Speaking at the Municipal Association of Victoria’s recent annual conference, Candy Broad, Victorian Minister for Local Government said that success does not come by accident – it usually takes a lot of hard work and careful planning. Acknowledging the conference theme, Sharing Strategies for Success, on State/Local Government relations she said that a better relationship does not always mean a perfect relationship.
“The challenge is always keep at least one eye on the bigger picture,” Minister Broad said. “And in that bigger picture are the benefits that could come from Local Government and State Government working more closely together.”
She said that to improve the coordination of all government activity within a region, the eight State administrative boundaries have been aligned on Local Government boundaries.
“But the absence of shared agreements between the three spheres of government is hurting all of us,” the Minister said.
She pointed to the backlog in roads infrastructure as just one example of why an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) is vital.
“There has been a series of usual meetings and we are working hard to reach an agreement by early 2006,” Candy Broad said.
She said that the IGA needs to be a flexible set of guidelines as it is not possible to cover every possible eventuality.
“But local outcomes is what counts and this is what we will be judged on,” the Minister said. In his President’s Report, Councillor Geoff Lake said that 2004/05 has been a period of reassessing the direction the direction of MAV, focusing on connections with the membership and setting the Association’s sights on the national arena.
Councillor Lake said that sustained lobbying at both State and Federal levels has resulted in several wins for Local Government in the areas of community care, immunisation, road funding and financial sustainability.
“We successfully argued for and gained an additional $1.3 million per annum for the delivery of immunisation services, and got the final sign off on the Home and Community Care (HACC) program partnership agreement – a first in the area of planning, policy and provision of HACC services’” he said.
“We campaigned strongly for the renewal of the highly successful Roads to Recovery (R2R) program which also resulted in the allocation a further $1.35 billion nationally to roads over the next four years. And as part of the ongoing review of the Penalty Enforcement by Registration of Infringement Notice (PERIN) system, we obtained an in principle agreement from the State Government to introduce a range of improved enforcement powers for the Sheriff’s office.”
Earlier this year, MAV was granted an Australian Financial Services License by ASIC.
“The only Local Government body in Australia to be granted this license, this allows the MAV to operate an insurance business independent of the private insurance companies,” Geoff Lake said. “MAV Insurance can compete on equal terms and provide maximum security for members as well as various community groups that had faced difficulties accessing affordable insurance.”
