Australian Local Government Perspectives on Contemporary Structural Reform

Abstract

This chapter examines the municipal merger programs in the different Australian state and territory local government systems. In particular, it considers whether the amalgamation policies have met the claims made about their efficacy by advocates of amalgamation. The chapter outlines the characteristics of Australian local councils in comparative perspective, briefly describes the major problems confronting Australian local government, provides a synoptic account of the extant literature on structural reform in local government, and summarises Australian municipal merger programs. It then considers their impact as seen through the prism of a host of public inquiries into local government in the different states, as well as the scholarly literature. The chapter concludes with some comparative analysis of Australian merger programs with similar policies in other countries.