Mr Toole stressed that the government had been working with the local government sector since 2011 to improve its performance. He expressed disappointment about the small number of merger proposals that look set to be proposed by the June 30 deadline but refused to be drawn on whether the government would now take the next step to force amalgamations. "We are committed to doing everything we said we would do. Councils also, they too need to be talking to their neighbours and communities about what is in their interest. Unfortunately, at the moment, self interest has got in the way," he said. Councils need to "look beyond today into the future," he said. Asked whether he would get rid of the Boundaries Commission process - it must hold public hearings for any proposal whether voluntary or proposed by the minister - Mr Toole left his options open.

"Well there is a whole host of various options that can be looked at. The government has been a partner in this process. We have been very open, and we want councils to have shown that leadership," he said. Privately he is understood to have canvassed the idea of amendments to give the minister power to approve amalgamations without the need for a full Boundaries Commission report. With council elections scheduled for September 2016, there is pressure to get new boundaries drawn before that date. Mr Toole's comments come as only a handful of Sydney's 41 councils put forward amalgamations, with most choosing to apply to stand alone. Randwick and Waverley have offered to merge, while Auburn, Burwood and Canada Bay have also agreed to a three way merger. Both fall short of the proposals in the government's Independent Local Government reform Panel, which will be used as an indicator of scale by IPART.

"We have done our part in protecting Waverley from being forced to be part of a 600,000 resident global city council with the City of Sydney, Botany, Randwick and Woollahra councils," Waverley Mayor Sally Betts said on Sunday after her council voted for the merger proposal a second time. "I would love Waverley Council to stand alone, but with a population of 70,700 I know based on the Government criteria we wouldn't be deemed fit for the future," she said. One council, Hornsby Shire council has submitted that it probably "not fit" unless it takes over parts of its neighbours. It was slated to merge with Ku-ring-gai which opposes a merger. Instead Hornsby has proposed boundary adjustments to take in parts of Parramatta and Ryde municipalities, including the suburbs of Eastwood, Epping, Marsfield and Macquarie Park. This is at odds with Parramatta's submission which seeks to create a council of 460,000 by taking over parts of Hornsby, Ryde, the Hills and all of Holroyd Council. It is unclear how the government will deal with conflicting plans.

Other councils, such as Ryde, Lane Cove and Hunters Hill are proposing joint organisations to share services such as planning as a way of making efficiency gains. Mr Toole said: "There are councils that will put in JRAs, but we also have ROCs [regional organisations of councils] out there operating, so without preempting the process, I will be interested to hear how they will function."