Proposal to merge Georges River and Bayside to create new St George Council

The proposal will be put forward in a Mayoral Minute to go to the June 24 meeting of Georges River Council.

Mayor Sam Elmir will propose an amendment to the NSW Government of the boundaries of the Georges River Local Government Area (LGA) to incorporate part of the Bayside LGA and form a new St George LGA.

Georges River is also proposing extending the boundary that currently splits Riverwood to make the M5 the new boundary line.

Bayside Council resolved in March to prepare a desktop business case to consider the merits of de-amalgamating the Bayside LGA back into City of Rockdale LGA and City of Botany Bay LGA.

This found the cost of re-establishing the two former councils of Rockdale and Botany could be between $33 million to $50 million.

The Georges River Council proposal requests the NSW Boundaries Commission examine the merits of amending the boundaries of the current Georges River LGA to incorporate the proposed de-amalgamated Rockdale LGA to create a new St George LGA.

In putting forward the proposal Georges River Mayor, Sam Elmir, has highlighted the new proposed LGA contains the entirety of the St George Area.

"It is a historically significant area and a single community of interest with overlapping community, sporting and cultural organisations," Cr Elmir said.

"The proposed St George LGA is geographically cohesive as there are no natural barriers creating significant divisions or separations within the area."

In 2016 the NSW Government commenced a series of council amalgamations across NSW.

As a result, the Georges River LGA was created by amalgamating the former Hurstville City Council and Kogarah City Council LGAs, and the Bayside LGA was created by amalgamating the former Rockdale City Council and the City of Botany Bay LGAs.

It is not the first time Georges River has proposed to take over part of the Bayside LGA.

Back in September, 2020 Georges River Council voted to seek a boundary realignment to extend its local government area to take over part of Sans Souci south of President Avenue, Kogarah to the Botany Bay foreshore.

This was strongly resisted by Bayside Council and was described as an "unbelievable takeover" and a land grab. The proposal eventually failed.

Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig, the former Mayor of Botany Bay Council, has said forced amalgamation of councils was a failed and expensive experiment.

Amendments to the Local Government Act have been introduced to Parliament in February to provide a new legal pathway for NSW councils seeking to de-amalgamate.

Under the changes, councils wishing to de-amalgamate must develop a robust business case and undertake community consultation.

On receipt from a Council, the Minister must forward a business case to the NSW Local Government Boundaries Commission for an independent review.

The Minister may then approve a constitutional referendum with a compulsory vote, which would require majority support from local electors to proceed with a de-amalgamation.

Decisions about the boundaries of Local Government Areas are made by the Local Government Boundaries Commission under the Local Government Act.

Under the Act the Boundaries Commission has to consider specific factors when considering the boundaries of an LGA. They must consider the;

. financial advantages or disadvantages (including the economies or diseconomies of scale) of any relevant proposal to the residents and ratepayers of the areas concerned,

. community of interest and geographic cohesion in the existing areas and in any proposed new area,

. existing historical and traditional values in the existing areas and the impact of change on them,

. attitude of the residents and ratepayers of the areas concerned,

. requirements of the area concerned in relation to elected representation for residents and ratepayers at the local level, the desirable and appropriate relationship between elected representatives and ratepayers and residents and such other matters as it considers relevant in relation to the past and future patterns of elected representation for that area,

. impact of any relevant proposal on the ability of the councils of the areas concerned to provide adequate, equitable and appropriate services and facilities,

. impact of any relevant proposal on the employment of the staff by the councils of the areas concerned,

. the need to ensure that the opinions of each of the diverse communities of the resulting area or areas are effectively represented, in the case of a proposal for the amalgamation of two or more areas,

. other factors as it considers relevant to the provision of efficient and effective local government in the existing and proposed new areas.

There is the opportunity for anyone to register to speak at the May 27 Council meeting on this matter by visiting the Request to Speak at Council and Committee meetings page on the website.

The community can tune in for the live broadcast of the Council meeting via the broadcast link on the Georges River Council website.

Bayside Council has been approached for comment.