The second Local Government Roundtable was held in Melbourne on 29 April. An initiative of the Federal Minister for Regional Services, Territories and Local Government, Wilson Tuckey, the roundtable occurs at least once a year. It involves the Minister and representatives from the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA), State and Territory LGAs and the ACT Government. At the roundtable, Wilson Tuckey acknowledged ALGA’s Cost Shifting Inquiry recommendations, which call for an Inter Governmental Agreement (IGA) to address the problem of cost shifting which is impacting on Local Governments and their communities across Australia.
The Minister sees the Cost Shifting Inquiry as a chance for a generational change, but asserts that we may have to wait another 20 years if it is not supported now. Given this, he has called on Mayors, Shire Presidents and Councillors to write to the local papers in their particular areas to stimulate community debate about what Local Government should look like, what it should do and how it should be funded.
The President of the ALGA, Mike Montgomery, believes that the Cost Shifting Inquiry is an opportunity to provide some secure funding for Local Government to carry out the extra work local communities are now expecting from their Councils.
Earlier in April, when the Minister addressed the IULA–ASPAC Congress in Sydney (refer page 1), he said that in 1974 Local Government sourced 25 per cent of its revenue from the Federal and State Governments. Today this has dropped to just 19 per cent.
He believes there would be many benefits from Local Government taking on additional services specific to local needs. The Minister said that the capacity of local people to see a problem, and respond to it, is quite evident. However, the question remains, where is the money to come from? He told delegates that when Local Government formally takes responsibility for services, it is appropriate that there should be some re ordering of funding from the other spheres of government.
In throwing out his challenge to Local Government to establish its vision for the future, he said that it is up to Local Government to put forward a case as to what it should be doing. The Minister said that ALGA’s proposal for an intergovernmental agreement covering what each sphere should do and where the money will come from is a good start, but he believes individual Councils have not done enough to consult widely with their communities.
Although the message was somewhat unclear when he first announced this Inquiry, and the political reality remains that this is a great opportunity for the Federal Government to buck pass all the blame for cost shifting to the States, the Minister’s challenge to Local Government is now on the table.
If Councils talk to their communities about our inter governmental set up, so people develop a clearer understanding of responsibilities and current funding arrangements, this can only improve and build on the public perception of Local Government. Although getting the local media on side to give fair, balanced and adequate coverage may be a battle for some Councils, this should not be seen as an obstacle. No doubt the ALGA and State LGAs will assist by providing a template Councils can adapt to suit their local needs.
With the Minister reaffirming that that the Federal Government is keen to take more of an interest in Local Government, including the revisiting of Constitutional recognition, Councils accepting this challenge – to work with their communities to develop a vision for the future – is absolutely vital.
If Councils cannot convince their communities to support them for a better funding deal, then Constitutional recognition will be much further off than 20 years away!
