Dr Brendan Gleeson, deputy director of the Urban Frontiers Program of the University of Western Sydney, does not accept that amalgamations are good for all councils, produce greater efficiencies and more democratic processes. There are no simple universal rules. An example of where council mergers could create efficiencies and lead to more democratic processes is where a regional town is ringed by an outlying shire. They could, for example, involve territory swaps, service pooling and closer co-operation. In any event, efficiency always has to be balanced against the importance of local representation.
People are in many ways working against globalisation.
Sartor believes ultimately there need be only six or eight councils with the city boundaries expanded to include parts of South Sydney, Woollahra, Waverley, Botany and Leichhardt. Justice Bill Fisher investigated the City of Sydney boundaries as part of his 1998 inquiry into voting in the city elections and canvassed extending the city to include Oxford Street, the Darlinghurst precinct, the University of Sydney, its colleges and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. An independent umpire appointed by the State Government is needed to investigate whether the inner city had the best mix of jurisdictions. The less councils there are, the less positions for councillors, so there are inherent contradictions. It's very hard to get voluntary amalgamations out of councils.