Ratepayers in the Illawarra have good reason to be worried. The New South Wales government has now added Shellharbour to it's list of sacked councils.
Residents have long suspected that the state government had a secret plan to create one huge council to administer this area. The sacking of both Wollongong and Shellharbour councils provides an opportunity for the government to act - and in the process Kiama council will probably be swallowed by the merger.
The sticking point for many people is that in both cases the reason for the council sackings was the conduct of councillors affiliated with the Australian Labor party.
Within Wollongong council bribery and corruption were involved in passing development applications that did not meet the rules governing new buildings, while in Shellharbour Labor councillors caucused in decision making, excluding independents from any form of representation. This developed into open warfare between councillors and the council staff.
The sad fact is that the state government has disenfranchised the citizens of both councils by sacking all representatives for the sins of councillors representing one political party - which just happens to be the same political party as the state government.
The appointment of administrators for four years is an obvious hope that with the passage of time the voters will forget that the problem was Labor corruption - and again vote in a Labor majority.
If the government has some devious plan to force an amalgamation on the citizens of the Illawarra we will get no help from our elected state government representatives.
They have a proven record of toeing the party line - as evidenced by their lack of interest in seeking Federal money for projects such as the Princes Highway or a new rail link to western Sydney.
The best bet for forcing the state government to listen to the people will be a grass roots demand for a referendum on any proposed amalgamation !
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