Each edition we feature the views of a State Local Government Association President.
The following is from Councillor Ken Pech JP – President,
Western Australian Municipal Association.
The following is from Councillor Ken Pech JP – President,
Western Australian Municipal Association.
As the speed of development and changes to technology increases, so it seems does the clamour for change within all tiers of government. This change is not necessarily being demanded by the population out there, but more by the bean-counters, firstly in the Federal Government and now in State Governments. This economic rationalist approach means that each sphere of government attempts to pass on more of its duties and less of its resources to the next sphere.
As a result, we see the Commonwealth passing on added duties and services to the States in areas such as health and roads while, at the same time, reducing, or at best not increasing, the Financial Assistance Grants and other payments, such as fuel and tobacco levies, to the States and Local Government.
If, through its powers, the Commonwealth has to raise taxes, then it also has an equal responsibility to disburse those taxes to the spheres of government which carry out the task and are in a position to realise where the most benefit can be obtained.
State and Local Governments are closer to the action, and Commonwealth attempts to duplicate the services will only result in less money to State and Local Governments while they still hold the responsibility. In the same way, we find that Local Government is having to provide services that have been progressively devolved from the State Government.
Examples of these are security patrols around the suburbs in both residential and industrial areas, part funding of community agricultural centres and increased responsibility for the connection of power and water in new developments, as well as the undergrounding of power in old, established areas.
Sure our (Local Government’s) constituents demand these services and infrastructure. But, it seems to me that we are expected to do these things with very little additional resources. With our only source of revenue from land rates, and occasionally a business enterprise, we have by far the least opportunity to fund these new areas of responsibility properly unless something else suffers and suffer it must if the resources do not come with the task.
The taxes which are raised by the States and the Commonwealth belong to our constituents. They are not the personal property of the spheres of government which raise them. The time has come, I believe, to develop some rationale into the whole business and allow funds to flow with the task that is being devolved.
The cynical side of me says that the method and system to which the States and the Commonwealth are moving is purely for political purposes. I do not believe it makes any difference which political persuasion the government is.
We have even further examples of this in the way special grants and deals are done, with the emphasis being on getting a ribbon cutting opportunity, rather than what is for the good of Australia and the community. We have the situation developing whereby State and Federal Governments seem to aim at sitting back and basking in the glory by handing out small amounts of money into politically sensitive areas, while leaving Local Government to take the flack for providing inadequate services with very scarce resources.
It is time for some equality!
