Closing Statement
The Australian Council of Local Government (ACLG) held its first meeting today in Canberra. The Australian Government was joined by over 400 mayors and shire presidents from councils and shires across Australia and representatives from state and territory governments.
The Commonwealth Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government and the President of the Australian Local Government Association agreed that progress was made in three key areas: developing a stronger relationship between the two spheres of government; progressing the constitutional recognition of local government; and reforming infrastructure and services provided by local government.
Relationship
The Australian Government and local government:
- recognised the historic significance of the first meeting of the ACLG which formalised the relationship between the two spheres of government;
- agreed to use ACLG to achieve greater policy coordination and information sharing and inform decisions about the financial relationship between the two spheres of government; and
- reaffirmed the role of state and territory governments in the Australian federal system, including the relationship between each state or territory government and the local governments in that jurisdiction.
Recognition
The Australian Government and local government:
- reaffirmed their commitment to considering constitutional recognition of local government;
- noted that local government is consulting widely, including through the ALGA Constitutional Summit, to identify options for Commonwealth consideration; and
- recognised that the primary role of raising public support for any constitutional amendment lies with local government.
Reform
The Australian Government and local government:
- recognised the need to work with state and territory governments to implement nationally consistent financial and asset management and planning frameworks for local government as developed by the Local Government and Planning Ministers' Council;
- committed to a dialogue with state and territory governments to identify the local and community infrastructure needs for the future, particularly in corridors experiencing high growth;
- committed to improving workforce capability in local government and promoting innovation in local government through both the Commonwealth's new centre for excellence for local government and state and territory government training initiatives; and
- committed to the implementation of the Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program to deliver an immediate improvement in community facilities, strengthen local economies and support jobs during a period of unfavourable economic circumstances.
