Perth Voice Interactive

THE Barnett government has told Bayswater it won’t refund any of the $1.2 million the council spent preparing for aborted mergers.

“The state government has already provided the sector with funding in the order of $1.7 million and any further funding will only be considered where councils agree to take the initiative themselves to successfully implement future reform,” WA local government minister Tony Simpson said.

Bayswater was one of the few municipalities that publicly backed amalgamations and was aghast when premier Colin Barnett pulled the plug after failing to win public support.

Last month Cr Mike Anderton warned that ratepayers could be slugged with a a 3.5 per cent rates rise if the council couldn’t recoup the $1.2 million it spent preparing for the changeover.

The council voted to spend up to $2000 on lawyers to get advice on whether it can sue the government for costs.

At that point, mayor Sylvan Albert had remained hopeful of a diplomatic solution.

“Legal action is a last resort,” the former Liberal state candidate for Maylands told councillors. “We should wait and see how we progress with the lobbying options first. We have spoken to several MPs.”

WALGA had offered to coordinate a legal action for several councils, but Cr Barry McKenna said Bayswater should go it alone.

“We were the only council that went along with the mergers,” he says.

“We can’t be accused of rolling over to the state government without asking questions.

“Otherwise, they might only compensate those governments who criticised them and made a political point.”

by STEPHEN POLLOCK