Queensland council amalgamations

[arawajo]

How do you think the prosed council amalgamations will affect you?
I worry that rural and city councils have different ideas on things and if my local council is taken over by a larger, more city focused one it will have an adverse affect. Things like being able to own roosters and having composting toilets might change.
I understand that council amalgamations took place years ago in southern states. Anyone have any experiences from that to share?
Hopefully all will be well and lifestyles won't have to change.

[paradisi]

place the major amalgamations on a map - sunshine coast, logan, toowoomba, caboolture/redcliffe. all were fairly strong financially and fairly strong politicially and by that I mean independent of the major politicial parties. All surround Brisbane.

Now the changes have happened (the biggest of which is dropping the ward/division system) councillors will be elected from the one sheet of nominees, all councillors will be grouped into their politicial party allegiances. The strong independent councillors will be listed at the end of the voting sheet as "other independent".

The main thrust of the reforms is to guarantee a party line for whatever beattie wants to do in the south east. There'll no longer be a strong protest from all over the map.

What effects me is the Sunshine Coast council - it would be brilliant if the new council is run from Noosa, but undoubtedly Maroochy and Caloundra representatives will get together to have things their way. Noosa currently is the greenest of the local councils and has a population cap.

Maroochy and Caloundra councils are paid handsomely by the "developers" who are determined to ruin this part of the country.