Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. I am on the record outside the parliament, inside the parliament, prior to the last election and since the last election as being opposed to forced amalgamations at a local authority level. That has always been my position and always will be my position. That is why we backed the proposal by the previous government to test local community sentiment on these questions. I have seen the results of that. Those good people reflect the view which I have, which is that forced amalgamations should not proceed. On this question, my position is in complete opposition to that of the state government of Queensland—has been in the past and is so today—and that position does not change.

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