21st August 2007The State Coalition has vowed not to back-off in its fight to protect
communities from Labor’s forced council mergers.
Coalition Leader Jeff Seeney this morning promised there’d be no let up
in State Parliament this week.
“The Coalition will continue to push the Beattie Labor Government to
ensure no community that’s being forced to merge is worse off,” Mr
Seeney said.
“Communities deserve a guarantee that services won’t be cut, jobs won’t
be lost and rates won’t increase. They also must be given the right to
appeal any decision by the Beattie government to force them to merge
….the process should be along the lines as that provided for anyone
who disagrees with State electoral boundary changes.
“As I’ve travelled around Queensland listening to communities facing
forced mergers ….these are the issues people are angry about. These
are the issues they want guarantees on from Peter Beattie ….and that’s
what we’ll be pushing the Premier to provide.
“Queenslanders need guarantees they won’t be worse off under forced
mergers.”
Mr Seeney promised the Coalition would continue to use every measure to
take the fight up to Labor in Parliament this week.
“We will be looking at every possibility to ensure the Premier listens
to the voices of everyday Queenslanders when it comes to this issue,”
said Mr Seeney.
“Whether we have to introduce legislation, amend government bills or
debate motions we will make sure the message coming from Queensland gets
through to Labor.
“Ignoring the breathtaking dishonesty coming from the Premier about the
support for his forced mergers, my office continues to be inundated with
calls from everyday people who want us to continue the fight,” Mr Seeney
said.
Media Contact – Jeff Popp 0438 153 857