Randwick City's Future

JOINT MEDIA RELEASE

RANDWICK CITY COUNCIL & WAVERLEY COUNCIL

Monday 29 June 2015

Randwick and Waverley Councils have today, 29 June 2015, lodged their joint merger proposal to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) in response to the NSW Government’s Fit for the Future program.

The merger will create a new eastern suburbs council area with a population of 216,000 residents from Vaucluse to La Perouse and is expected to deliver cost benefits over 10 years of $103M.

The proposal is a sound alternative which retains communities of interest while still being broadly consistent with the Independent Local Government Review Panel’s proposal for a global city council.

Randwick Mayor Ted Seng said:

“After completing extensive, detailed analysis and community consultation, Waverley and Randwick Council have today finalised and submitted our joint merger proposal that is in-line with the NSW Government’s Fit for the Future criteria.

“The communities of Randwick and Waverley share strong ties. We are both coastal communities taking in the Sydney Coastal Walkway and iconic Sydney beaches. A Randwick-Waverley merger will result in a larger council capable of providing quality services and facilities and partnering with the State Government on regional matters,” Mayor Seng said.

Waverley Mayor Sally Betts said:

“Waverley and Randwick residents already form a community of interest and our Councils work together on a number of environmental initiatives. When we consider sub-regional planning issues, our new partnership will play a very important role.

“Our communities have told us that they would prefer to stand alone but if mergers must happen to meet the scale and capacity criteria, then they would prefer an eastern suburbs council rather than a global city involving City of Sydney,” Mayor Betts said.

Community consultation found support for retaining a coastal council with 90% favouring an eastern beaches council if mergers must happen and only 5% choosing a global city.

If approved by the NSW Government, the new council area would be the third largest population in NSW and the 11^th largest in Australia. With a combined Gross Regional Product (GRP) of $11.8b, the Randwick-Waverley merger will be the seventh largest council area contributing to the NSW economy.

The merger proposal includes options to include Woollahra and Botany Councils.

The proposal is a direct response to the Fit for the Future program and will be withdrawn if the Government decides not to proceed with council amalgamations.

DOWNLOADS:

• Merger Proposal_Randwick and Waverley FINAL 29 June 2015 (5MB pdf)
• Attachment 1: Waverley and Randwick resolutions (2MB pdf)
• Attachment 2.1 - 2.3: Research and analysis (14MB pdf)
• Attachment 2.4: Grant Thornton (1MB pdf)
• Attachment 2.5: Randwick Options Analysis (33MB pdf)
• Attachment 2.6: Merger Business Case (11MB pdf)
• Attachment 2.7: Service Levels Analysis (2MB pdf)
• Attachment 3: Community Consultation (14MB pdf)
• Attachment 4: Correspondence Resolutions (2MB pdf)

ENDS

Media contacts:

Randwick: Joshua Hay 0402 351 459 joshua.hay@randwick.nsw.gov.au
Waverley: Julie Peters 0450 904 942 julie.peters@waverley.nsw.gov.au

Saturday 30 May 2015

This week, Randwick Council made an historic decision to merge with our neighbouring councils Waverley and Botany Bay.

This was a very difficult decision for us, but one which a majority of my fellow Councillors agree is the best option for our council, residents and ratepayers.

Clearly, if it was up to us, all 15 Councillors would vote to stand alone. Randwick is one of the state's leading councils - our finances and asset management are strong, our community is extremely satisfied with our services and our managerial and political leadership is very effective.

However, as you're probably aware, the State Government is pushing ahead with its Fit for the Future reform program and wants to see bigger councils across Sydney. Their default position is a mega global city council of more than 500,000 residents comprising Randwick, Sydney, Waverley, Botany and Woollahra.

If we do nothing, or propose to stand alone – the Government will proceed with its plan. We'll become a "suburban outpost" of a global city council based at Town Hall. One that would no doubt see high-rise engulf our city and our sense of community completely lost.

