Inner west demerger: Motion for more transparency defeated in council

A late-night extraordinary meeting to debate the potential demerger of Inner West Council, following calls to for a firm time frame and increased transparency, has been decided by a single vote.

A motion calling for more transparency and community engagement in the Inner West Council demerger process has been defeated in a late-night extraordinary meeting.

Brought forward by independent John Stamolis, and The Greens’ Liz Atkins and Justine Langford, the motion would have seen a Demerger Committee established, demerger-related documents made available to the public, the engagement of the community and local government experts, and a commitment to a specific time-frame.

In December, 63 per cent of the local government area voted in favour of the demerger in a plebiscite.

The motion was defeated by eight votes to seven, with the Labor bloc of eight councillors voting en mass against the motion. No Labor councillor spoke at the meeting to why they were opposed to the motion.

Cr Stamolis, a longstanding advocate for the return to the three existing councils before the 2016 merger – Marrickville, Ashfield and Leichhardt – said the 10:30pm start of the meeting and the dismissal of the motion was “curtailing of debate that would bring the council into disrepute”.

A demerger would dissolve the Inner West Council and return to the three pre-merge councils.

“The public didn’t have a voice in the merger,” he said. “We now have an opportunity to pursue this case, which the general public have clearly asked us to do.”

Late-night crunch meeting for inner west demerger

A late-night extraordinary council meeting will thrust the potential de-amalgamation of Inner West Council back into the spotlight.

Three councillors – independent John Stamolis and The Greens Liz Atkins and Justine Langford – have launched a fresh bid for the demerger process to begin off the back of strong community engagement and transparency.

The motion comes just two months after a similar bid to fast track the potential de-amalgamation was one vote short of the required majority.

Greens councillor Liz Atkins said the key issue was the lack of community consultation.

“It’s about transparency and accountability – that’s the issue,” they said.

Inner West Council was formed in 2016, amalgamating the councils of Ashfield, Leichhardt and Marrickville, following a recommendation by the Independent Local Government Review Panel (ILGRP) in 2015.

Ashfield Civic Centre, where councillors will meet tonight to vote on the motion.

In December, 62.5 per cent of residents voted in favour of the demerger and restoring those three previous councils. There was a majority vote in all five inner west wards and all three previous council areas.

The motion, to be debated at 10:30pm on Tuesday following the regular meeting, is aimed at eliciting more concrete assurances about the process.

“Many residents don’t understand how the business case will be prepared and don’t feel they’re being included at this early stage,” Cr Atkins said.

Cr Liz Atkins is a Greens councillor for the Stanmore ward. Picture: Supplied

If the motion is passed, a Demerger Committee would oversee the business case – which would include councillors and community members – with documents relating to demerger to be publicly available, a demerger timeline to be reviewed and confirmed with fortnightly updates.

The Labor bloc of eight councillors, who have a majority on the council, have voted against similar motions in the past.

NSW Local Government Minister Wendy Tuckerman MP has also confirmed the NSW Government would pay for the cost of the demerger, as long as it was recommended by the Boundaries Commission and then approved by the Minister herself.

Consultancy firm Morrison Low has been commissioned by Inner West Council to build a demerger business case and had previously estimated it could result in $26.2 million in one-off costs and $22.1 million in ongoing costs.

However, the firm noted it used a “number of assumptions” to guide its analysis.

In December 62.5% voted for demerger of the council.

The three councillors, despite calling for a firm timeline on the process, are calling for more time to be given to build the business case to provide greater opportunities to consult the community and local government experts.

“It feels as if this process has been rushed,” Cr Atkins said, noting the Morrison Low business case and community engagement reports was required to be completed by August.

“Let’s take a month or two longer to do this properly, and take in the views of the community and local government experts,” they said.