The Federal Government’s interim Local Government Sustainability has sparked hope for the NSW Country Mayors Association.
“Rural and regional Councils in NSW have been doing increasingly more, while costs escalate and funding shrinks,” Country Mayors Association Chairman Rick Firman OAM said.
“The extent of these widespread trends have threatened the financial sustainability of our members and in some cases, rendered them all but insolvent.
“We now have hope that the Australian Government understands the gravity of the situation and that positive change might be on the horizon,”
The Country Mayors’ new optimism was triggered by the release of the ‘Interim Australian Government Report into Local Government Sustainability’.
The Interim Report has resulted from an Inquiry by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Regional Development, Infrastructure and Transport, which received 287 submissions nationally. “Our CMA submission was a 22-page litany of how our members struggle to meet the infrastructure and services expectations of their communities because of rising costs and falling revenue. Our CMA Deputy Chairman Mayor Russell Fitzpatrick gave evidence at a public hearing of the Inquiry.
The final Report from the Inquiry will have recommendations for the Australian Government but the Interim Report concludes with Committee Comments.
In a public statement, Chair of the Committee, Mr Luke Gosling OAM, MP, said “local governments around Australia are increasingly being called upon to provide healthcare services and housing, manage ageing infrastructure and assets, and respond to current and future climate adaptation needs. These additional responsibilities are placing a significant financial strain on local governments who are struggling to meet community expectations.”
“The Interim Report documents that the plight of rural and regional Councils has been conveyed and heard, loud and clear. So, we have new hope that the Inquiry’s resultant final recommendations for improving financial sustainability in Local Government will include boosting Federal funding,” Mayor Firman said.
“Our CMA Board and Members are campaigning for the restoration of Federal Financial Assistance Grants to one per cent of Australian taxation revenue and this could occur over a number years, like the erosion of the program did,” he said. “We need to hear from the Government and Opposition on their thoughts on this crucial issue of Financial Assistant Grants and the Interim Report more broadly.”
The grants are provided under the Local Government (Financial Assistance) Act 1995. The grant program delivered one per cent of the nation’s taxation revenue to communities through their Local Councils in the 1990’s and it has dwindled to half that, despite escalating operational costs and demands on Local Government, especially rural and regional councils.
