James Purcell says state government level should go

“If I had a magic wand I would get rid of state government,” Mr Purcell said.

“I think we have one too many levels of government.”

Mr Purcell’s comments came in a week when the future of local government was again questioned after 13 Victorian councils, including Moyne Shire, faced the sack for breaching a code of conduct. The state government’s handling of the issue drew criticism from local government leaders.

Mr Purcell formed the Vote 1 Local Jobs party and was elected to the upper house at the 2014 state election. 

 A Moyne Shire councillor from 2008-14, including two stints as mayor, Mr Purcell was clear in his support of local council.

“Local government is the strongest arm state government has got, it performs so many functions that have to get done,” Mr Purcell said. 

“Local government is needed, it is the closest level to the people, it is the in-and-under part of the team. 

“Federal government is your key position players, the ones down the spine that you can't do without. The wings and flankers are the state government.”

While Mr Purcell has spoken in support of the local tier of government, he does believe reform is needed to ensure it stays relevant.

The Kennett government merged a number of smaller councils in the early 1990s and Mr Purcell said the time was right to further streamline local government.

“I think they should merge councils but I don't think they will,” Mr Purcell said

“No one has the guts to do that because it put Kennett out of office and nobody will want to go out of office.”

Mr Purcell said merging councils would make sense economically. 

He said the number of CEOs and council directors could be trimmed, freeing up more money to be spent on other council resources. He pointed to urban areas such as Geelong and Maribyrnong as examples of successful larger-scale councils.