Speech for the opening session of 2007 WA Local Government Convention

“Connecting Communities”

4 August 2007

 It is a pleasure to be with you today to address this convention.

At the outset I want to acknowledge on behalf of Labor the very significant contribution that local government makes to the well being of Australian communities. 

Of course, local government provides the essential infrastructure and services that build communities - footpaths, roads, playing fields, libraries and community care.  But local authorities are also grappling with national problems.  Issues like climate change, water, environmental management, health and wellbeing, proximity to employment, social inclusion, transport and housing affordability. 

These are difficult issues that challenge established processes and cross jurisdictional boundaries.  There are no magic solutions, and Labor understands that sustainable solutions will require collaboration across all three spheres of government and between governments and non government organisations.

Labor is serious about making a real difference in the way that Commonwealth, State and local governments work together.

My colleague, Bob McMullan, the shadow Minister for Federal State Relations, this week released a discussion paper from an advisory group on Federal-State reform. 

The paper identifies important new directions for reform, including more freedom around the ways in which money is spent to achieve nationally agreed priorities.  We hope that the discussion paper will be a catalyst for a debate that can lead to that reform. 

Reform of Federal State relations is the key to the new wave of economic and social reform that Australia needs to raise productivity over the coming decades.

The Howard government has failed to make the investments that are necessary to keep up with the demands of an expanding economy or to provide for the next generation, and prefers to play a blame game of cost shifting.  As a result, too many of our urban roads are congested, essential infrastructure in our cities is being run down, and exporters are facing bottle-necks in our port facilities.

Western Australia’s economy is booming, but the Federal Government has failed to support strategic investments in infrastructure.

National leadership is needed, and the Federal Labor Leader Kevin Rudd this week set out detailed plans to overhaul the planning, development and investment of infrastructure for the nation’s future.

Infrastructure Australia will be set up within 100 days of election - and will have a deadline of 12 months to produce its first Infrastructure Priority List – to set a clear agenda for government investment in infrastructure.

With the right planning processes, and a pro-market approach, we can overhaul Australia’s infrastructure environment and ensure we have world class infrastructure for the future.

Labor understands the contribution that Western Australia continues to make toward economic growth and has pledged to return to Western Australia 25 per cent of Commonwealth resource tax revenues from the Gorgon gas development.

Mr Rudd has indicated that if elected as Prime Minister he would establish a WA Infrastructure Fund, using some of the revenues of the Gorgon gas fields.

Labor has guaranteed the long term sustainability of the Western Australia Infrastructure Fund.  Mr Rudd said this week that if the Gorgon gas development is delayed, he will look at using the revenue stream from the Pluto gas fields to service the fund.

This is about making sure that WA gets the infrastructure it needs.

When fully operational, the WA infrastructure Fund could have Commonwealth contributions of up to $100 million a year.

The fund will help build the economic and social infrastructure of WA’s north – a vital part of the State’s long-term future of the resources sector. It will also examine the future of the State’s port access roads.

Some example of the projects, Infrastructure Australia and the WA Fund could examine include:

Investments from the Fund will complement the WA State Infrastructure Strategy.  This is about working in partnership with the Western Australian Government to plan for the long-term needs of the community.

In the same way that we are seeking to build a new model of cooperative Federalism by improving the relations between the Commonwealth and State governments, Labor will also be looking at the way in which local government is funded and how local government can be given a more effective voice in decision making on national priorities.

At the National Labor Conference in April, the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party moved a strong platform in relation to local government.

The platform placed localism at the heart of its agenda.

 That is what Labor is committed to.

This is not just something that is confined to the local government or regional development portfolios.  It is a different way of working across government.

We will adopt a collaborative approach that allows local communities to develop solutions that best meet their needs and aspirations.

A future Rudd Labor Government knows that building a sustainable future for Australia requires localism to be at the heart of national policy – only this will provide the best outcomes for local communities.  Decisions that affect local communities need to be made at the local level, not in capital cities.

Labor knows that in order to make localism work, a number of key steps need to be taken.

Firstly, local government’s role in delivering services to communities and the need for sustainable resourcing of local governments must be recognised.

Secondly, Labor knows that local government needs to be regarded not as the third level of government but as an equal partner in delivering services to the Australian community.  This means better communication and dialogue.  But is also means building a more robust revenue base for local government.

