Federal and State Local Government Ministers and the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) have formally agreed to develop an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) to put an end to cost shifting. The Local Government and Planning Ministers Council, of which ALGA is a full member, met in Melbourne on 4 August. It agreed to the development of an IGA between the three spheres of government that will help ensure fair treatment of Local Government in its financial dealings with its State and Federal counterparts.
ALGA President, Councillor Paul Bell, praised the Ministers, saying the support and cooperation of State and Federal Governments was critical to the success of the IGA.
“We have today achieved an important milestone,” Councillor Bell said. “Cost shifting takes many forms, but essentially involves the transfer of responsibilities to Local Government without adequate – or any – funding to undertake the relevant tasks.
“A draft IGA will be developed over the next six months and brought back to the next meeting of the Ministerial Council in March next year. ALGA is seeking an agreement that ensures the three spheres of government will work together on who does what, establishes some principles that guide decision making, ensures the deals made with Local Government are adequately funded, and most importantly, provides assurance that the deals we reach actually ‘stick’.”
