LEGAL argument in the Land and Environment Court in Sydney continued yesterday as the feud between the State Government and several council earmarked for amalgamation, including Oberon, showed no signs of abating.
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Bathurst MP and Minister for Local Government Paul Toole and Premier Mike Baird have been making headlines this week as the case hotted up.
However, Mr Toole has again reaffirmed his drive to carry through with the government’s merger process.
“I still, in principle, support the amalgamation process, pending the court case that’s presently running and that includes Oberon,” Mr Toole said yesterday.
“We have done everything in accordance with the Local Government Act.”
In a potentially explosive development for the Baird government, the court has ordered it to provide documents about the role KPMG played in implementing the council amalgamation agenda.
Strathfield Council and others are alleging a serious misrepresentation by the Baird government after discovering that KPMG was involved in devising the merger proposals as early as July 2015 – before the government announced it was proceeding with forced amalgamations – yet it was deemed the independent arbiter of the financial benefits of the mergers.
KPMG issued a statement this week strongly denying there was any issue in relation to the independence of its work.
A spokesman said the company was chosen “because of its expertise in this area” through “robust and competitive processes”.
KPMG’s analysis has been central to the government’s case for why the state’s 150 councils should be merged to form about 110 local government bodies.
Modelling by the firm found the policy would net about $2 billion in total financial benefits in coming decades.
The State Government has defended the independence of the consulting firm whose sums were the basis for its controversial push to slash Sydney councils.
