Minister Street’s rushed process means facts won’t be heard 19 May 2023

Tas Labor

Tasmanian councils are still waiting for their Local Government Review packs, with less than a month to provide their final submission by June 21.

Local Government Minister Nic Street sat on the report, taking three weeks read it at the end of March.

The Minister now expects councils to receive community, workforce and business submissions, consult with their neighbours and have internal discussions in a month before making a final submission.

It is unfair on councils to expect them to live up to this timeline and at a time they are also expected to deliver their annual budgets.

There is great unease about the changes Minister Street wants to enforce on local government and councils should not be expected to do this important work in such a short timeframe.

Anyone who takes three weeks to read a report cannot expect councils to do a proper consultation on the same report in less than a month.

Luke Edmunds MLC

Shadow Minister for Local Government & Planning

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