Each edition we feature the views of a Local Government Association President. The following is from Councillor Tom Pyne AO President, LGAQ.
This will be the last occasion on which I write for Local Government FOCUS as President of the Local Government Association of Queensland. I will stand down as President in March.
When thinking about Local Government in the new Millennium and the next century I decided to look back at what our predecessors in Local Government were saying as they entered the new century back at the start of the 1900s. At the 1908 Annual Conference of the Local Authorities of Queensland Mayor of Brisbane, Alderman Buchanan, gave all the delegates a big rap in his toast to ‘Local Authorities Representatives’.
He said that the toast was outside the category of those toasts in which the merits of an individual were proclaimed. He considered that the Local Authorities Association was one of the grandest institutions in Queensland, for it was a paramount factor in the wellbeing of the community.
He regarded the representatives of the Local Authorities as being intimately connected with the basis of human society, and the Conference, which was to meet in Brisbane, might be regarded as the ‘domestic Parliament of Queensland.’ The Mayor’s remarks are no less true today.
The Governor of the day also commented on the roles of Mayors and Councillors. He surmised a new Councillor entering upon his functions full of hope and enthusiasm, promising all sorts of reforms. ‘He thought he was going to reform his district, his town, his city.’ Reality intruded when constituents were asked to foot the bill for reforms.
Many of the hopefuls who will line up for the elections in March will come forward with the same hopes and aspirations and will inevitably confront the same experience as they proceed through their first and subsequent terms.
To get the balance right between leading reform and community acceptance of change is a task which is no doubt as difficult now as it was 100 years ago. It is also worth noting that the change process is not new. The difference now is that so much more change will be driven externally, that is globally, than ever before.
The 1908 Conference also passed a resolution which would easily be passed at a conference held today, namely: ‘Whereas the system of Local Government was introduced and established in Queensland upon a distinct principle, namely, that of financial assistance by the State to Local Authorities, this Conference affirms that the coincidence of Local Government work in relation to State development renders it obligatory upon the State to share some part of the burden or to establish some system of financial aid to Local Authorities upon an equitable basis’.
The similarities between this Conference at the beginning of the 20th century and the issues as we enter the 21st century are uncanny. While the technology that surrounds us now is vastly different, the values and ideals of Local Government based on service to the community remain the same. Obviously, the things we hold important and our aspirations as a community hold true over time.
What then can we expect of the next century as we move into the third millennium? I suspect, and hope, that society maintains its values of care and support for one another, and that Local Government will continue to play its increasingly pivotal role in the development of communities in which people live, work and play. This is essential as a counter balance to the pressures of globalisation and the loss of our individuality and diversity.
These are the issues for those good souls who will soldier on and the new, enthusiastic, community minded idealists who will join the ranks of Queensland Councillors after the March elections. I wish them all the very best in this task in the knowledge that the foundations of Local Government in Queensland can carry the load.
