On Friday 9 September 2016 a great injustice occurred. Bayside Council was formed without a mandate from the residents and against the express will of the local communities of both Botany Bay and Rockdale...

Why launch a petition now?

After her election as Premier of New South Wales Gladys Berejiklian described herself as “someone who’ll listen”. We call on the new Premier Gladys Berejiklian to fulfill her promise and listen to the people of Bayside, we want a de-amalgmation!

12 reasons why you should support the de-amalgamation of Bayside Council!

1. The City of Botany Bay was not perfect, but it was a local, community-minded Council, which had carefully put away funds for a rainy day. Our Council had $70 million in reserves and there is no guarantee Rockdale won’t use it to pay off their debt.
2. Because our people never wanted this, when given the chance to vote, 98 per cent voted ‘No’. It's crazy that the Government chose to merge City of Botany Bay with Rockdale Council in spite of our people’s overwhelming opposition.
3. The former City of Botany Bay and Rockdale Council do not even share a boundary, it is impossible to (legally) walk from one Council area to another without passing through St Peters. Given the congestion in the airport tunnel, its not much easier to drive and there's only one bus - the 303 - that directly connects the two areas.
4. The new Bayside Council is run out of the Rockdale area. Rockdale’s former General Manager is in charge and the new Administrator is based out of Rockdale. 
5. The new Bayside Council has already started shutting down Botany Bay offices, including the old Mayoral Office.
6. The new Bayside Council has also gotten rid of former Botany Bay staff including former General Manager Lara Kirchner.
7. The new Council is cancelling events or running them in Rockdale so that Botany Bay residents can't attend: Australia Day and ANZAC Day have already faced the chop or been relocated to Rockdale.
8. Because Botany Bay residents have lower rates than Rockdale residents and, once the rate cap is finished in 2020, our rates will increase by twenty per cent!
9. Botany Bay and Rockdale have very different cultures, history and a different mix of incomes. The position of the canal and later the Airport has meant our two communities have developed separately and should remain separate. 
10. The City of Botany Bay had very strict development controls that the new Council is already starting to wind back. The new Council has also introduced an independent planning panel so that when Councillors are elected they won't even get a say in planning decisions.
11. The new Bayside Council is already showing itself incapable of taking responsibility. When rubbish get's dumped it blames residents, when it runs into economic trouble it blames the former Council and they have taken down websites that make them look bad.
12. The City of Botany Bay area was an economic powerhouse - even though we had half the people of Rockdale our local economy was more than three times the size.*

*As at June 2015 the local Botany Bay economy was worth $9.7 billion, while in the same time frame "Bayside" (which is just Rockdale and Botany Bay put together) is $13.6 billion. This means City of Botany Bay was worth more than three times as much.