Savings tough to measure
NEW Local Government Minister Paul Lucas has admitted it will be ``difficult'' to pin down the cost savings of the state's controversial council mergers three years after redrawing the boundaries.
Mr Lucas has been unable to define benchmarks to be used by the State Government to measure the success of the mergers and will not produce a cost-benefit analysis.
But in an interview with The Sunday Mail on the third anniversary of the mergers, Mr Lucas said his observations left him in no doubt the changes were for the better.
He believed opposition would disappear over time, as it had in Brisbane when 20 councils were folded into one more than 80 years ago.
``I think the proof of it is by the services ratepayers get for their dollar,'' Mr Lucas said.
But former Labor MP and speaker Mike Reynolds said residents deserved a report on the outcomes before next year's council elections.
Millions spent on new look
COUNCILS have spent more than $2 million on new signage, logos and uniforms since the amalgamations, but warn the job is far from over.
Townsville City Council has one of the biggest bills, spending $943,000 on rebranding.
Other councils have spent far less, such as Central Highlands Regional Council with a bill of $50,000.
A council spokesman said it had focused on changing over uniforms to achieve ``one identity''.
Toowoomba Regional Council, formed after the merger of eight separate councils, has spent $500,000 on new livery and signage.
Sunshine Coast Regional Council has spent $60,000 on a community engagement program to develop a new brand, while a new logo design, building and boundary signage has cost Western Downs Regional Council about $60,000.
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