Fairfield City's future – have your say to IPART

Published on 24 June 2016

Fairfield City Council was asked to comment on the option of amalgamating Fairfield and Liverpool councils as part of the State Government's reform package.

Last night the final submission – which is due next Tuesday 30 June – went before Council, stating that Fairfield City has the ability to stand alone.

The submission found that Fairfield City and the residents would be worse off if merged with Liverpool both financially and there would be an impact of loss of local services.

Council supported residents views who were 91% opposed and local businesses were more than 80% opposed to an amalgamation of Fairfield and Liverpool.

To stand alone, Council needs to meet 7 benchmarks set by the State Government. Based on analysis, Council meets all seven of these benchmarks if it stands alone.

I still stand by my personal view that any choice to amalgamate or otherwise should be made by our local residents, not bureaucrats or politicians within the State Government.

Our submission will now be assessed by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) and a recommendation will now be made to State Government.

IPART is accepting community submissions as part of its assessment.

Visit www.ipart.nsw.gov.au/Home/Industries/Local_Govt/Fit_for_the_Future from 1 to 31 July to contribute to the submission.

I encourage you all to voice your views on this very important issue.