If you live in a wealthy area of Sydney, Gladys Berejiklian's government thinks your views are more important than if you don't.
If you live in Hunters Hill, or Mosman, or Vaucluse, Berejiklian's government thinks your views matter more than if you live in Punchbowl, Merrylands, or Ashfield.
More NSW News Videos
- Video duration
- 02:30
Berejiklian abandons council mergers
Berejiklian abandons council mergers
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian defends the policy of council amalgamations, but concedes the implementation was wrong.
Up Next
Luke Lazarus believed rape victim consented
- Video duration
- 01:17
- Video duration
- 01:17
Luke Lazarus believed rape victim ...
Luke Lazarus believed rape victim consented
Luke Lazarus' victim describes the agony she went through after being raped in the back lane of Kings Cross.
Up Next
Teachers concerned about privatisation of public education
- Video duration
- 01:13
- Video duration
- 01:13
Teachers concerned about privatisation of ...
Teachers concerned about privatisation of public education
Private companies are unduly influencing public education policy, says Maurie Mulheron from the NSW Teachers Federation. Vision courtesy Ten Eyewitness News.
Up Next
'An innocent young bloke': Central shooting
- Video duration
- 03:05
- Video duration
- 03:05
'An innocent young bloke': Central ...
'An innocent young bloke': Central shooting
The half brother of Danukul Mokmool, who was fatally shot by police at Central Station, watched the video of his brothers' shooting without knowing who it was.
Up Next
Berejiklian holds firm on Sydney council mergers
- Video duration
- 01:16
- Video duration
- 01:16
Berejiklian holds firm on Sydney council ...
Berejiklian holds firm on Sydney council mergers
Back in February, Premier Gladys Berejiklian defended her government's decision to keep Sydney council mergers while abandoning those in regional parts of the state.
Up Next
Sydney toddler declared brain dead
- Video duration
- 00:24
- Video duration
- 00:24
Sydney toddler declared brain dead
Sydney toddler declared brain dead
Three year-old Kawa Sweeney is not responding to medical treatment after being found at the bottom of a pool in Bali. Vision Seven News
Up Next
'He grabbed me from behind': Central shooting
- Video duration
- 00:28
- Video duration
- 00:28
'He grabbed me from behind': Central ...
'He grabbed me from behind': Central shooting
Florist Manuel Theoharas has spoken of his ordeal when a man who was fatally shot by police on Wednesday entered his store. Vision: Channel Seven.
Berejiklian abandons council mergers
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian defends the policy of council amalgamations, but concedes the implementation was wrong.
That is a conclusion which is only too easy to draw from the pitiable, risible, craven decision taken on Thursday to abandon Sydney's remaining council mergers.
Set to one side the merits of the original amalgamation policy. The Premier and her ministers say they think mergers are a good thing. Sydney residents will be better off, they say, if local community services and town planning are conducted by larger councils.
But mergers, like any changes to civic administration, are unpopular with some segments of the community.
And in the past two years, those segments that have provided the strongest resistance to council mergers have been in wealthier segments of the city. There is more to lose, perhaps, and more to protect.
Those councils challenged their amalgamation in court, while other parts of Sydney went along with what the government said was good for them.
But in the interests of "certainty," the Premier now says the remaining mergers need to be abandoned. That is because, she says, these legal battles could drag on for many months or even a year.
This is absurd for a few reasons. First, if the only thing that mattered was "certainty," no government would knock down homes for a new motorway, or sell off state-owned infrastructure assets. Why has certainty been elevated over principle or conviction?
Second, it's true that the legal process could drag on. But there is no irresistible legal reason preventing the government from merging the remaining Sydney councils.
The Local Government Act includes provisions that spell out how to amalgamate a council; the government's only problem is that it has been too incompetent to follow them.
And third, the situation that Berejiklian has now settled on is inherently unsustainable. The only thing certain about the mess of a policy that allows some (rich) parts of Sydney to keep their councils while they are merged elsewhere is that it will provoke, in time, more uncertainty.
4 comments
New User? Sign up