President's Update
CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM UPDATE
As you may be aware, the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) is currently working to achieve the inclusion of local government in the Australian Constitution.
Over the course of the last 12 months, we have been progressing the outcomes of the December 2008 Constitutional Convention held in Melbourne which saw more than 500 mayors and councillors from across the country reach consensus on the preferred way forward on constitutional reform. The Convention concluded that a referendum to include local government in the Constitution is the best way to ensure the future stability of local communities across Australia.
It's important to understand that the key objective of our efforts at this stage is to persuade the Australian Government, the Opposition and minor parties that such a referendum should be held.
We have some momentum to build on with the Prime Minister continuing to reiterate his election commitment from the 2007 election that he supports a referendum being submitted to the public on this matter.
A recent High Court decision (the Pape case) has also put the need for constitutional change into sharper focus. The case raises serious doubt over whether the Federal Government currently has the power to fund local government directly through programs such as the Roads to Recovery Program and the Community Infrastructure Program. Constitutional reform will remove this uncertainty and protect these vital local government funding sources.
That's why ALGA has been consulting over the past few months with members of the Government and Opposition on a bipartisan basis. We hope that this dialogue will result in a referendum question addressing the issue being progressed during the next parliamentary term.
Consistent with the position reached by delegates at the Convention, it is important to stress that any referendum question would not seek to undermine the powers of state governments and would not impede their ability to regulate or reform local government.
As we make progress in our efforts at the political level during 2010, it will become important to increasingly involve councils in local advocacy for reform and to help us engage the broader public on the issue.
This eUpdate is intended to provide a short summary of our progress over the course of this year and to provide you with an idea of upcoming activities. I expect to write to you again in the early part of next year with further information about how you and your council can become involved in helping to progress this issue.
If you wish to discuss this further, please contact Monica Telesny on 02 6122 9433 or at Monica.Telesny@alga.asn.au or phone me on 0411 645 281 or email me at geoff.lake@alga.asn.au.
Yours sincerely
Geoff Lake
ALGA President
Overview
An initial set up phase for a future referendum campaign took place between July and August this year. During this period, ALGA undertook a significant research program to explore opinions about local government, constitutional reform and the public's perception of local government. We were assisted in this process by a national government relations firm and a market research company.
Building on the findings of this research, ALGA has begun an intensive program of bipartisan consultation with stakeholders at the state/territory and federal level on constitutional reform. This has been aimed at sharing some of the key findings of our research and also informing key political decision makers of our preferred path to progress constitutional change.
ALGA also appeared before the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs' Inquiry into the machinery of referendums to express our view about the future of referendums in Australia. If you are interested, ALGA's submission can be found here and the Committee's report can be accessed here. The report will be considered by Parliament when it resumes in February 2010.
Research
ALGA commissioned a suite of research in August 2009 to measure Australian attitudes towards local government and constitutional reform. The research included focus groups in four states and a national survey of 1505 respondents. An integrated report of the research findings has been considered by the ALGA Board and summaries have been provided to political stakeholders through our consultation program.
The research clearly illustrates that we have significant work ahead of us to make the case for constitutional change. While a majority of people indicated that they support change to include local government in the Constitution, this support will be susceptible to persuasion. A majority of people also support direct federal funding for local government. Given the challenge of securing constitutional change of any kind in Australia, this level of support is a reasonable base to begin from, however, much will need to be done if it is to be enough to ultimately be successful.
SUPPORT FOR RECOGNITION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Question: Do you believe that the Australian Constitution should recognise and protect the existence of local government?
SUPPORT FOR DIRECT FUNDING
Question: Is it a good idea or a bad idea for the federal government to directly fund local government?
Some of the other key findings from the research include:
- A significant education gap exists in people's understanding of the process of constitutional reform and this is particularly pronounced among young people;
- Local government is generally viewed more positively than state governments but less positively than the Federal Government;
- People living in rural and regional areas are more likely to support local government and constitutional change; and
- While people are generally supportive of constitutional change, they would prefer to wait until after the current economic downturn is over before such a change is proposed.
Next Steps
The consultation program with political stakeholders at the Federal and state levels will continue over the next few months. This process will then be followed by an official campaign launch in mid 2010. The establishment of a dedicated website to inform stakeholders and the public on the progress of the campaign will be considered by the ALGA Board in early 2010. We are also currently preparing fact sheets which will be sent to you early next year to provide further background for your consideration.
We aim to provide you with ongoing updates over the course of 2010 to let you know what is happening and to let you know how you and your council can get involved.
