TABLELANDS Regional Council is writing a submission to the Minister for Local Government, David Crisafulli, supporting the current amalgamated council.

TRC Mayor Rosa Lee Long said the minister had requested a submission as to how the council would move forward if the four old shires of Mareeba, Atherton, Herberton and Eacham remained united.

De-amalgamation campaigners who want to split the old Mareeba Shire from the TRC say they have already got enough signatures to trigger a referendum.

Submissions for and against must be with the minister by August 29.

Cr Lee Long said that once the submissions were in, the matter would be “completely in the hands of the State Government”.

She said that the CEO, Ian Church, who is writing the council’s submission, would refer to the economies of scale of a larger council.

“Even though we are a large area, we do have a small population,” Cr Lee Long said.

“In moving forward, the costs that will obviously be faced by both sides will be shared by a large number of people, as opposed to having two smaller areas.

“The economies of scale will spread the costs.”

NEW CAIRNS.COM.AU COMMENT POLICY
We welcome your comments on this story. Comments are submitted for possible publication on the condition that they may be edited. Comments submitted without a full name and suburb/location will not be considered for publication. Please read our full comment policy and publication guidelines.

Share this article