A two-year local government review in Tasmania has recommended merging 12 of the state's councils into seven.

The review calls for the mergers to address issues of “unhelpful competition, fragmentation, and duplication” stemming from the current count of 29 councils. 

Forced amalgamations have been ruled out, witht he state focusing instead on voluntary mergers.

The report proposes combining Kentish and Latrobe councils, Break O'Day, Glamorgan Spring Bay, and Sorell, as well as Kingborough with Huon Valley. 

Additionally, the review suggests creating two councils from West Coast, Waratah-Wynyard, and Circular Head, while reforming Hobart and Glenorchy into two new local government areas.

Public feedback on the proposed reforms and voluntary amalgamations will be accepted until the end of February next year. 

The anticipated timeline for implementing any changes is around two years, starting in 2024. 

The Tasmanian government has assured that council boundaries will not change without support from individual councils and their communities.

Break O'Day mayor and president of Tasmania's Local Government Association, Mick Tucker, has expressed optimism about the potential merger.

“There will be no job losses, and we believe there will be increased productivity,” Tucker says. 

“Why have two sets of machinery when one set, with a little increase, can do the lot? So, we can be more efficient through sharing.”

While acknowledging concerns about losing local representation or access to services, Tucker urged others to approach the process with an open mind, emphasising the need for maturity in evaluating the recommendations, discussing potential improvements, and submitting constructive feedback.

“It might not suit everybody, but we need to be grown up and mature enough to look at what's been recommended, pick out all the good bits, discuss what's not so good, if necessary, test the assumptions, but be mature enough to put forward a really good submission,” Tucker stated. 

“We need to understand: can we do better, can we be better?”