How long Rocky, Livingstone councils boundary fight will drag on for
With residents of Rockhampton, Livingstone and three disputed localities waiting in limbo over the future of their communities, the Electoral Commission has indicated how long the process may take.
Rockhampton
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A hotly contested boundary review between two Central Queensland councils may not be decided upon this year.
The localities of Glenlee, Glendale and Rockyview sit immediately north of Rockhampton, however are situated in the Livingstone Shire.
These localities joined the Rockhampton Regional Council during the 2008 amalgamation, after the fusion of the Rockhampton City, Fitzroy Shire, Mount Morgan Shire and Livingstone Shire.
However, when Livingstone Shire voted over 56 per cent in favour of de-amalgamating, the new council was re-established in 2014.
Glenlee, Glendale and Rockyview residents voted about 60 to 75 per cent in favour of staying with Rockhampton Regional Council, however were moved back to Livingstone after deamalgamation.
This prompted then-mayor of Rockhampton Margaret Strelow and her council to lobby the state government to bring these three localities back to Rockhampton.
Incumbent mayor Tony Williams and his council are still fighting for a boundary review, in line with the three localities’ votes in the referendum, and to support North Rockhampton’s growth.
However, the Livingstone Shire Council does not support the boundary review, due to concerns of their financial position and lead to the potential lost rates, on top of the Australian Defence Force’s recent land claims.
In the meantime residents of Rockhampton, Livingstone and the three disputed localities wait for a decision to be made.
The Morning Bulletin reached out to the Electoral Commission of Queensland to see whether a decision has been made yet.
An ECQ spokeswoman said an assessment of the financial impacts of the boundary review will be undertaken this year, but community consultation was proposed to occur in 2022.
“Once the Change Commission finalises its review, the results are provided to the public and to the Minister responsible for Local Government,” the spokeswoman said.
“Recommended changes may be implemented by the Governor in Council under a regulation.”
The Change Commission is an independent body which the spokeswoman says assesses whether a change is in the public interest.
The current minister for local government is Deputy Premier Steven Miles.
Originally published as How long Rocky, Livingstone councils boundary fight will drag on for
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