Shire of Coolgardie says minister’s decision on grace period has not changed after release of city submission

The Shire of Coolgardie says the 12-month grace period that Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley has granted it to get its finances in order remains unchanged after the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder this week released its draft submission on a boundary adjustment with the shire. Shire of Coolgardie president Paul Wilcox said the information contained in the city’s Draft Submission to the Local Government Advisory Board – Boundary Change “does not represent any change in the minister’s stance over the next 12 months and bears no consequence on the shire’s plan of action moving forward”. Ms Beazley on October 13 announced she would not suspend the Coolgardie council after issuing a 21-day show-cause notice in August, and would grant it 12 months to get its debt situation under control. Speaking at a community Q&A session in the Goldfields town, Ms Beazley said the shire’s financial position was “unprecedented” in WA local government history, with the debt-to-revenue ratio placing it “very much in danger of folding” by the end of the 2024-25 financial year. “The council are optimistic that they’ll be in a position in 12 months time to have financial stability and viability — I don’t share that level of optimism, but I would be happy to be proven wrong,” she said at the time. “I will say this is not a get-out-of-jail-free card. I still have very grave concerns for the financial situation that the Shire of Coolgardie is in. “They’re going to be monitored like a hawk.” Cr Wilcox was elected to the council at the October 18 local government poll and picked to be president by his fellow councillors after previous head Malcolm Cullen failed to be re-elected. Cr Wilcox on Wednesday said the shire had publicly released its position paper in July outlining its strong opposition to the proposed boundary adjustment. He said that position remained unchanged, and the shire continued to stand firmly by the contents and intent of that document. The City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder this week released its draft submission to local media after keeping it confidential at the request of Ms Beazley. The submission puts forward a raft of reasons for supporting a boundary adjustment with the shire. However, its also emphasises that city residents should not be given the burden of the shire’s financially crippling debt — which reached $30.49 million at June 30, 2024, before being pegged back to $27.52m at June 30 this year. It states any inheritance of this debt would require direct State Government financial support or a formal arrangement that ensures city residents would not be financially penalised by absorbing the shire into the city. It should be noted that despite the statements made in the submission, Kalgoorlie-Boulder councillors have not formally voted to support or reject the merger of the shire and the city.