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Council merger challenge fails

Chief Justice Wayne Martin has dismissed a Supreme Court legal challenge to Perth council reform. Picture: WA News

A Supreme Court legal challenge to Perth council reform has been dismissed.

Chief Justice Wayne Martin made his decision before a packed court room this afternoon.

The action was mounted by the cities of South Perth and Subiaco and the shires of Serpentine-Jarrahdale and Peppermint Grove.

City of Vincent resident Ian Ker had been involved but withdrew this morning before the hearing began.

The Supreme Court courtroom was packed today to hear the legal argument mounted by the cities of South Perth and Subiaco, the shires of Serpentine-Jarrahdale and Peppermint Grove and City of Vincent resident Ian Ker against Local Government Minister Tony Simpson and the Local Government Advisory Board.

One argument mounted by counsel acting for the councils, Chris Shanahan, centred on an “apprehension of bias” about the advisory board.

Mr Shanahan told the court of an email written by advisory board chairman Mel Congerton in July 2013 in which he expressed support for what Local Government Minister Tony Simpson was doing.

Quoting Winston Churchill, Mr Congerton wrote: “We will prevail”.

That email was written more than a year before the board made its recommendations to the Minister but after the Government had signalled its vision for reform.

Mr Shanahan said councils did not seek to cast aspersions on members of the board but even an “apprehension of bias” – meaning bias may be perceived even if it did not exist – was significant.

He said the case was about “process and the checks and balances that protect” not about the merits of reform.

The court also heard details of a meeting between the advisory board and Mr Simpson at which no minutes were taken.

Before the hearing protests carried a coffin from Parliament House to the Supreme Court.

The protest was orchestrated by the Save Kalamunda Shire Action Group, with the eye-catching prop intended to represent the “death of democracy”.

Kalamunda was not involved in today’s legal action but the shire will disappear into the City of Belmont without residents having the opportunity to vote under the State Government’s reform plans.

Last month the Government released details of its plans to cut the number of Perth metropolitan councils from 30 to 21, having accepted all but two of the advisory board’s recommendations.

Plans to create a western suburbs super council — comprising the towns of Cottesloe, Mosman Park and Claremont, the City of Nedlands and the Shire of Peppermint Grove — have been delayed because of overlap with the boundaries for a new City of Perth that would include the University of WA, QEII Medical Centre and the City of Vincent.
Those council tie-ups will require legislation, the timing for which is uncertain.

Conflict between councils and the Government over reform has not been limited to today’s legal action.

Local government concerns range from the decision to deny votes to some councils to a lack of Government funding across the board.

Just six councils will have the chance to vote on reform because they are subject to amalgamations, which trigger the Dadour poll provisions that allow electors to request a poll on proposed mergers.

They are the City of South Perth and the Town of Victoria Park, which will become the City of South Park, the City of Fremantle and the Town of East Fremantle, with East Fremantle to become part of Fremantle, and the cities of Kwinana and Cockburn, which will become the City of Jervoise Bay.