Local Government will benefit from the most recent meeting of the Australian Council for Australian Government (COAG), with the Commonwealth and the States acknowledging the various roles it plays in primary and preventative health care, as well as housing affordability.
As part of a historic agreement on health reform reached at the meeting, the Commonwealth will take over greater responsibility for hospital funding, and full responsibility for primary and aged care. It will also significantly increase its immediate funding of health.
The deal struck will see many billions of dollars of additional funding flowing to health in exchange for the retention and dedication of 30 per cent of GST revenue.
Importantly for Local Government, the Commonwealth and the States acknowledged the various roles played by Local Governments in primary and preventative health care and the need to consult with Local Government as part of the transition to the new arrangements.
“Many councils play particular roles in the delivery of health and aged care services and it is in the interests of all governments to ensure the standards of service provided to the community are not adversely impacted by the reforms, said President of the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) Councillor Geoff Lake.
“This is particularly the case in the Home and Community Care (HACC) program in Victoria, where Local Government is the main deliverer of services and plays an equal role with the State and Commonwealth.
“ALGA worked hard, and with success, to reinforce with the Commonwealth the need to engage the Municipal Association of Victoria in tripartite discussions on HACC arrangements in Victoria.”
The importance of Local Government was also recognised during consideration of housing affordability.
COAG agreed to a request by Councillor Lake, that he participate in the Ministerial Council for Federal Financial Relations (Commonwealth and State Treasurers) consideration of housing policy work under way in other COAG forums.
This is a significant outcome aimed at ensuring that ALGA has input at the highest possible level into the housing affordability debate.
ALGA has repeatedly stated that housing affordability issues should include consideration of both demand and supply issues.
It has emphasised this point in various ministerial forums and President Lake welcomed the decision by COAG that the Treasurer’s review of housing affordability will also include government policies, which stimulate housing demand, including the First Homeowners Grant and taxation policy.
In his weekly column in the ALGA newsletter, Councillor Lake said the outcomes of this meeting reflect the value of ALGA’s membership of COAG and relevant ministerial councils.
“While it is true that many of the issues discussed are by their nature negotiations between the Commonwealth, States and Territories, there are a number of issues at each meeting where the Local Government perspective is both valuable and necessary,” he said.
“In a federation such as ours, the participation of all three levels of government in intergovernmental discussions is a natural prerequisite for securing the best outcomes for all Australians.”