The challenges facing many local governments are clear.  We can not ask local government to go on delivering more while getting less.

There has been a steady decline in Federal support for local government – Financial Assistance Grants have fallen from 1% of total taxation revenue at the time Mr Howard took office to just 0.76% in the last Budget – at the same time that local government is being asked to do more.

The Pricewaterhouse Coopers report into the National Financial Sustainability of Local Government suggests that up to 30% of councils could be financially unsustainable. 

In our National Platform, Labor recognises that costs to local government have increased and we point to the need to examine ways to redress the funding shortfall suffered by local government.

This can’t be done from opposition. And it can only be done with local government at the table as equal partners with state and federal government.

To this end, Federal Labor is committed to the constitutional recognition of local government.

This is central to the commitments in our National Platform.  

Labor has a long history of supporting the constitutional recognition of local government.  In office in 1974 and 1988 Federal Labor sought Constitutional recognition - on both occasions this was not supported by the Coalition and the referenda failed.

Constitutional recognition will allow the relationship between Commonwealth, state and local governments to be redefined permanently.

It will ensure that a truly local voice is on the national agenda and stays on the agenda no matter who is in government.

Labor will have more to say in coming months about how it will improve the dialogue and communication with local government.

We know that if we are to respond to the core challenges facing the future of our economy, we need to recognise the contributions that local government can make and be there right beside you.

Over the past few months I have been ringing around some councils to get an idea of the sort of infrastructure support that is needed.

This has been an interesting exercise, because councils have been very forthcoming.

Local government has been telling me that our social and economic infrastructure is falling short of the needs of local communities because of a significant imbalance in our fiscal arrangements and chronic cost shift against local government. 

I am grateful for this feedback, as it has provided some important insights for me.  It has also reinforced the rationale underpinning the Australian Local Government Association’s campaign for a Local Community Infrastructure Renewal Fund.

We are sympathetic to the idea that local government is often in a better position than other spheres of government to understand local needs.   At the same time, we see benefits for the nation as a whole in well chosen investments that promote healthy and productive communities. This is why the Commonwealth Government needs to play its part.

Labor believes that it is in the best interests of our communities for the Commonwealth and local governments to work as true and effective partners in policy development and service delivery.

We want this federal/local relationship to be applied across all the portfolios of government.

Localism will become mainstream under a future Federal Labor Government agenda. 

On the launch of Labor’s New Direction for Affordable Housing, Kevin Rudd committed a future Federal Labor Government to a new Housing Affordability Strategy.

I was very pleased that the Australian Local Government Organisation was an active participant in Labor’s National Housing Affordability Summit last week.   As one outcome from that summit, Federal Labor, Australia’s eight State and Territory governments and the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) have committed to work co-operatively to improve housing affordability.
 

This national consensus will provide national economic and policy leadership in improving the supply of affordable housing for Australian families. For too long the problem of declining housing affordability has been the subject of a blame game between the various spheres of government.

This week, Mr Rudd also announced that, if we form the next government, Labor will establish a Housing Affordability Fund to invest $500 million in new housing related infrastructure.

Labor’s Housing Affordability Fund will assist up to 50,000 new home buyers across Australia over the next five years.

It will form the basis of a new partnership between the Commonwealth and local governments to tackle housing affordability.

Under Labor’s plan, local governments will apply through a competitive process for grants to cover some of the cost of new housing infrastructure.

Labor’s plan won’t meet the cost of all new housing related infrastructure, but it will go a long way to make homes more affordable in the future.

 In Kevin Rudd’s words:

‘We do not have all the answers … Let’s start the national debate and find the solutions we need of our        economy, our kids and our families.”

The Housing Summit shows how Labor views local government as a full partner in tackling issues of national significance.  This improved dialogue is critical to ending the ‘blame game’ that operates between all three spheres of Government.

Kevin Rudd in recent weeks and months has announced forward thinking policy in many critical areas.  Important new policies on climate change, education; our commitment to invest in a new broadband network; and a new approach to health policy with a much stronger emphasis on illness prevention through health promotion.  In all of these areas local government is an integral partner.

In office, Labor will be looking to build partnerships in all portfolios in order to provide the best possible outcomes for local communities.

