CHRIS THOMSON

The government’s three-year-long local council ‘reform’ process has hit a brick wall in Perth where the City of Subiaco has blocked a Local Government Advisory Board push for an inquiry into a mooted merger with the City of Nedlands.

In the Supreme Court today, Justice James Edelman ruled that a writ of prohibition be made final against the board’s planned inquiry because a City of Nedlands proposal did not comply with the Local Government Act.

The inquiry was to have been an important step toward amalgamation of the two tiny councils.

After today’s judgement, Subiaco Mayor Heather Henderson said she was heartened that “common sense” had prevailed.

“This is a victory for the Subiaco community,” Ms Henderson said.

“With both local governments and their communities opposing a merger, there was no reason for the inquiry to go ahead.

“It would just be a waste of resources.”

Ms Henderson said the inquiry would only have created “division and angst” in Subiaco and Nedlands.

Mr Castrilli launched his ‘reform’ process in February 2009, but pressure from councils soon forced him to withdraw his threat to force amalgamations between municipalities that refused to play ball.

In June, the government tried reviving its moribund process by forming a committee headed by an academic to draw up new boundaries so the number of metropolitan councils could be slashed.

The committee’s recommendations on new council boundaries are due by June 2012 – 40 months after Mr Castrilli first announced his reforms.

Perth has 29 city, town and shire councils. This is 29 times the number of local authorities in each of metropolitan Brisbane, Canberra and Darwin which each have just one city council.