15-615: The Broad Arrow Road District was an early form of local government area on the Western Australian goldfields. It was established on 15 December 1899, providing basic local government to the rural areas around the mining town of Broad Arrow , which had already been incorporated as the Municipality of Broad Arrow in 1897. The board's office was located in Broad Arrow township. The town of Paddington separated as
30-443: A significant reduction in the number of decisions requiring ministerial approval which allowed for streamlined decision-making and greater local government autonomy. Although successive state governments have periodically promoted municipal amalgamation, only a small number of local governments have merged over the course of Western Australia's history. Historically most local governments have strongly resisted forced amalgamations and
45-536: A tax on private allotments to fund the construction and maintenance of "roads, paths and plantations". As the Colony began to develop, the first form of local government was established in some areas under the Towns Improvement Act of 1838. These trusts were empowered to elect ratepayers as Trustees and assess and collect a property tax for the construction of roads. Many of these town trusts, including
60-782: The Indian Ocean Territories Administration of Laws Act , which allows the Western Australian Local Government Act to apply "on-island" as though it were a Commonwealth act. Nonetheless, Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands are not parts of Western Australia. The most recent local government elections were held in 2023 . Land was originally granted in the Swan River Colony under regulations which allowed for land commissioners to assess
75-619: The Greater Perth Movement around this time led to the amalgamation of inner city local governments to create a greatly expanded City of Perth until 1993, when the City was broken up once again. The first local government department was established by the state in 1949 to guide local government authorities. Following the war local governments increasingly expanded their services from property, health and local infrastructure (roads, drainage) to community and social services. This
90-682: The Kalgoorie Road District , becoming the Broad Arrow Ward of that district. It was reported at the time that the Broad Arrow board had been dealing with declining rate revenue and "held out against amalgamation for three years, but eventually had given in". Local government areas of Western Australia There are 137 local government areas (LGAs) in Western Australia , which comprise 27 cities, 102 shires, and 8 towns that manage their own affairs to
105-508: The Municipality of Paddington on 14 June 1901 following agitation from disgruntled residents who felt that they were not receiving their fair proportion of board expenditure. It absorbed the Broad Arrow township and re-absorbed Paddington on 12 August 1910, when the amalgamated Municipality of Broad Arrow-Paddington merged into the district. It had been proposed at this time to merge the Broad Arrow Road District into
120-513: The Perth Town Trust , experienced severe administrative and financial difficulties, and in some cases barely functioned at all. The Guildford Town Trust lasted only a couple of years before ceasing to function until it was reconstituted in 1863. The District Roads Act and Municipal Institutions Act , both of 1871 improved matters by allowing for the establishment of Roads Boards and Municipal Corporations. Municipal Corporations had
135-477: The Shire of Cocos (Keeling) Islands are also included for comparison purposes. Federal external territory. Currently, Western Australia has ten regional councils. Each regional council comprises two or more local government areas (LGAs). William Bold William Ernest Bold C.B.E. (6 May 1873 – 25 November 1953) was a long-serving municipal clerk of Perth , Western Australia. He
150-735: The North East Coolgardie Road District based in Kanowna ; however, this was abandoned following the amalgamation with the merged municipality. It absorbed the small towns of Cane Grass, Gimlet, Ora Banda and Waverley from the Coolgardie Road District in late 1911, after complaining that the roads to these towns went through the Broad Arrow board's territory, meaning that they were spending money on these areas and receiving no revenue from it. It ceased to exist on 7 July 1922, when it merged into
165-627: The capacity to levy property taxes, pass municipal by-laws and undertake various local regulatory services previously carried out by colonial officials and other central bodies. Corporations could also establish civic institutions and facilities with the governors' consent, including libraries and botanical gardens. Road Boards where strictly limited to the construction of roads, could not levy property taxes and depended on colonial government grants for any expenditures. Women were permitted to be elected to Road Boards from 1911 and to Municipal Corporations from 1919. The influence of town clerk W.E. Bold and
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#1732801766815180-606: The extent permitted by the Local Government Act 1995 . The Local Government Act 1995 also makes provision for regional local governments (referred to as "regional councils", established by two or more local governments for a particular purpose. There are three classifications of local government in Western Australia: The Shire of Christmas Island and the Shire of Cocos (Keeling) Islands are federal external territories and covered by
195-455: The present day. In the 1970s, the scope of local government services expanded to encompass the provision of nursing homes and other forms of aged care. During the late 1980s, and early 1990s a bi-partisan reform process led to the Local Government Act 1995 , which amongst other changes, established for the first time a clear separation of responsibility between elected councillors and local government administration. Other key changes included
210-783: The total number of authorities has declined only marginally over the last century. The most recent state government led effort to encourage the voluntary amalgamation of 30 metropolitan local governments into 16 was abandoned by the Barnett government in 2014. In 2017, the McGowan government initiated a review process to reform the Local Government Act 1995. The 30 metropolitan local government areas (LGAs) comprise 20 cities, 3 shires, and 7 towns. The 107 non-metropolitan local government areas (LGAs) comprise 7 cities, 99 shires, and 1 town . The Shire of Christmas Island and
225-414: Was termed the “New Order” at the time, and encompassed the development of community centres, infant health clinics and sporting facilities. Only a few cities – Fremantle , Nedlands , Perth , South Perth , and Subiaco – existed prior to 1961. On 1 July 1961, all road districts became shires, and all municipalities became towns or cities. This structure has continued till
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