❓ Opposition Leader asks the Premier about the cost of local government amalgamations, accusing the process of being a 'fiasco'. The Premier deflects, blaming councils for misusing ratepayer funds on political campaigns and suggesting further scrutiny.
AnsweredQoN 5Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
LOCAL
GOVERNMENT — AMALGAMATIONS — COST
5. Mr M. McGOWAN to the Premier:
I have a
supplementary question. Premier, be honest, you know the answer! How much has
that fiasco cost Western Australians?
GOVERNMENT — AMALGAMATIONS — COST
5. Mr M. McGOWAN to the Premier:
I have a
supplementary question. Premier, be honest, you know the answer! How much has
that fiasco cost Western Australians?
AnswerView source ↗
I think it has cost
the ratepayers of local governments that have made decisions to spend ratepayersXXX ###XXX money, sometimes quite foolishly and in
my view quite inappropriately. Indeed, if the Leader of the Opposition wants
some scrutiny of that issue, I think it is a good thing to pursue. I think
those councils should be accountable for the use of staff and resources in a
political campaign.
Several members
interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Armadale, I call you to order for
the first time. Member for West Swan, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Where councils and mayors have used ratepayersXXX ###XXX money for a political campaign, they
should be made accountable, and maybe they will be made accountable. The state
government continues to support a rationalisation of local government. That
money is not wasted.
the ratepayers of local governments that have made decisions to spend ratepayersXXX ###XXX money, sometimes quite foolishly and in
my view quite inappropriately. Indeed, if the Leader of the Opposition wants
some scrutiny of that issue, I think it is a good thing to pursue. I think
those councils should be accountable for the use of staff and resources in a
political campaign.
Several members
interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Armadale, I call you to order for
the first time. Member for West Swan, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : Where councils and mayors have used ratepayersXXX ###XXX money for a political campaign, they
should be made accountable, and maybe they will be made accountable. The state
government continues to support a rationalisation of local government. That
money is not wasted.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.