Tasmanian council numbers to be slashed by 50 in major government overhaul
Tasmanian councils face cuts to elected representatives with Hobart losing a quarter of its councillors under sweeping reforms to go before parliament.
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The number of Tasmanian councillors will be slashed by 50 with five major municipalities – including Hobart – cut to nine members under reforms set to be implemented before the October local government elections.
Allowances are also slated to increase with six allowance bands ranging from $15,529 to $52,951.
Local Government minister Kerry Vincent says the government carefully considered feedback from 49 submissions it received on the reforms it announced in a discussion paper last September and legislation on the proposed changes will be introduced.
Local Government Association of Tasmania president Mick Tucker is “heartened” by the government’s decision to adopt the changes and confident the reforms will be supported in parliament.
Under the significant reforms, Hobart, Clarence and Launceston will be cut from 12 councillors to 9, Kingborough and Glenorchy will be reduced from 10 to 9 with the remaining 24 councils having seven elected members.
An initial proposal to cut Tasman, Central Highlands, Flinders Island and King Island and West Coast to just five councillors has been revised and they will have seven unless they vote to have five.
A review found that Tasmania had some of the highest number of councillors per capita in Australia but also some of the lowest allowances.
Mr Vincent said a reduction of 50 councillors and bigger allowances “better reflect contemporary council functions and at no net additional cost”.
“If our smallest councils are of the view they would be served better by fewer councillors, we are ensuring we have provisions to manage it,” he said.
“We will also be legislating regular, four-yearly reviews to ensure local representation and councillor allowances reflect the changing nature of our communities.
“All Tasmanians have a strong interest in local government, and we want to deliver the strongest possible support for this important level of government.
“We are striking the right balance between improving consistency in councillor numbers and recognising the increasingly complex and valuable service councillors provide to their communities.”
Mr Vincent says the government will introduce the proposed changes through legislative amendments to the Local Government Act 1993 and the Local Government (General) Regulations 2025.
He said this would ensure the changes were in place well ahead of this year’s local government elections in October.
“These reforms will further strengthen local governance by laying the groundwork to attract and retain diverse, talented candidates for the 2026 elections and beyond,” Mr Vincent said.
Mr Tucker welcomed the proposed legislation.
“The reforms are strongly supported by most, if not all, in local government,” he said.
“We need to get cracking.
“I’m confident it (the legislation) should get through parliament. I wouldn’t have thought Labor would oppose it or the Greens or independents, unless of course they’re not across it.
“It is heartening to see the government take the initiative on these reforms and they need to be finalised before the elections so everyone is definite about the future.”
During the eight-week consultation period, 49 submissions were received, including 24 from councils, nine from individual councillors, 13 from members of the public and three from organisations.
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