A snap shot of key issues raised in the addresses by various Federal MPs at the General Assembly.
Deputy PM and Minister for Trade, Mark Vaile
Representing the Prime Minister, Mark Vaile said that events overnight (arrests in Melbourne and Sydney) and other pressing government business had prevented John Howard from addressing the Assembly.
“The best outcomes in the nation’s interest are also in your interest for local communities,” Mark Vaile said. “We recognise your role and the importance of it as you interact with people on the ground and their aspirations.”
He said that in line with recommendations from the Hawker Fair Share report, both Houses of Federal Parliament will formally recognise Local Government and that the drafting of this resolution is almost complete.
“Your resources are adversely affected by influences outside your control – largely from the State and Territory Governments,” the Deputy PM said. “We are working on the Inter Governmental Agreement (IGA) to curb this cost shifting.”
Referring to the 2005–06 State of the Regions report call for the need to extend broadband into regional areas, Mark Vaile said that the Federal Government will be investing an additional $1.1 billion to boost broadband into regional and rural Australia.
“Where the marketplace fails to provide new technology in regional Australia, we have established the perpetual Communications Fund to fix gaps in the telecommunications network,” he said. “The earnings of the $2 billion fund – more than $100 million a year – will be available to fix the gaps identified by independent reviews.”
Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads, Jim Lloyd
The Minister outlined key Government programs directly assisting Councils and their communities. These include the $2 billion water fund, $49 million emergency management funding to assist Councils in frontline response, $40.6 million Regulation Reduction Incentive Fund to assist small and home based businesses and some $12.7 billion under AusLink vital for our international competitiveness and increased productivity.
“Roads to Recovery Two announced last year is providing an additional $1.35 billion over four years, building on the $1.2 billion for the 14,800 projects you delivered under phase one of this program,” the Minister said.
Jim Lloyd also announced there will be an additional $100 million to add to the current $150 million funding under the AusLink Strategic Regional Programme.
This program assists Councils to develop regional roads that support industry, tourism and economic development.
“The AusLink Strategic Regional Programme has created enormous interest among Councils since its announcement in 2004 as part of the Australian Government’s AusLink Programme,” Jim Lloyd said. “This interest attests to the significance Councils see the program contributing to the development of their regions. I remind you that all these programs were instigated by the Howard Government and to carefully consider this when the next election comes around.”
The Minister said that the cornerstone of Federal/Local Government relations is Financial Assistance Grants (FAGs) and Roads to Recovery.
“FAGs for the past 30 years has played a vital role in your delivery of basic services,” the Minister said. “It averages $2.3 million per year per Councils and around eight per cent of Local Government revenue. It is all untied as you know where the key needs are within your locality.”
Deputy Opposition Leader, Jenny Macklin
With Parliamentary business also preventing Opposition Leader, Kim Beazley, from addressing this year’s General Assembly, delegates heard from his Deputy, Jenny Macklin.
“Decent, secure funding for Local Government is paramount,” Jenny Macklin said. “Labor backs your call for fair funding. Our federal system has too much duplication, overlap and cost shifting. Local Government must be given better resources.”
She said that after 15 years of economic growth, low inflation, record productivity and lower unemployment, there has been a squandering of opportunities over the past 10 years. Pointing to neglect in education and training and infrastructure investment, Jenny Macklin said globally we are losing our market share across the board.
“We have become too dependent on good luck,” she warned. “The global resources boom has provided $40 billion per annum, the equivalent of $7,000 per household, but this will not last forever. The Howard Government has left Australia unprepared for that time.”
“Consuming more than we produce, skilled workers retiring, households spending more than they earn, adverse balance of trade and the greatest foreign debt in our history are major concerns,” Jenny Macklin said. “When global interest rates rise the cost of meeting foreign debt will increase. We cannot afford to ignore these risks.”
On the proposed Industrial Relations reforms, she described these as ‘a nest of termites eating away at Australian’s way of life’, adversely impacting families and local communities.
Shadow Minister for Housing, Urban Development, Local Government & Territories, Senator Kim Carr
“This is a crucial annual event for Local Government in Australia,” Senator Carr said. “It provides a forum for discussion and agenda setting on policy, and to raise issues for the future.
“Healthy, sustainable communities as a basic guarantee of social cohesion in Australia. Australia will not thrive and prosper without robust communities. We must make sure that the problems of Australia’s cities and issues of urban growth are at the forefront of policy debate.
“To this end, Labor will shortly to release a Discussion Paper on housing, urban development and Local Government. This paper will bring together some salient facts and forecasts, and put forward some policy ideas, that cover these vital policy areas.
“The Howard Government believes that everything will be fixed by market forces but market failures demand government intervention. There is a strong case for government intervention to tackle social and economic disadvantage.”
He said that there is a need to review Commonwealth/Local Government funding arrangements.
“If Local government is given more responsibilities, it must have the funding to carry this out,” Senator Carr said. “We will offer Local Government a fairer, better deal as it is the key to robust communities. Because Local Government is the bedrock of Australian government; because all of us encounter it every day of our lives; because Local Government provides the essential daily support for a decent life and a strong community, Labor puts it at the centre of our policy making.”
