The President of the Australian Local Government Association, Councillor Geoff Lake, has welcomed the agreement signed by Labor and the Greens which commits to a referendum being held in this parliamentary term to include Local Government in the Australian Constitution.
The formal agreement signed on
1 September by Julia Gillard, Wayne Swan, Bob Brown, Christine Milne and Adam Bandt includes the following commitment: Hold referenda during the 43rd Parliament or at the next election on Indigenous constitutional recognition and recognition of Local Government in the Constitution.
“This is absolutely fantastic news for councils, local communities and for improved cooperation between the three levels of government,” Councillor Lake said.
“We have been working for the last two years to secure this commitment and we applaud Bob Brown and Julia Gillard for today’s announcement.
“Should the Opposition ultimately form government, we hope it will match this commitment too, and continue the bipartisan spirit we have received so far to this point.
“The Shadow Attorney General has previously made clear this is also a priority for the Opposition so we are confident that it will also pursue this course should it form the next government.
“The inclusion of Local Government in the Constitution is all about stable government. It is about removing the current uncertainty stemming from last year’s High Court decision in Pape which has cast serious doubt on the power of the Commonwealth to continue to provide funds directly to Local Government. This recognition is the sort of sober and practical change to the Constitution that makes sense and which is likely to be supported by Australians who are otherwise reluctant to tamper with a Constitution that has stood the test of time.
“Ratepayers should be protected from the threat of having to bail out their local council should a constitutional challenge of local funding prove successful and affect future funding. They could also face having to pay back all of the money previously received directly.”
