ALGA Vice-President calls for fair funding, fair treatment and formal recognition for local government
7 October 2005
ALGA Vice President, Cr Bill Mitchell, has today (10 October) addressed the annual conference of the Local Government Association of South Australia.
Cr Mitchell outlined ALGA’s key priorities, calling for fair funding, fair treatment and formal recognition for local government.
He told the conference that ALGA was pressing hard for a meaningful intergovernmental agreement (IGA) to counter cost shifting, a practice that was costing councils between $500m and $1.1bn a year.
"ALGA is arguing for a robust agreement with 'teeth' - that is an agreement that has some measure of redress for local government if cost shifting takes place." He told delegates.
"Put simply, we want an IGA that will have two primary functions. It needs to have a set of principles guiding how roles and responsibilities should be divided between the spheres of government. And it needs to have an effective mechanism to discourage cost shifting. Most importantly, it must be based on the principle that funding must follow function," he said.
More specifically, ALGA wanted an IGA that:
- secures an agreement that the three spheres of government will work together on who does what
- establishes principles that guide decision-making
- ensures the deals made with local government are adequately funded, and most importantly
- provides assurance that the deals we reach actually 'stick'.
Cr Mitchell also outlined ALGA’s case for fair federal funding. ALGA has been calling for financial assistance grants to be replaced with a share of at least 1% of Commonwealth taxation revenue.
The speech has been posted to the ALGA website and can be found at: www.alga.asn.au/newsroom/speeches/
As well as holding one of the two ALGA Vice President positions, Cr Mitchell is also President of the Western Australian Local Government Association.
- Contact:
- Cr Paul Bell AM, ALGA President - 0418 791 596
- Rohan Greenland, ALGA Public Affairs - 0412 85 9434 / 02 6122 9434
