In the shadow of amalgamations that will see Councils reduced from 156 to 72 and the number of elected members more than halved, some 1,000 delegates attended the 111th annual conference of the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ).
Staged on the Gold Coast, the conference was opened by the Federal Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads, Jim Lloyd.
He told delegates that the Australian Government has confidence in Local Government delivering services quickly and efficiently for communities, but this has all been put at risk by the Beattie Government.
The Minister described the reform process undertaken by the Beattie Government as undemocratic, with no process for review or consultation with communities.
“The Beattie Government should start again and get the consultation right,” Jim Lloyd said. “These happenings in Queensland have caused me to reconsider my view on Constitutional recognition to strengthen the role of Local Government.”
However, he added that the question must first be asked, what would Constitutional recognition for Local Government mean?
“Would it result in the States and Territories walking away and leaving the Australian Government to fully fund Councils?” he said. “A serious discussion about Constitutional recognition must involve a discussion about the role and functions of State Governments and all levels of government in Australia.”
LGAQ President, Councillor Paul Bell, said that it is a fundamental right of communities to have a say in boundary changes.
“The amalgamation process has been forced on us without the courtesy of prior notice,” Councillor Bell said.
“But the three days of this conference are about celebrating what is good about Local Government, your Councils and your communities.
“Be proud, be very proud, proud of who you are and what you have done.
“Queenslanders think you are doing a good job, a better job than the State Government.”
He said with the Prime Minister’s announcement that the Australian Government will pay for local plebiscites, where Councils request them these will be held using postal ballots.
LGAQ is advocating a common date be set, namely 20 October.
“Some Councils want to proceed with amalgamation and this is fine,” Paul Bell said. “LGAQ will partner with Councils right through the amalgamation process. We will stand by our members.”
Keynote speaker, Sir Peter Gershon, discussed the process and outcomes of a major review he recently chaired that looked at ways to improve the efficiency of the UK civil service.
He said the review used the definition of best value as being the continuous improvement in the quality of services to best meet users needs.
“At the outset, we found that the public perception of improved efficiency was that there would be cuts in services,” Peter Gershon said.
“With a target of 21.5 billion pounds in efficiency gains and a reduction in jobs by 70,600 by March 2008, the civil service is well on track to achieve this.”
He said that in spite of very few areas reducing service delivery or service quality, the public perception that efficiency meaning cuts to service persists as
strong as ever.
As part of the civil service, Local Government in the UK is on track to deliver six billion pounds in savings
by 2008.
He said to achieve efficiency savings it is vital to have total commitment at both the political and officer level, and within organisations a balance needs to be achieved between top down and bottom up impetus for reform.
He advocates providing considerable freedom to autonomous bodies to find their own savings, and particularly for Local Government the diffusion and sharing of best practice is of paramount importance.
