Port Macquarie-Hastings Council welcomes the final report of the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Local Government, which recommends that a referendum be held on the issue, in conjunction with the September 14 Federal Election.
The report means that after a five-year long campaign, local councils are a step closer to securing federal funding for local infrastructure projects.
Last month Mayor Peter Besseling directly addressed the Joint Select Committee on the issue and echoed the sentiments of the Australian Local Government Assoc-iation (AGLA), saying that a referendum is an important move toward councils being officially recognised as ‘legitimate recipients of direct federal funding’.
Cr Besseling said the recommendation is an historic step forward for local government, with the opportunity for constitutional recognition to ultimately provide councils with continued access to federal funding for local projects.
“It is argued that the constitution as it currently stands does not allow for the Federal Government to directly fund Local Govern-ment programs and that funding such as Roads to Recovery and Federal Assist-ance Grants, would likely be successfully chal-lenged in the high court.
“Formal recognition of Local Government in the constitution would not only provide certainty for this type of grant funding, but also create other avenues for the Federal Government to support Local Government.
“We are seeing a growing disparity between where the infrastructure and services are being provided by Local Government and where the taxes are actually being collected by the Federal Government. This is an unsustainable situation.
“This is the right time for such a referendu and I believe that, if we get the parliament behind it, the Australian
Local Government Assoc-iation behind it and all the local councils behind it, people voting in the referendum will get behind it,” Cr Besseling said.
The recommendations of the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Local Government will need to be voted on in federal parliament in order to confirm the referendum.
If successful, the ALGA will launch a campaign in the lead-up to the election aimed at convincing Australians to vote in favour of constitutional recognition on September 14.
