Speech for the annual conference of the Local Government Association of Queensland

Gold Coast Entertainment Centre

29 August 2007

When Kevin Rudd was elected leader of the Australian Labor Party he made it clear to the people of Australia that he was determined to fix the Australian Federation. 

In saying this, he acknowledged a serious problem.

That problem is the cost shifting between the three spheres of government and the political blame game that has reached new heights under the Howard Government.

And people are fed up with it.

Inevitably, local government is where the buck stops.  Councils are closest to the very localised needs of their communities. 

But over the years, the cost shifting and buck passing of the blame game has increased the fiscal burden on local government.

A chronic shortfall in funding makes it difficult for many councils to maintain their existing services, let alone respond to the many new challenges like climate change, changing demographics, sea and tree change trends and fast growth corridors. 

While this was well understood within many councils, it was a visionary step for some State LGA’s and subsequently for ALGA to invest in the economic analysis of the PricewaterhouseCoopers Report to bring the harsh fiscal reality of an unsustainable future into the federal political arena.

This Report provided some useful insights on what councils could do to improve their performance, particularly in the important area of whole of life asset management, but it was also an unmistakeable calling to task of the Howard Government for 11 years of its contemptuous neglect of Local Government.

At no time have we seen any credible response from the Howard Government to the financial pressures that face local government, despite having it all laid out for them as long ago as 2003 by the Hawker Review.

At no time have we seen the Howard Government acknowledge the underlying cause of the growing fiscal burden of local government - the FAGS methodology and indexation.

Instead the Howard Government has provided assistance in the form of direct grants designed to maximise its own political benefit.  

These direct grants are just enough for councils to keep their heads above water: just enough to keep local government grateful and begging for more !

There is no strategy. 

Constitutional Recognition

Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s because Kevin Rudd and Federal Labor is serious about ending the blame game, serious about putting a halt to unfettered cost shifting and buck passing and adopting the positive agenda of co-operative federalism that we have announced our time frame to achieve constitutional recognition of Local Government.

On Monday I announced that an incoming Rudd Labor Government will consult in our first term with state and territory governments, and representatives of local government, including the Australian Local Government Association, the Council of Capital City Lord Mayors and other stakeholders, on the process for achieving constitutional recognition.

Constitutional recognition will redefine the relationship between Commonwealth, state and local governments and guarantee that communities have an effective local voice in decision making on the issues that affect their lives.

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.

We support Constitutional recognition because we believe that it is important to redefine the relationship between Commonwealth, state and local governments.

The public policy problems that confront us today can only be solved through cooperative and collaborative partnerships between the three spheres of government. 

We need to make sure that local government is properly positioned to play its role as a key part of the government of this country.  Local councils should no longer be seen as the plaything of State governments, to be dismissed or restructured at will or left as the last port of call for struggling communities when other governments abandon their responsibilities. 

Communities need an effective local voice in decision making on the issues that affect their lives.  Federal Labor will make sure that happens. 

I understand that at the National General Assembly in November, the Australian Local Government Association will be looking at the form that Constitutional recognition should take.  This is a timely opportunity. 

I remind you that proposals for Constitutional recognition have twice been defeated.

Opponents of Constitutional recognition will take advantage of any ambiguity in what Constitutional recognition might mean.  There will be fear campaigns about new layers of government and increased taxes.  Opponents of Constitutional recognition will exploit any signs that local government itself lacks conviction about its support for Constitutional recognition.

It is important that local government develop a clear idea of the form of Constitutional recognition that it prefers, and that local government be prepared to campaign with a single voice to build community support for this important initiative.

Constitutional recognition will allow local government to take its rightful place at the policy table as a full partner in the business of government.  But there is a great deal of work to be done in building grass roots support.  Clearly, the chances of a successful referendum will be increased if there is a bi-partisan approach for this important initiative.  Accordingly, I call on the Liberal and National parties to indicate now that they will support Constitutional recognition for local government.

The Council for Local Government

We will need to support Constitutional recognition with a robust institutional framework.

Labor will put in place the structures and processes that support Constitutional recognition by giving local government a forum in which it is able to exercise its Constitutional place as the representative of local communities.

We will make the time and place for formal dialogue between a future Federal Labor Government and Local Government.

The Federal government needs to involve local government in addressing issues of national importance.  Labor understands that sustainable solutions to the really difficult issues facing our nation require cooperation and collaboration, and structures in which that collaboration can take place. 

This is why I am happy to announce today that in our first term of office we will establish a Council of Australian Local Governments.  This body will provide the Forum that allows local and Federal governments to meet to discuss issues of national importance. 

A Council of Australian Local Governments will strengthen the dialogue between Federal and local governments on issues that are of common interest to us all, and provide an opportunity for local government to influence the issues considered at the Council of Australian Governments.

It will also ensure that local government representatives have a more effective voice at COAG. 

I will invite local government bodies including the national and state local government associations, the Council of Capital City Lord Mayors, regional bodies and other stakeholder organisations to nominate representatives for the Council.  The Council will have federal representatives not just from the local government portfolio, but from portfolios across the Federal government, including a senior economic Minister, the Ministers for Local Government, Regional Development and Infrastructure and Water.  I would envisage a range of other Ministers being co-opted as required.  

The Council will meet twice a year to consider a formal agenda of items and be supported through the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, as is COAG.

