The state government expects to receive more than the 115 local government reform submissions it has already received, which highlight potential areas for reform in the face of possible council amalgamations.
Local Government Minister John Castrilli said he was encouraged by the enthusiastic response from local councils, suggesting reform is all about enhancing capacity for local governments to better service their communities.
The next phase of the reform process involves submissions being forwarded to the Local Government Reform Steering (LGRSC) Committee for review in preparing an interim report to the Minister by the end of the month.
More to come...
Full announcement below:
Strong response to local government reform submissions.
More than 115 local government reform submissions have been submitted to the Department of Local Government.
Local Government Minister John Castrilli said he was encouraged by the response from local councils and that submissions were still coming in.
"I understand that a number of local governments are holding meetings in early October and I expect the remaining submissions to be received in due course," Mr Castrilli said.
The Minister said many local councils highlighted potential areas for reform and had displayed enthusiasm about the strategic benefits that lay ahead.
"The response demonstrates that local government authorities in Western Australia are taking the issue of reform seriously," he said.
"Reform is all about enhancing capacity for local governments to better service their communities.
"It is the way forward, and I commend WA local government authorities for their input at this stage of the reform process."
Mr Castrilli said the next phase of the reform process was for submissions to be forwarded to the Local Government Reform Steering (LGRSC) Committee for review.
The committee would provide analysis and prepare an interim report to the Minister by the end of October 2009.
A consolidated report would be available towards the end of the year.