We don't want this to happen. We don't want to lose our eastern beaches identity and our voice. We want to keep local representation and I know this is what most residents want too.

By proposing a credible alternative to the global city we are controlling our destiny and protecting our unique eastern beaches identity.

What you told us

I would like to thank the 8,000 residents who took part in the most comprehensive community engagement program in the council's history. I posted two letters and information packs and a reply-paid survey to 65,000 households covering all residents and ratepayers. Lots of people had their say through reply-paid surveys, online surveys, telephone surveys, focus groups and information stalls.

You told us:

• most people don't want change, but if mergers must happen, 90% would prefer an eastern suburbs council;
• 49% of people would prefer Randwick to stand alone and 51% want a merger;
• a Randwick / Waverley merger is one of the most preferred merger options as it keeps an eastern suburbs identity with beaches, parks and families.

How will it affect you?

Council has conducted detailed financial modelling to look at all options. A Randwick/Waverley/Botany merger will:

• deliver cost savings of $143M over 10 years which can be spent on new and improved services;
• not increase total rates collected;
• maintain all existing services;
• protect jobs;
• continue all existing planned programs; and
• eliminate the backlog of work required on roads, footpaths, parks, drains and buildings.

There's still a lot that's unknown such as how many Councillors there'll be, the name of the council and the office locations, but from a resident perspective I'm confident that there'll be minimal impact as we work through these issues and transition to a new organisation.

All usual council services will keep operating - your bin will be picked up, the parks and sports fields will be maintained, we'll assess DAs and run festivals, libraries and community activities.

What happens now?

We now need to seek support from our merger partners to lodge a joint submission with the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal by 30 June 2015.

I have had constructive discussions with Waverley Council and they will be considering their position in the coming weeks.

IPART will publicly exhibit all council submissions in July 2015 for comment before making merger recommendations to the Government in October 2015.

It's likely the new council will then come into effect at the Local Government elections in September 2016.

My commitment to you

There's still a lot of work to do and we need to wait for the NSW Government to announce their final decision later this year.

I'll make sure that you continue to be kept informed about this important issue during the coming months.

More information

You may like to:

• read the 26 May 2015 Council resolution
• read our media statement
• view the Council's Options Analysis
• view the results of Council's community consultation
• visit the IPART website

Yours faithfully

Councillor Ted Seng
Mayor of Randwick
@randwickmayor

Tuesday 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.

UPDATE: A motion to rescind the resolution from the ordinary Council meeting of 26 May 2015 was considered at an extraordinary council meeting on 30 May 2015 and was lost. This means the resolution of 26 May 2015 as per the above story now stands.

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.

8 May 2015

In April 2015, the NSW State Government appointed the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) to act as the Expert Advisory Panel to review council Fit for the Future submissions.

IPART's draft assessment criteria state that they will determine all submissions to be either 'fit' or 'not fit' for the future.

Council proposals will be considered by comparing them against the merger recommendations of the Independent Local Government Review Panel. For Randwick City Council, the Panel recommended merging to become a global city with Waverley, Woollahra, Botany Bay and Sydney councils.

IPART will consider whether our proposal is 'broadly consistent' with a global city. If it is not 'broadly consistent' the Council's proposal will be determined to be "not fit".

If Council proposes to stand alone, IPART requires that we prove standing alone is "superior" to a global city merger in all areas of the criteria including scale and capacity, effectively managing infrastructure, sustainability and efficiency.

For more information visit IPART's website or view the NSW Government Circular (issued 28 April 2015).

1 April 2015

Randwick City Council has completed stage one and two of a three stage community consultation program that seeks the views of residents, ratepayers and local businesses on the NSW Government's Fit for the Future program.

Council commenced extensive community consultation in early January 2015 to inform and engage locals on what the Government's program means for Randwick City's future.

