in my area in NSW the big issue is local council forced amalgamations.
I do not understand this. It seems the same angry folks who want other "small government" policies except here want an inefficient devolved bureaucracy for filling in pot holes and collecting bins. They are campaigning on a loss of local identity, when I have never heard someone refer to the local council area they live but the suburb (eg; Avalon) or the area (eg; North Shore). It's just such a bizarre situation to what seems like a no brainer to me.