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Financing Of Local Government

The Executive of the Australian Local Government Association will meet in Darwin on 26 to 27 August to consider a range of key issues confronting Australia’s 675 local councils.

The ALGA Executive consists of two representatives from each state and territory local government association and two representatives of the Government of the ACT.

ALGA President, Councillor Mike Montgomery, said the core issue facing local government at a national level is the need to reform federal/local government financial relations.

“The Australian Government provides around $2 billion a year to local government across the country, mostly in the form of financial assistance grants,” Cr Montgomery said.

“But these grants do not increase to match the real growth in the cost of providing council services nor increasing community demand for new and enhanced services. Local government needs access to a fair share of national taxation revenue. We are optimistic that the financial pressure facing local government will be addressed as the major parties respond to the Fair Share report on cost shifting and local government financing, tabled in Federal Parliament late last year.

“ALGA Executive will consider strategies to take forward the key recommendations of the Fair Share report In particular, we will consider a model for an intergovernmental agreement on cost shifting. An inter-government working party has been established to develop a draft agreement, which will go before the Local Government and Planning Ministers’ Council later this year.

“Other issues to be considered include a fair share of national tax revenue for local government, the coming Federal election and a major report on the outcomes of the national component of the Networking the Nation IT program,” Cr Montgomery said.

The President of the Local Government Association of the Northern Territory, Alice Springs Mayor Fran Kilgariff, who is also a member of the ALGA Executive, said she was pleased to have the meeting in the Territory. ‘It will enable Executive members to see and hear at first hand the issues affecting local government in the NT,’ she said.

The Executive’s quarterly meeting program includes a civic reception hosted by the Darwin City Council and a tour of Darwin’s trade development zone and rail and port facility.

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26 August 2004

Contact:

Cr Mike Montgomery, ALGA President - (0427) 542 051
Rohan Greenland, ALGA Public Affairs - (0412) 859 434
For more information, visit the website - http://www.alga.asn.au/