When a town isn't a town
SaveBy ELOISE JOHNSTONEDec. 28, 2012, 9:17 a.m
Source;Bendigo Advertiser
Local councils have put their support behind small towns in central Victoria, after proposed changes that will see towns with populations of less than 200 stripped of their official status.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has decreed that places with fewer than 200 people per square kilometre according to 2011 census data, will no longer be classified as towns.
Villages, boroughs, hamlets or small towns have been suggested as alternative titles.
It is unclear which small towns in central Victoria will be affected until the formula is applied.
However, a survey conducted by Fairfax shows many towns could be under threat.
City of Greater Bendigo councillor Rod Fyffe said he was concerned about the impact the changes could have.
“When you lose that identity it makes it very difficult to make advances at a government level and at a not-for-profit level,” he said.
“People are more likely to support towns than any other thing they want to call it instead.”
Loddon Shire mayor Geoff Curnow said the council would support the many small towns that made up the shire.
read more http://www.bordermail.com.au/story/1207721/when-a-town-isnt-a-town/?cs=2452
It seems like an unnecessary change to me .
