Randwick Council votes for eastern suburbs merger


UPDATE 27 May 2015: A rescission motion has been submitted and this matter will be reconsidered at an Extraordinary Council Meeting to be held on Saturday 30 May 2015 at 7am in the Randwick Council Chambers.

26 May 2015: Randwick City Council has tonight (26 May 2015) voted to oppose a global city council and to form a merged eastern suburbs council with neighbouring Waverley Council and Botany Bay Council.

The proposal, if supported by Waverley Council, could see a new council of 213,000 residents and deliver cost savings of $103M over 10 years.

Randwick is recommended by the NSW Government to be merged into a global city council of more than 500,000 residents with City of Sydney, Woollahra, Waverley and Botany councils - unless a "broadly consistent" option is proposed.

Adding Botany Bay Council in the merger will help meet NSW Government Fit for the Future scale and capacity requirements and add another 43,000 residents and result in a further $40M in cost savings.

Randwick Mayor Ted Seng said:

"Tonight, our Councillors showed true leadership and made the right decision to safeguard our eastern suburbs identity that we so closely align with, and to protect our community from the threat of a global city council.

"We know that we are financially strong enough to stand alone, but that simply doesn't meet the criteria that's been set by the NSW Government and IPART.

"Burying our heads in the sand would have sealed our fate as a global city, and seen Randwick become a suburban outpost of a mega city council - a decision that would no doubt have seen high-rise engulf our area and our sense of community completely lost.

"We've done our due diligence and considered every option available to us. Plus, we have conducted our largest ever community consultation program on this issue. More than 8,000 people had their say, and of all the merger options, Randwick and Waverley was most preferred.

"Tonight, our Councillors have also put in place a number of provisions, including enhanced employment protection of five years for staff, and a request that the Government conduct a binding referendum before any merger takes place," Mayor Seng said.

For more information visit Randwick City Council