Local Voices on forced mergers in small rural Australian communities:The case of the Guyra Shire Council

Main Article Content

Andrea Wallace
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4684-5039
Brian Dollery

Abstract

When an Australian state or territory government launches a program of forced municipal mergers, it typically attracts much less attention in metropolitan areas compared with regional, rural and remote locations where the local council is often “government of last resort”. In these latter areas the socio-economic effects of compulsory council consolidation can be severe. This paper explores the perceived impact of the forced amalgamation of Guyra Shire Council with the much larger neighbouring Armidale Dumaresq Council under the recent New South Wales (NSW) Government’s Fit for the Future structural reform program by anticipated by Guyra residents who participated in a focus group.

Article Details

Section
Articles (PEER REVIEWED)
Author Biographies

Andrea Wallace, University of New England

Andrea is a PhD candidate in the School of Business at the University of New England researching the effects of forced local government amalgamation on rural Australian communities.

Brian Dollery, UNE School of Business University of New England

Brian Dollery is Professor of Economics and Director of the Centre for Local Government at the University of New England. Brian has written extensively in local government, including Local Government Reform: A Comparative Analysis of Advanced Anglo-American Countries (2008), The Theory and Practice of Local Government Reform (2008), Reform and Leadership in the Public Sector (2007) and Australian Local Government Economics (2006). Professor Dollery has worked with many local authorities and regional bodies involved in regional governance, local government service provision and shared service platforms in almost all Australian states over the past two decades.

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