Ed, The letter (CV Independent 15/6/16) from Peter Primrose MLC, the Shadow Minister for Local Government expresses deep concern for the attack on democracy represented by the current State Government’s forced merger of Local Governments. His statement: “This is no longer just about mergers. It is about local democracy” is simply dripping with sincerity. How quickly professional politicians choose to forget. Allow me to remind him that the State Labor Government wasn’t particularly concerned about democracy when they forced the merger of Councils in the Clarence Valley to create this outrageous assault on democracy we now have in the Clarence Valley Council. If the Shadow Minister, and for that matter the current LNP Minister want to salvage some vestige of credibility, might I suggest that they both commit to an investigation of the Clarence Valley Council and the conducting of a referendum of residents on De-Amalgamation? Ian Saunders, Maclean