Bayside Council

The City of Rockdale was originally proclaimed as the "Municipal District of West Botany" on 13 January 1871.[7] From 1872, Council met in the first Council Chambers, a small purpose-built stone building on the western side of Rocky Point Road, Arncliffe. It continued in use until 11 December 1888, when a new Town Hall was opened on the corner of Rocky Point Road and Bryant Street, Rockdale.[8] By the time the neighbouring Boroughs of Botany and North Botany (Mascot from 1911) were proclaimed on 29 March 1888, it was clear that a name change was desirable. On 17 May 1888 the Parliament of New South Wales passed the Rockdale Municipality Naming Act (No.33, 1888), and West Botany became the "Municipal District of Rockdale".[9] The 1887 Town Hall was replaced by the current Rockdale Town Hall in 1940, and was designed by Rockdale architect Douglas Gardiner.[10] Under the Local Government (Areas) Act 1948, the Municipality of Bexley, which was located immediately to the West and had separated from Hurstville in 1900, became the First Ward of Rockdale Municipality.[11] Rockdale was declared a city in 1995 as the "City of Rockdale".[12][13]

The City of Botany Bay was first proclaimed on 29 March 1888 as the "Borough of Botany", and met from 1899 to 2016 in the Botany Town Hall.[14][15] The northern section of the City of Botany Bay was first incorporated as the "Borough of North Botany" on 29 March 1888.[16] From 28 December 1906, following the passing of the Local Government Act, 1906, the councils were renamed as the "Municipality of North Botany" and the "Municipality of Botany". The Municipality of North Botany was renamed as the "Municipality of Mascot" on 31 October 1911.[17] Under the Local Government (Areas) Act 1948, the Municipality of Mascot was amalgamated into Botany, within a reconstituted Municipality of Botany. Botany remained a municipality until 11 May 1996, when it was proclaimed the "City of Botany Bay".[18]

A 2015 review of local government boundaries by the NSW Government Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal recommended that the City of Botany Bay amalgamate with the City of Rockdale to form a new Council with an area of 50 square kilometres (19 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 153,000.[19]

There was significant community opposition to the merger from within both communities. In Botany Bay, residents were given the chance to have their say in a community poll which was held on 27 February 2016.[20] Ultimately 97.8 per cent of Botany Bay residents voted 'no' when asked the question 'Do you agree that the City of Botany Bay should merge with Rockdale City Council?'.[21] Rockdale City Council indicated their preference to merge with the City of Kogarah and the City of Hurstville, forming a single "St George Council".[22][23] Botany Bay also attempted to seek a compromise by proposing to merge with the City of Randwick and parts of the City of Sydney.[24][25]

With the proclamation of the majority of Council amalgamations on 12 May 2016, the City of Botany Bay Council appealed the decision in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, thereby delaying the proposed amalgamation until a decision was made by the Court. The Supreme Court rejected the appeal in early September 2016, and the Minister for Local Government, Paul Toole, moved quickly to proclaim the formation of Bayside Council on 9 September 2016, with the former Administrator of Central Darling Shire, Greg Wright, appointed as the Administrator.[4][26][27][28] On 9 September 2017, the first Council consisting of fifteen Councillors across 5 wards was elected, and the former Mayor of Rockdale, Bill Saravinovski, was elected as the first Mayor on 27 September.[29][30]

The early period of the council was punctuated by revelations of the extent of issues inherited from the former Botany Bay Council, including an antiquated vehicle fleet costing millions of dollars to replace, and the legacy of ICAC investigations that uncovered the significant misappropriation of funds and fraud by former Botany Bay Council employees, which had led to 12 individuals being recommended for prosecution.[31][32] The first Mayor of Bayside Council, Bill Saravinovski, in particular noted that, "The legacy of the misappropriations and costs of remediation result[ed] in a net fund deficit of $17 million, placing Bayside Council at a significant disadvantage".[33][34][35]

The most recent election was held on 9 September 2017, and the makeup of the Council, by order of election, is as follows:

Owing to a perceived confusion over the ward names, particularly from members of the public not able to distinguish between their ward and their suburb, at its meeting on 14 November 2018, Bayside Council voted to exhibit changes to the ward names: "Port Botany Ward" to Ward 1, "Mascot Ward" to Ward 2, "Rockdale Ward" to Ward 3, "Bexley Ward" to Ward 4, and "Botany Bay Ward" to Ward 5.[45] At the subsequent meeting on 13 February 2019, Bayside Council voted to adopt these changes, despite the public consultation resulting in 69% of 83 submissions not supporting the change of ward names to numbers.[46]