Local Government has been criticised for its inability or reluctance to carry out structural reform. As a result, many State Governments, past and present, have often taken it upon themselves to use legislative powers to force through change. A point conveniently overlooked by State Governments is that structural reform for any sphere of government is rarely an easy process. Recent examples spring to mind such as Northern Territory’s failed attempt to achieve Statehood. Similarly, proposed reforms to the Victorian Upper House is not likely to be an easy road.
At the Federal level, in spite of most people agreeing an Australian head of state is long over due, a further example was the resounding ‘no’ vote at the 1999 referendum. One hundred years after Australians pulled together to achieve nationhood, without the usual trappings of bloodshed or revolution, our failure to agree on how an Australian head of state should be decided resulted in us entering the 21st century still with a foreign head of state.
Having just hosted what was widely seen as the ‘best Olympic games ever’, Sandy Hollway is probably right when he told delegates at the NSW Local Government Managers Association conference that ‘Australians can do anything if we put our minds to it’ but he rightly qualified this with ‘if we get our act together’.
Unfortunately, when governments at all levels attempt structural change, the process can easily be hijacked by sectional interests. Even when there is bipartisan support for change, well organised stakeholders can sow the seeds of doubt leading to people opting for the status quo.
Local Government should reject the notion that it is alone in scoring poorly on structural reform. And similarly, State Governments should not use this as an excuse to force through reform. Indications that the NSW State Government is losing patience with the slow pace of voluntary Council amalgamations is a worrying sign. Of greater concern is a view that maybe the former Kennett Government’s model of State controlled forced amalgamations is the only way forward.
With the fallout of the Victorian experiment still being felt, including an estimated loss of 21,000 Local Government jobs, as well as the blatant disregard of democratic principles, fast tracking reform using legislative muscle is no answer. Although it is likely to be a slower process, Councils and their communities are best placed, and must be left, to drive their own agendas for change.