One of the first tasks for the Council will be to plan for a national referendum on the Constitutional recognition of local government, including the hosting a form of constitutional convention if that’s what agreed by stakeholders.

Labor understands that Constitutional recognition for local government and improved communication between all three spheres of government is essential if we are to improve the way that our country is governed.

The Council of Australian Local Governments will meet twice a year.   These biannual meetings will set a timetable for constitutional recognition and build the foundation to move forward on the big issues involved in creating a strong and sustainable future for local government.

Fiscal reform

We believe that one of the first topics of this dialogue will rightly be the need to improve the underlying financial arrangements between our governments.

This cannot wait until after Constitutional recognition.

Federal Labor is committed to finding ways to redress the funding shortfall suffered by local government.

As a first step in meeting that commitment, I will ask the Council of Australian Local Governments to provide advice on the future funding arrangements for local government and on processes for involving federal, state and local government in developing clearer definitions of the roles and responsibilities of local government and other spheres of government.

Regional policies

Our National Platform is eloquent in its expression of Labor’s commitment to collaborative partnerships with local communities.  Clause 10 of the relevant chapter says:

Labor …respects the capacity of communities to determine their own futures, and will support each region in assessing its own potential, identifying its own priorities, devising its own solutions and driving its own agenda.

Labor will develop place-based policies to respond to local solutions and coordinate delivery of long-term strategies across departments and between levels of government.

We intend to pursue these principles, not just in the local government and regional development portfolios, but across all the activities of government.

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

Federal Labor recognises that many councils are already working together to address regional challenges in a more strategic way.

One example is Advance Cairns, founded by the Cairns City Council and Port Authority to coordinate the efforts of regional organisations, to facilitate new and existing business development and to advise on key components of the regional economy. But there are many others, in Queensland and other states.  I recently met with the Peel Development Commission, a regional grouping that incorporates the geographical boundaries of five local municipalities in the West that together represent the fastest growing region in Australia. 

Federal Labor will support these efforts through a new body called

Regional Development Australia

Regional Development Australia will support the work that local government is already doing to build partnerships across regions with similar interests and development needs.

Regional Development Australia will give local government a focal point in their region and allow local government to have greater input into the Federal Government’s thinking about regional strategies and infrastructure priorities.

The Infrastructure Challenge

The Federal Labor Leader Kevin Rudd has provided detailed plans to overhaul the planning, development and investment of infrastructure for the nation’s future.

The existing assets of the Future Fund will be retained in a Building Australia Fund for the purpose of funding the infrastructure that is essential for the development of our national economy.

Infrastructure Australia will be set up within 100 days of the 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.

But we will do this in partnership with local government.

The Council of Local Governments and Regional Development Australia will provide local government with a real voice and an opportunity to contribute to the formulation of a national program for infrastructure renewal and development.

Let me conclude with two examples of how we will work collaboratively with local government on issues of national significance.

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 Association was an active participant in Labor’s National Housing Affordability Summit last month.   As one outcome from that summit, Federal Labor, Australia’s eight State and Territory governments and the Australian Local Government Association 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.

Mr Rudd has since 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.

For too long the problem of declining housing affordability has been the subject of a blame game.

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.

My second example of the way in which a Rudd Labor Government will be working with local communities was set out last week by my colleague Nicola Roxon, Labor’s Shadow Minister for Health, in a statement on New Directions for Australia’s Health.

As part of a $2 billion Health and Hospitals Reform Plan, a Rudd Labor Government will invest $220 million to establish GP Super Clinics in local communities.

Labor's GP Super Clinics will provide infrastructure for GPs and other health professionals to work together in the one place, providing a greater range of quality services in local communities – and much greater convenience for patients.

Federal Labor will provide leadership and funding to deliver the services, but will work in partnership with other spheres of government and local communities on where the clinics will be located and the exact configuration of services.

Localism has been built into the design of this new program. 

The exact configuration of services will depend on the needs of the local community. Local involvement from health professionals through to councils and area consultative committees will be encouraged. Tenders to build and run the GP Super Clinics will be open to local consortiums, including local councils, existing practices looking to amalgamate, health professionals and Divisions of General Practice. Tenderers will be required to seek input from local health professionals.

The GP Super Clinics will represent community based solutions for better service delivery.

Labor’s GP Super Clinics will help to deliver more frontline health services in local communities – they will help get doctors and other health professionals into areas that need them most, particularly in regional areas and fast growing outer suburbs that tend to be under serviced by health professionals.

This is a national policy initiative tailored to the needs of local communities.

John Howard’s intervention in the Mersey hospital shows that he is prepared to ride rough shod over local interests when it suits him, in the marginal seat of Braddon.

In contrast Federal Labor has put forward a plan for health that extends the hand of cooperative federalism.

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

This is the principle that underpins the Council for Australian Local Governments. This Council will provide a robust and structured forum for dialogue on policy development that ensures that we, as a future Federal Labor Government, are enlightened by the insights offered by local government as we develop and test policy ideas.

We also need to engage directly with local government if we are to have any hope of improving services to the community and improving the liveability of communities.

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 Coalition government.

Thank you for the opportunity to be present at the Annual Conference of the Local Government Association of Queensland. It is a privilege to be here with you today and I look forward to hearing more from you about how we can work together to build better communities.

It’s time for local government to engage as an equal partner.

It’s time for constitutional recognition for Local Government.

Together we can do better. 

Thank you.

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