Let’s take Labor’s new approach to health policy as an example and consider the planning of future cities and communities.

Australia is beset by a range of so-called “life-style” diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.  These diseases are placing pressure on our health care systems and the quality of life enjoyed by many Australians. 

We know only too well the social consequences of poor urban planning and the cost of retro-fitting cities to make them healthier and safer places to live.  But the current Government is in denial about the links between the health of our communities and the quality of urban design and social infrastructure.  For more than 10 years they have neglected to invest in our economic and social infrastructure.  They prefer to play the blame game with the states. 

It doesn’t have to be like this.  I note for example that the Planning Institute is working closely with the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation to build links between planning and health promotion.  This project seeks to gather evidence of good planning for health and well being and to identify key planning and design elements that will lead to greater health and social benefits for the community.

I understand that ALGA is working with the Planning Institute and the National Heart Foundation to extend this work by developing a set of national guidelines for planners and decision-makers – the “Healthy Spaces and Places: National Planning Guidelines”.

This is important work that has national significance, and local government should not be left to carry out this task without the support of other spheres of government.  All three spheres of government are involved in dealing with the consequences of the rising incidence of chronic disease, and all three spheres of government should be working together to prevent them. 

In office, we would provide resources to support this work, and I call on the Federal Ministers for Health and Local Government to match this commitment by providing funding for the Australian Local Government Association and its partner organisations to complete the “Healthy Spaces and Places” national planning guidelines.

And from a big picture perspective, if resources are to be applied, makes far more sense to make investments in community infrastructure and facilities to promote healthy communities than wait and respond to the problems that arise from inactivity and social isolation.

Federal Labor wants to help. Together we can do better. 

For too long, local government has been left to deal with the really difficult public policy problems and often carried the burden of mis-guided interventions by other spheres of government.

We know that blaming each other and buck passing is not the basis for good policy or efficient outcomes.

The Business Council of Australia, has estimated that the blame game is costing taxpayers $9 billion a year or $1100 for every household.

With an election in a few months, Mr Howard is desperate. He’ll do anything, say anything and promise anything to cling on to power even if it puts Australia’s future at risk.

We will see John Howard pouring buckets of money into areas where he needs it – not necessarily where communities need it.  Like the extraordinary decision to ride rough-shod over carefully considered decisions at the local and State levels by giving $45m a year to Mersey Hospital, in the marginal Tasmanian seat of Braddon.  Having cost shifted and stress on the health system for years, he expects credit for an intervention in a marginal seat only weeks away from an election.  An intervention which, by the way, undermines difficult decisions made at the local level to create a more co-ordinated, integrated system of health care.

The bottom line is this ad-hoc policy on the run is evidence he will say and do anything leading up to the election.

John Howard will go on promising simple solutions for complex problems.  In desperation, he will make noises about a Commonwealth take-over of functions when cooperation and collaboration is required.  

After 11 long years with the power to make real change and show real leadership we will see him make short term policy commitments that his polling tells him will be popular in the electorate.

This approach is contemptuous towards those of you who have committed your professional life to improving the social and economic prospects of the people you represent through your public service in local government.

What we won’t see him doing is investing in real­ partnerships that will make a difference to Australian communities.

And we can be sure that he won’t make the changes necessary to recognise local government’s meaningful and central place in this democracy and ensure that local governments have a sustainable future.

He prefers to keep local government starving and begging.

I would likje to conclude on the the blatant misrepresentation by the Minister today relating to Labor’s approach to tied grants to Local Government.  It is a sign of their desperation.

The truth is that these grants to local government will stay under Labor and we see the challenge ahead as improving the financial situation of local government.

I am confident you won’t be fooled by this and know you have heard first hand Labor’s commitment to continue Roads to Recovery, Auslink II, blackspots and other programs such as regional partnerships, as articulated by my colleague and Transport spokesperson Martin Ferguson as recently as the Local Government transport and infrastructure conference in Newcastle.

Labor is committed to localism and committed to working with local government to deliver services that communities need.  This means a real relationship, collaboration between the three spheres of government and forward thinking. Not the short sighted election year blame game politics of a tired old Coalition government.

Thank you for the opportunity present at the 2007 Western Australian Local Government Convention and I look forward to hearing more from you about how we can work together to build better communities.

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