Hansard debates

  Mr SEITZ  (Keilor) -- I  have  some observations about  the government's hasty
handling  of the Bill. The government has used the defence that the  KPMG report
motivated this significant move that former governments have tried to take. Many
countries have  been forced into amalgamations, but those amalgamations have not
lasted. Some  countries have  been amalgamated  at the  point of a gun, but they
later break up.

The government has the job ahead of it if it is to  get the people of Geelong to
support the  amalgamation. It is important  that they feel  comfortable  with it
because they are the ones who will be  most affected. The amendment foreshadowed
by the honourable member for Dandenong North will enable  the people affected to
be part of the process. Although there should be some  rationalisation  of local
government,  some  municipalities can  end  up  being  too  large.  The  greater
Melbourne  municipality was  divided  because it was  collecting more rates  and
revenue than the government.
For the  government  to succeed where  its predecessors have  failed,  the issue
should be handled cautiously. The amalgamation must  be beneficial to the people
who are affected, particularly the  ratepayers  in  the  smaller municipalities.
They  must  be fully acquainted with what is intended and must feel  comfortable
being  part  of   the   new  City  of  Greater  Geelong.  Some  of  the  smaller
municipalities have particular strengths, such as netball facilities.

 Page 1199


How will they be affected  by  the  amalgamation? There are cultures peculiar to
each shire. Those issues must be taken into account.
The Bill  is far-reaching and will have an impact on many  people. One could say
it  will have  an  impact  on  the  whole  of Victoria.  If the  amalgamation is
successful, further amalgamations may take place. If  it  is  not, it will delay
amalgamations that many ratepayers wish to occur because of the  savings  to  be
made in the sharing of libraries and so on.
Because of improvements in transport decisions that were made at the turn of the
century are outmoded  and need to be  re-examined. One example  concerns  people
travelling through a number  of municipalities to attend  a football match. When
the  Cain Labor government tried  the amalgamation process it  failed because it
did not have bipartisan support.

Had  bipartisan support been given, amalgamations would have taken place earlier
and Victoria would have saved millions of dollars by avoiding the duplication of
services.  I  hope  the legislation does not suffer the same fate. Although  the
government has the numbers  to  ram legislation through this place and the other
place, it should consult the people  in  the  Geelong region. The government has
left the decision making  to the Governor in Council because it is not confident
that the people of Geelong will accept amalgamation.
There  are  no  dates or firm decisions for the return  of  democracy.  Although
Russia has discovered democracy, Victoria has forgotten about the importance  of
letting people  vote  on the  issues.  Russia  is learning  about  democracy yet
Victoria is heading in  the other direction --  and that is a dangerous  sign. A
poll should be taken on amalgamation.
Members may ask why I am speaking on the Bill.

I have an  interest in and some  knowledge of the Bellarine area  because I have
holidayed  in  that area  over  the  past 20  years,  as  have  a number  of  my
constituents. Some of them have  bought holiday homes there, and I know how they
feel. The people  of  the area should get a fair deal  and  should be allowed to
exercise their democratic rights. They should know where they are going and what
their futures will be.
The Borough of Queenscliffe  has not been included in the proposed  amalgamation
probably  because  of  the  number  of  elderly retired people in the area.  The
residents  of  Portarlington, Drysdale and St Leonards  have  expressed  concern
about their rates and  the retention  of the services that have been provided by
the local  council  , such as nursing, podiatry and other services. Those people
are used to the  availability of face-to-face services and feel comfortable in a
rural setting.

For the proposed  legislation to be successful  boundaries should not  be  drawn
like  lines  on a  map. The  wishes of  local communities  should be  taken into
account and people should be given a choice about the drawing of boundaries, not
the dominant shire or  chief executive officers.  Local government is  basically
run  by elected part-time  councillors and chief executive  officers who are  on
contracts. If the amalgamation is to be successful a different approach  must be
taken by  the smaller municipalities surrounding  Geelong, each of  which  has a
small  budget. Will the City of  Greater Geelong have an image similar to BHP or
the multinational companies that are  run by professional  accountants? Will the
amalgamation  engender  the  corporate image of private enterprise  rather  than
catering to the  needs of the  community? Local government is  about communities
being able to express  their views and wishes to local councils, which have time
to talk to their communities about particular issues. I hope the government will
consider the  foreshadowed amendment and  allow public debate and  discussion to
take place.

It is clear from representations I have received  from  the  Geelong  area  that
councillors are not happy about the situation. If  the proposal  is to  work the
people who have to implement it must be happy with it and it must be  able to be
supported by the local press  and  community  groups in the area. The boundaries
must be looked at in that light.
In a regional area with the growth potential of the greater  Geelong area, which
may  eventually have a  greater population than  Tasmania,  an amalgamation will
have  a significant impact, and more will need to be done than  local government
can handle. That is where the role of the Geelong  Regional Commission comes in.
If the  commission  is abolished, who  will  take  on the role  and  pay for the
planning
development that needs  to be  carried out  to ensure the economic future of the
region?

 Page 1200


The Labor government fostered and supported the Geelong region with funding  and
forward planning for the needs of the whole region and  attempted to  assist the
development of tourism by developing infrastructure such as  roadworks,  caravan
parks, jetties and other activities in the area.
Will all that work now be concentrated in the city centre and the outlying areas
forgotten about?  If that  is done, a decade from now petitions and demands will
come from people in those areas seeking the creation of separate shires. We need
to take time with this proposal to ensure that the results last. We do not  want
forced amalgamations that  will cause divisions, as has happened in  Ireland and
Eastern European countries.