amalgamations should force rates up and I'd hope over future years it would mean rates will stay lower than the otherwise would".
So, even after all this time, Col still has no evidence that rates won't go up and can only hope that they'll go down.
Hardly sounds like a strong argument for forcing communities to spend $100million on forced amalgamations.
He then goes on to say that: "Different communities may decide they want different levels of services and so that would affect the cost".
Why then, Col, can't communities at least have the opportunity to decide whether, in your terms, they want possibly to pay more for a more local council or possibly less for a larger council?
Nationals MP, Tony Aldridge, hits the nail on the head when he says that: "…we [the Nationals] have without question a better understanding of our constituency than he [Barnett] does". Surely the same applies to the metropolitan area - Barnett dare not take the honest and open approach of working through the Parliament because he knows that local members of Parliament, including members of his own party, will oppose him. Instead he and Simpson take the coward's way of forcing the Local Government Advisory Board to do their 'dirty work' for them in a complex process the Board was not set up to consider.
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