Structural reform of local government in Australia: a sustainable amalgamation model for country councils

Article


Dollery, Brian, Goode, Stephen and Grant, Bligh. 2010. "Structural reform of local government in Australia: a sustainable amalgamation model for country councils ." Space and Polity. 14 (3), pp. 289-304. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562576.2010.532979
Article Title

Structural reform of local government in Australia: a sustainable amalgamation model for country councils

ERA Journal ID39836
Article CategoryArticle
AuthorsDollery, Brian (Author), Goode, Stephen (Author) and Grant, Bligh (Author)
Journal TitleSpace and Polity
Journal Citation14 (3), pp. 289-304
Number of Pages6
Year2010
Place of PublicationAbingdon, United Kingdom
ISSN1356-2576
1470-1235
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/13562576.2010.532979
Abstract

Council amalgamation has always been the major policy instrument for structural reform in Australian local government. While the Australian literature has spawned taxonomic attempts at classifying models of structural change in local government, a serious deficiency in this body of work has been the specification of amalgamation as an undifferentiated category embodying the unconditional merger of many small local authorities into a single larger entity. This paper seeks to remedy this problem by developing a model of sustainable amalgamation and contrasting it with unconditional amalgamation in using a stylised example derived from four existing Western Australian country shires contemplating consolidation.

Keywordslocal government; numerical model; policy reform; Australia; structural change
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020440801. Australian government and politics
440708. Public administration
480701. Administrative law
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Byline AffiliationsUniversity of New England
Town of Claremont, Australia
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
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