Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s decision to hold the federal election on September 7 is a massive disappointment for the local government sector. The September 7 date means that a referendum on recognising local government in the Constitution cannot be held. As a consequence, important funds for community projects across Australia are open to challenge because federal funding is not referred to in the Constitution.
If any challenge is successful, hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for facilities and services across Australia that are within local councils, like Roads to Recovery projects, childcare centres, aged care centres, libraries, community sportsgrounds, swimming pools, community centres and public parks may have to be withdrawn. This is a problem that will not go away and ALGA will be considering ways to secure Commonwealth support to address this issue.
With 95 percent of federal MPs and Senators voting in favour of this referendum, and the overwhelming majority of mayors also in support, there will be a lot of disappointment across Australia at this decision. Local government’s preference would have been to hold the referendum alongside the election, as research carried out by ALGA suggests that Australians are in support of a YES vote and agree it’s time for the Constitution to be updated to recognise the role of their local council.
Much campaign planning and implementation has already begun in every community in preparation for the referendum and ALGA is determined that this will not be wasted. Councils across the country have each invested modest amounts towards a referendum campaign and ALGA will be working with state associations of local government to ensure the financial impact on councils is minimised.
During the election, ALGA will be seeking a commitment from all major political parties for a date on which to hold a referendum, as we hope to build on the momentum that our campaign has already gained among the public. We know that a referendum to include local government in the Constitution is winnable and we will continue to advocate for constitutional reform.
Our polling tells us that a referendum question on financial recognition has the support of the majority of Australians. The referendum question also has the overwhelming support of parliamentarians. We only have to look at the floor of Parliament for confirmation of the overwhelming level of support for the referendum. The Constitution Alteration Bill passed the House of Representatives with 133 members voting yes and only two members voting against. In the Senate, the Bill passed with a vote of 46 to 8. This means that 95 per cent of those parliamentarians who voted on the Bill supported it, including a majority of the Government, the Opposition, the Greens and the independents.
We know that achieving constitutional change will not be easy but we are capable of success. We have already achieved a remarkable amount on the journey towards a referendum and it is our intention to continue to build on this progress into the future.
