Local government welcomes High Court decision, urgent need for constitutional reform
April 03, 2009
The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) has welcomed today's decision by the full bench of the High Court to reject academic Bryan Pape's constitutional challenge to the Federal Government's planned stimulus package payments.
ALGA president Cr Geoff Lake said: "As well as affecting the stimulus payments to taxpayers, this case also had the potential to radically recast the funding arrangements between the three levels of government. If the High Court had found in favour of Mr Pape, more than $6 billion in funding to local government may have been invalidated and in a worst case scenario required to be paid back by councils.
"While today's decision is a relief for councils, constitutional uncertainty remains between the three levels of government in this country. It will not be resolved until the Australian Constitution is amended to bring it into line with contemporary practice and an explicit power is inserted for the Federal Government to provide funds directly to local government.
"Until the Constitution is altered, millions of ratepayers across the country remain exposed to a future High Court deciding on a whim to reinterpret constitutional arrangements and push the entire costs of local government exclusively back onto property owners."
In December last year, 600 elected councillors from across Australia voted unanimously to support the Rudd Government's push to amend the Australian Constitution to recognise local government. A key outcome of the Summit was the identification of the need for the Constitution to be changed to include a direct power for the Federal Government to fund local government directly.
Leading constitutional law expert, Professor George Williams from the University of New South Wales, is currently developing a technical paper on the drafting required to achieve the necessary change to the Constitution.
- Contact
- Cr Geoff Lake, ALGA President - 0411 645 281
- Amanda Lynch, Director, Public Affairs 0419 123 862 / 02 6122 9434
