In each edition we feature the views of a Local Government Association President. The following is from Mayor Tony Bisdee, President of the LGA of Tasmania.
The Local Government National General Assembly will take place in Canberra from 28 November to 1 December 1999 and I wish to recommend this National forum to all elected representatives and professional officers and their partners, as it is the most important event on the national Local Government calendar.
One of the most important objectives of this national Local Government ‘parliament’ is to provide a forum where issues relating to the national agenda for Local Government can be debated and voted upon by all Council delegates. The resolution then becomes part of the operational and strategic objectives of ALGA.
The reason a national forum is so important is to obtain the national perspective to the issues affecting Local Government and to bring to our parliamentarians issues and objectives that have the national support of Local Government.
All too often our discussions with Federal Ministers require the force of a national consensus on a particular issue to be able to attain the preferred outcome for Local Government. An excellent example of this being the campaign by ALGA for the retention of direct funding for FAGs by the Federal Government.
The 1999 Assembly offers a unique and diverse program to cater for the interests of all delegates and, for the last assembly this century, a particular presentation by historian Stuart MacIntyre will profile the period 1899-1914, which had a great impact on the establishment of nationhood and the beginnings of our parliamentary and justice systems as we know them today.
Many proficient and interesting presenters will explore the topics of Local Government past, present and future. The issues of social justice, environment, finance, taxation, development and Local Government infrastructure are but some of the topics and issues to be addressed during the Assembly.
The challenges and issues that will impact upon Local Government nationally as we enter the 21st Century will be many and some most difficult to resolve without a national approach.
The problems of dryland salinity, recycling and maintaining services in rural and regional areas are but a small example of present and future issues requiring a truly national resolution and cooperation to find funding solutions to these problems.
The 1999 Local Government General Assembly is an event of national significance for Local Government and I recommend to all who are involved in Local Government to attend and provide input into the debate and resolutions that will be the National agenda for Local Government for 2000 and beyond.
