Stirling Does Get It

The situation of the City of Stirling has often been missing in the clamour about forced amalgamations, but not being forced to amalgamate doesn't necessarily help you. Stirling is the big territory loser out of the LGAB recommendations - and because it clearly doesn't merge (even by 'boundary adjustment') with any other local government (it simply gets a lot smaller) its community has no access to a poll.

Mayor Giovanni Italiano clearly gets it when he says that "the mergers could cost its [City of Stirling] ratepayers millions". He hasn't been conned by the Premier and Minister making vague and unsubstantiated noises about 'economies of scale' and 'efficiencies'.

Cr Terry Tyzack clearly gets it when he says "there is a perception that decisions made by government ministers cannot be challenged. This is not the case - Ministers are not all powerful or supreme".

As I wrote in an earlier post on this blog (http://ianrker-vincent.blogspot.com.au/2014/10/wtf.html): "Barnett needs to understand or, failing that, be forcibly reminded that the power of Government is limited, in the immediate sense, by the law and by the Parliament and, in the longer term, by the people who elect it."

It is unfortunate but, as the City of Stirling has found out, true that it is necessary to go to the courts to prevent the excesses of the Executive.