Liverpool Council to spend up to $350,000 to change name to City of Liverpool
A Sydney council has been slammed for a “vanity” project to change its name that could cost ratepayers $350,000.
A Sydney council has been slammed for a “vanity” project to change its name that could cost ratepayers $350,000.
Liverpool City Council has passed a proposal to change its name to City of Liverpool, the Liverpool Leader reports.
The move, which could potentially cost $350,000, is intended to align with City of Sydney and City of Parramatta in a bid to position Liverpool as Sydney’s third CBD.
Labor MP and councillor Charishma Kaliyanda told the paper she voted against the name change, describing it an “exercise in vanity rather than something driven by public reason” and calling for “more data and evidence” on the supposed benefit.
She said the money should be put towards upgrades to community facilities instead of new signage.
But Liverpool’s Liberal Mayor Ned Mannoun supported the change, saying the brand of City of Liverpool “recognises the city as a tier two CBD”.
“[Liverpool] is the gateway city of the new airport and over $20 billion worth of new infrastructure,” he told the Liverpool Leader.
“In recognising a local GDP of over $12 billion, Liverpool should be recognised as a city much like Parramatta was recognised as the City of Parramatta several years ago.”
The council will now investigate the process behind a name change and the financial implications.
Last year, Moreland Council in Victoria changed its name to Merri-bek, after local Indigenous leaders complained that “Moreland” had links to a Jamaican slave plantation.
The suburban council in Melbourne’s north voted seven-three to endorse the name change in July.
In a council survey of 6315 community members, 59 per cent backed Merri-bek, meaning “rocky country”.
“Merri-bek has clear support from the community and we hope to start formally implementing the name later this year, once it is approved by the Minister for Local Government,” Councillor Annalivia Carli Hannan said after the vote.
But opposing councillor Oscar Yildiz criticised the consultation process, saying the community and some councillors were “blindsided” and that the issue should have prompted a plebiscite with the option to keep the current name.
“Residents need to live with this decision for the rest of their lives,” he said.
“They’re paying for this. There are hundreds and thousands of unfunded projects for the community. This is going to cost more.”
The renaming will cost the council $500,000 over two years to update its digital platforms, signs at significant council buildings and facilities and municipal entry signs.
Other signage, including street and park signs and signs on smaller facilities, will be staged over 10 years.
— with NCA NewsWire
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