2008 saw the first 12 months of the new Rudd Labor Government. Elections in the Northern Territory and the ACT resulted in the incumbent Labor Governments just getting over the line, however in Western Australia there was a changing of the guard with a Liberal National Party coalition coming to power. The global financial crisis really took hold in the last few months, while climate change, the growing infrastructure backlog and the financial sustainability issues continued to dominate decisions of Local Governments large and small. The following summarises our opinions on how the year has panned out for Local Government.
January – Intergovernmental relations
An overhaul of Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meetings, with Local Government represented on three of seven new working groups – infrastructure, housing, and climate change and water – promises a new era in intergovernmental cooperation. Let’s hope it lives up to expectations.
March – High speed broadband
The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) through its various State of the Regions (SOR) Reports and its representation on the Online Ministerial Council has been lobbying for some time for high speed and affordable broadband across Australia, and particularly in regional and remote areas.
The 2007–2008 SOR Report confirms that many areas are missing out on this vital infrastructure and this is impacting on local economies, their competitiveness, potential for growth and jobs creation, plus opportunities for improved service delivery through both e-health and e-education.
April – Ratecapping issues
In New South Wales, the Minister for Local Government has recently announced that the new rate capping level for 2008–2009 will be
3.2 per cent, a decrease from the 3.4 per cent set for this current financial year. So NSW councils are left to pick up the shortfall at a time when inflation continues to run at its highest level for some years. It is small wonder that some NSW councils, in trying to maximise returns from investments to stretch their revenue that little bit further, have suffered a similar fate as many of our major financial institutions and private sector entities, with losses from the fallout of the US sub prime mortgage fiasco.
May – Infrastructure a priority
Good news for Local Government struggling with its growing infrastructure backlog, the Rudd Government’s establishment of Infrastructure Australia is clear evidence that infrastructure spending is a priority. In a statement following the release of the Productivity Commission’s report into Local Government funding, the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Anthony Albanese, reaffirmed that the Federal Government intends to work closely with Local Government in regard to infrastructure planning.
June – Climate change leadership
Rising sea levels, increased extreme weather events, more severe and prolonged droughts, agricultural areas no longer viable, world food shortages, environmental refugees, loss of biodiversity, the list of dire consequences facing our world as we now know it continues. Reducing carbon emissions is paramount to avoid reaching that point of no return and many councils around the world have set themselves a target to be carbon neutral well in advance of their national government.
August – Constitional recognition and compulsory voting
For Local Government to be an equal partner and seen as just as relevant to people’s lives as the Federal and State Governments, this inconsistency in compulsory voting is a problem. Voting in a referendum to change the Constitution is compulsory, so in those States where many people have not seen any need or desire to vote in Council elections, how they view the relevance or importance of Local Government is most likely to influence their vote for Constitutional recognition for Local Government. And bear in mind, if three States fail to achieve a majority of ‘yes’ votes then the proposal fails!
October – A new era in Federal/Local relations
The Rudd Government’s commitment to ‘a new local infrastructure fund’ is also gaining momentum. The Prime Minister has now invited all mayors and shire presidents to travel to Canberra to discuss with the Federal Government how it can partner with Local Governments to meet their local infrastructure needs in the future.
November – the global financial crisis and climate change
There have been calls from some quarters that with the current financial uncertainties, tackling climate change through an emissions trading scheme should be delayed. Others have been quick to point out that climate change has long term implications for our very future, while market ups and downs are a short term fact of life.
Proponents of early action to tackle climate change argue that this will be cheaper in the long run, as delayed actions will be more costly, placing an even greater burden on the economy. The Federal Government’s recent Treasury modelling indicates that acting earlier will save as much as 15 per cent in long term costs.
There is no doubt that most people are aware of the long term implications of climate change and that the window of opportunity to take action is closing fast.
