REMEMBER WHEN

IT WAS the last days of 1991 and as the Gold Coast prepared to kiss goodbye to the year, the Bulletin’s front page brought news that would resonate well into the middle of the decade.

A radical plan to merge the Gold Coast City and Albert Shire councils to form a “super council” was proposed in a 72page local government reform report.

The shock release of the information was surrounded by controversy and in a 90-minute meeting, Mayor Lex Bell admitted he had considered resigning his post.

Cr Bell said a move by councillors to gag him from speaking about the issue had nearly forced his hand.

The report contained a scathing report on the Albert Shire, then led by Bill Laver, saying it had a “lack of cooperation and consultation, poor planning and continuing conflicts over matters ranging from water supply to development problems”.

The amalgamation was to create the “region of Gold Coast” with the claim it would achieve “economics of scale in the delivery of services” to end duplication and conflicting local bylaws. The report said the existing shire boundaries were no longer relevant or in the best interests of the region’s citizens.

Both Cr Bell and Cr Laver stepped down from their positions ahead of the 1994 elections. Cr Bell was returned as a councillor in both 1994 election and the amalgamation poll in 1995. The new Gold Coast City Council was created in March 1995.

A move in the late 1990s to de-amalgamate the council was not successful.