ALGA President, Councillor Paul Bell, described the debate on Constitutional Recgonition at the General Assembly as excellent.
“Over the past three days we have heard from Professor Saunders, various delegates participated in a concurrent session on the topic and we have resolved, once again, that we must forge ahead to achieve Constitutional Recognition,” he said. “This debate has highlighted the opportunities and challenges around this issue.
“What stands out for me is the fact that if we are to be successful in achieving this goal, we must have a clear purpose. As well as resolute, we will need to be united, and we will need to be able to articulate our arguments effectively to governments and the Australian people.
“We will need to agree on our purpose and then determine the actual words that could be put to government and ultimately the Australian people in a referendum. We then need to achieve bipartisan support and enlist the Australian public.”
Councillor Bell said that the ALGA Board has decided to convene a Constitutional Forum in 12 months time in place of the 2008 National General Assembly. The next General Assembly will be pushed back to July 2009.
“This Constitutional Forum will be convened in Canberra. It will be there that Mayors and Councillors of Australia will be faced with the challenge of reaching an agreement on our purpose and a set of words that we can put to government with a view to take them forward to the Australian people in a referendum,” he said. “The challenge is before us. On 24 November a new Labor Government was elected. Labor’s Local Government policy supports Constitutional Recognition and to deliver on this commitment Labor will be looking for our guidance on this matter. So I invite you to assist us once again by attending our Constitutional Forum next year to help shape our history.
“Some State Premiers are calling for a Constitutional Convention next year to discuss intergovernmental relations and the distribution of GST. If this occurs, ALGA will fight to make sure that Local Government is appropriately represented and actively engaged.”
