On 6 September the Federal Minister for Local Government Territories and Roads, Jim Lloyd, moved a resolution in the House of Representatives recognising the vital role of Local Government in our system of governance. The same resolution was presented in the Senate.
President of the Australian Local Government Association, Councillor Paul Bell, welcomed the tabling in Federal Parliament of this resolution, seeing it as an historic and symbolic step on the road to formal constitutional recognition.
“This is a milestone for Local Government and for Australia as a whole,” Councillor Bell said. “For the first time, both houses of Federal Parliament have the opportunity to recognise the role and importance of Local Government as part of Australia’s system of democratic government. Local Government works tirelessly to deliver services and infrastructure to local communities and to provide a voice for those communities on important local issues. Our elected representatives and the professional staff who support them are a vital part of the fabric of this country and recognition by Parliament is well deserved.
“ALGA worked with the Australian Government on developing the resolution, which was part of the Government’s response to the Fair Share report on cost shifting, and I want to thank Local Government Minister Jim Lloyd for his efforts in this regard.”
In his speech to the House of Representatives, after moving the resolution, Minister Lloyd pointed to the fact that Local Government receives a substantial proportion of funding through various Australian Government grant programs.
“The Government believes that Local Governments are in the best position to determine what projects, programs and initiatives will work best in their local areas and for their local communities,” he said. “The Australian Government strongly supports Local Governments in making important decisions that affect their residents.”
In both the Senate and House of Representatives, Labor moved an amendment to the motion in calling for paragraph one of the resolution to be replaced with: “(1) supports a referendum to extend constitutional recognition to Local Government in recognition of the essential role it plays in the governance of Australia.”
Shadow Minister for Local Government, Senator Kim Carr, said that constitutional recognition for Local Government is long overdue and is critical, if Local Government is to do its job properly.
The amendment calling for a referendum was strongly supported by the Democrats and Greens but Government Senators opposed the call so the vote was lost. The resolution was then passed unamended by the Senate.
At the time of going to press, in the House of Representatives the resolution and amendment were referred to the Main Committee for further debate.
The Minister, Jim Lloyd, said that while many in Local Government want formal recognition – that is constitutional recognition – this proposition has been unsuccessful in two previous referendums.
“The Government, and I as Minister, are not convinced that another referendum at this stage would have a different result,” Jim Lloyd said.
The resolution
That the House/Senate:
(1) recognises that Local Government is part of the governance of Australia, serving communities through locally elected councils;
(2) values the rich diversity of councils around Australia, reflecting the varied communities they serve;
(3) acknowledges the role of Local Government in governance, advocacy, the provision of infrastructure, service delivery, planning, community development and regulation;
(4) acknowledges the importance of cooperating with and consulting with Local Government on the priorities of their local communities;
(5) acknowledges the significant Australian Government funding that is provided to Local Government to spend on locally determined priorities, such as roads and other Local Government services; and
(6) commends Local Government elected officials who give their time to serve their communities.