Randwick Mayor Ted Seng said the Council has had a fantastic response from the community with more than 8,000 people formally expressing their views.

"I am so pleased to see so many people understand the need to have their say on this important issue," Mayor Seng said. "We've received over 6,500 completed surveys, conducted a telephone survey of 1000 residents and spoken to many people through our various focus groups and information stalls.

"We are opposed to the amalgamation of Randwick City Council however we are required to address the NSW Government's Fit for the Future criteria by 30 June 2015. Community consultation is a valuable part of this process and will assist us in progressing our required response," Mayor Seng said.

The finding of the consultation are now being reviewed and will be finalised and reported to Council in April.

Stage three of Council's extensive consultation program, including a plebiscite, is expected to commence in May 2015.

More information about the NSW Government's Fit for the Future requirements is availablewww.fitforthefuture.com.au or Council's website www.yoursayrandwick.com.au/future

11 February 2015

Randwick City Council has received almost 2,000 survey responses in the first week of its extensive community consultation program that asks residents and ratepayers to have their say on the future of the City of Randwick.

Mayor Ted Seng sent an information pack and extensive community survey to every household on 1 February 2015 encouraging locals to have their say on options for Council mergers.

"The NSW State Government's 'Fit for the Future' program requires most NSW councils to consider amalgamation options and discuss them with their community and their neighbouring councils," Mayor Seng said.

"The Government wants our Council to consider an amalgamation with City of Sydney, Woollahra, Waverley and Botany Bay councils – building a global city with more than 500,000 residents.

"We've made it clear that we are strong enough to stand alone, however the Government is sending a message that 'no change is not an option'. If we do nothing we risk the government forcing the global city option upon us.

"I believe we have a responsibility to fully inform Randwick City residents about the Government's reform process so they can make up their own mind. So I have sent an information pack and survey to everyone in our community that outlines seven options for the future of Randwick City.

"It is fantastic to see so many people already taking part in the conversation, ensuring Randwick City has a voice!

"We won't be making a final decision until everyone in our community has had the chance to have a say," Mayor Seng said.

You can find out more and complete the survey on the websitewww.yoursayrandwick.com.au/future. The survey is open to every resident, business owner and ratepayer in Randwick City aged over 18 years.

Survey closes 1 March 2015.

22 December 2014

Randwick City Council has today released seven options for its future in response to the NSW Government's Fit for the Future program which asks many Sydney councils to consider a merger.

The seven options consider the potential benefits and costs of Randwick City Council amalgamating in different models with its neighbouring councils (City of Sydney, Waverley, Woollahra and Botany Bay) and will be sent to every resident and ratepayer as the first stage of an extensive community consultation program.

Randwick Mayor, Ted Seng said the NSW Government has made is clear that doing nothing is not an option.

"Randwick City Council already has a balanced budget and remains debt-free. Council is operating well and providing high quality services and facilities for our community," he said.

"Unfortunately, despite Council's excellent financial and asset management position, the NSW Government wants us to respond to the Independent Local Government Review Panel's recommendations for 'scale and capacity'.

"The Independent Review Panel's final report released in October 2013 recommends an amalgamation with City of Sydney, Woollahra, Waverley and Botany councils – building a 'global city' with more than 500,000 residents.

"We don't support the creation of a global city as we value our Randwick identity, local representation and existing quality services," he said.

"Over the past several years, the Council has been strenuous in its due diligence around Local Government reform and we've used that information to develop these seven options for our community to consider.

"We are opposed to the amalgamation of Randwick City Council in any form, however we are required to address the NSW Government's Fit for the Future criteria by 30 June 2015.

"Randwick City residents and ratepayers will shortly receive an information pack outlining all the options to consider, and in February 2015 we will commence a series of community consultation activities so everyone gets the chance to have a say," Mayor Seng said.

Randwick Council has also released a website for residents to access all the information about the Fit for the Future program.

For more information visit www.yoursayrandwick.com.au/future