I have a different view about whether the unincorporated areas actually exist. They have defined boundaries and names, both assigned by the respective State governments, and included in the LGA datasets. I have seen the boundaries signposted when travelling in rural areas of both NSW and SA and the signs are the same as signs identifying shire/city boundaries. Governments don't give boundaries, names and signposts to entities that do not exist. I do agree that unincorporated areas have different and varied governance/administrative arrangements - I understand that State governments have considered the different arrangements more suitable because the unincorporated areas are more sparsely populated and/or have special circumstances. If it is important to highlight the different administrative arrangements, then Warin's suggestion of additional tags is a good way forward. As the areas do actually exist, it seems to me that they warrant being appropriately mapped with administrative boundaries, as shown in the State government LGA datasets.
After Andrew's earlier comment about references in legislation, I looked at NSW legislation. There are a few references to the Unincorporated Area of NSW and generally they refer to it as if it were a local government area. The most explicit is the Electricity Supply Act 1995 which states that the legislation "applies to the unincorporated area as if (a) references to a local government area were references to the unincorporated area, and (b) references to a local council were references to the Western Lands Commissioner" and it makes similar provisons in regard to Lord Howe Island and the Lord Howe Island Board. For practical purposes the Unincorporated Area of NSW and Lord Howe Island appear to be treated as similar and equivalent to areas administered by councils. I don't think I can add anything new and would be repeating myself if I said much more. I won't keep posting further comments on this issue but I hope that the OSM community might help clarify the matter or suggest an alternate approach. I have an interest in administrative boundaries and I have travelled and mapped in rural and remote parts of NSW, SA and other states. I remain disappointed that the Unincorporated Area of New South Wales was deleted and I don't wish to see other unincorporated LGAs deleted either. _______________________________________________ Talk-au mailing list [email protected] https://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-au
