A REFERENDUM to financially recognise Local Government in the Constitution will be conducted in conjunction with the Federal Election on September 14.
Independent Member for New England, Tony Windsor said that Local Government had been lobbying for this recognition for many years and he is pleased that the government is now putting the question to the Australian people as agreed in the “Agreement to form Government” negotiated by Mr Windsor and Rob Oakeshott at the outset of this Parliament in September 2010.
“Local Government plays a very significant role in Australia and should have been financially recognised in the Constitution many years ago.
“The referendum will tidy up concerns about the ability the Federal Government has to directly fund Local Government.
“There have been High Court challenges that have given rise to the need to make this change to the Constitution which I trust will be seen by the Australian people as a necessary move to ensure this avenue of funding for Local Government can continue without any doubt into the future.
