local voices on forced mergers in small rural australian communities:the case of the guyra shire council

When an Australian state or territory government launches a program of forced municipal mergers, it typically attracts much less attention in metropolitan areas compared with regional, rural and remote locations where the local council is often “government of last resort”. In these latter areas the socio-economic effects of compulsory council consolidation can be severe. This paper explores the perceived impact of the forced amalgamation of Guyra Shire Council with the much larger neighbouring Armidale Dumaresq Council under the recent New South Wales (NSW) Government’s Fit for the Future structural reform program by anticipated by Guyra residents who participated in a focus group.