Wanneroo and Joondalup escape merger

Staff ReporterWanneroo Times

The new local government boundaries ” which will slash the number of metropolitan local governments from 30 to 14 ” were announced by Premier Colin Barnett in Cockburn on Tuesday.

With more than 150,000 residents each, Wanneroo and Joondalup were determined to be considered big enough to sustain themselves within their current boundaries.

Rockingham is the only other local government that will not be forced to merge or change its boundaries.

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Mr Barnett said the current local government boundaries were outdated.

‘The key objective is to create stronger councils to provide the best possible services to residents with maximum efficiency and modern councils to meet the needs of a rapidly growing city,’ he said.

‘Perth is the fastest-growing city in Australia, but our local government structure dates back to the late 1800s when residents, communities and the city faced vastly different issues.’

Joondalup Mayor and WA Local Government Association president Troy Pickard said now the boundaries had been announced, the State Government needed to provide the funding to make the changes.

‘Based on what other amalgamations have cost in WA and interstate, we would expect somewhere between $40 to $50 million would be required to create the 11 new entities as proposed,’ he said.

Wanneroo Mayor Tracey Roberts said she was glad Wanneroo’s boundaries would not be changing. ‘It is business as usual for us,’ she said.