A new pathway for a Pittwater council demerger has opened up following presentation of a bill to the NSW Parliament on Wednesday.
Pittwater council demerger campaigners joined others from across Sydney to hear Greens MP Amanda Cohn present the bill for deamalgamation plebiscites to the Upper House.
Pittwater Greens Councillor Miranda Korzy, a founder of the Protect Pittwater demerger group, attended the launch and later said:
“Pittwater residents have spent years fighting the amalgamation of Pittwater, Warringah and Manly Councils, but legal action after the event has so far proved impractical and the hurdles to a demerger via current legislation are sizable.
“The significance of this development for Pittwater is that it would create a clear pathway to a demerger via a plebiscite if passed into law,” Ms Korzy said.
“The plebiscite would not force a demerger if the community voted against it, however, it would automatically bind the government to re-establishing Pittwater as a standalone council if the majority want it.
“We would need to collect signatures from just over 10 per cent of electors from the former Pittwater Council area – whose total population was around 60,000 at the time of the merger in 2016. This would be totally achievable.
“It would then automatically trigger a plebiscite where residents vote for or against a demerger.
Feature Image: Simon Dunn (left) with Dr Amanda Cohn (centre) and members of the Demerge NSW Alliance, including Cr Miranda Korzy (right).
Original story courtesy of Pittwater Online News