“It is ironic that our first submission to the State Government proposing an alternative merger option was rejected – despite it being deemed ‘fit for the future’ by IPART and now the Government’s merger proposal has been rejected by the courts,” Mayor Tsirekas said.
“This is an embarrassing back down by the State Government, which gives our Canada Bay community a reprieve. But for how long? We just don’t know.
“We would hope this decision is not politically motivated and if so, it would be disappointing for our community."
City of Canada Bay Mayor Angelo Tsirekas said the decision demonstrated the failings in the State Government’s forced council amalgamation platform and highlighted that councils, such as Canada Bay, were indeed “fit for the future”.
“Throughout this whole drawn-out process, our preferred position has been to stand alone. We have proven that we are a strong and financially sustainable Council,” he said.
“While we don’t have all of the findings before us, we understand there were some serious flaws in the delegate’s report about the merger of Canada Bay, Burwood and Strathfield.
“We understand the State Government has requested the delegate re-visit and re-submit his report and that fresh Boundary Commission hearings may need to occur.
“We are not aware of how long this might take or what it means for the long-term future but for the moment, it is a win for our community and for democracy.”
Mayor Tsirekas said the State Government’s process from the beginning had never had any clear direction.
“This is the now the third change in the State Government’s process in relation to the City of Canada Bay. We have invested significant resources, including funds, to ensure we were well prepared in the event the State Government did proceed as we did not want our community to be disrupted,” he said.
“The clear message from the State Government through this entire process was that 'stand alone' was not an option – and that is why we acted responsibly to ensure our community was not put in a vulnerable position.
“Now we are told it could be on the back burner or starting all over again. Yet again, we are in an uncertain environment with no direction from the State Government and no communication about ‘what next’ from the Minister’s Office.
“We are talking about a proposed community of 170,000 residents yet we still don’t know what the future of that community is.
“We would like to thank our community for its ongoing support during what has been a very unsettled time.”