At the last Council meeting, Mayor Giles-Gidney successfully brought down a Mayor Minute that, on behalf of Council, she would officially initiate talks with neighbouring Councils and the Department of Local Government.

From press reports, it is obvious that any Council who ignores the Department’s call for voluntary amalgamation or other modes of cooperation that ensure the financial sustainability of Council may eventually be forcibly amalgamated.

The Mayor is to be congratulated in taking this monumental step forward in Council that has traditionally resisted calls to be proactive with regard to amalgamation.