Perth Voice Interactive

Bayswater mayor Terry Kenyon referred to the proposed Bayswater-Bassendean super council as “Greater Morley” at a special council meeting this week.

“We should stop referring to the new merged council as Bayswater, it is a merger not a take-over,” he said diplomatically.

The city will swallow the City of Bassendean, the suburb of Inglewood and most of Mt Lawley in the mergers, but deputy mayor Barry McKenna would have preferred to nab Malaga from Swan.

“From an economic point of view, I would have preferred to take over Malaga,” he said.

“We could have got a big slice of rates from its industrial zone.

“I remember when Maylands became part of Bayswater and we only got a fraction of the money we thought we would, it was disappointing.”

Bayswater voted to appoint the mayor, CEO and councillors Robinson, Alan Radford and Chris Cornish to a working group to liaise with Bassendean, Stirling and Swan over a joint merger submission.

Cr Marlene Robinson wanted the council to demand the retention of the public’s power to override mergers, saying the government had, “come in with their steelcapped shoes, ready to kick heads” but was voted down.

State government funding of $200,000 is available to each merging group to prepare their submissions.

BY STEPHEN POLLOCK