Why more funding won’t fix local council fundamentals

THERE’S a growing push from within the Labor Party for delegates to this week's ALP National Conference in Adelaide to back doubling Commonwealth funding for local government, warning Australia's 538 councils cannot deliver essential services without it.

The unions representing local government workers are urging conference delegates to support a motion restoring Financial Assistance Grants to 1% of Commonwealth taxation revenue.

But local council watcher, Graham Jolly of Cape Woolamai, says just giving local councils more money won’t fix their fundamental problems.

“You can’t have the situation where you’re collecting $64 million in rates and paying out more that $40 million in wages,” said Mr Jolly.

“And running underlying losses in the millions of dollars year after year, and then crying poor, is simply not sustainable.

“Until they get back to core services and stop trying to be all things to all people, no amount of money is going to fix the problem.

“There needs to be a complete review of the Local Government Act and how local councils operate.

“Take a look at the survey results published by Council Watch, it’s pretty clear what people think about their local council,” he said.

“The results of the Council Watch National Councils Census should be a wake-up call to every council chamber in the country. Australians are saying loud and clear that local government has lost its way,” said Council Watch Victoria.

They summarised the results as follows:

• 94% say councils do not consistently deliver value for money
• 94% say councillors do not reflect their views
• 69% do not trust councillors
• 83% believe councils hide too much information
• 85% believe councils are too focused on themselves
• 92% believe council services have stagnated or gone backwards.

“This isn't a minor image problem. It's a crisis of confidence,” according to Council Watch.

“People don't want more glossy strategies, virtue signalling or expensive vanity projects. They want roads fixed, parks maintained, rubbish collected, rates kept affordable and decisions made transparently.

“The message from Australians couldn't be clearer: get back to core business.”

According to Mr Jolly, it’s not funding problem, it’s a systematic problem.

But that hasn’t stopped rank and fila ALP delegates and union officials calling for a doubling in Commonwealth funding.

The grants, they say, currently sit at just 0.49%, instead of the goal of 1% of Commonwealth taxation revenue.

The last time the benchmark was met was in 1996.

Restoring the funding would provide councils with an additional $3.61 billion each year, they say.

“Councils do the groundwork which keeps communities going; they collect our bins, run ‘rhyme time’ at our libraries, keep our local pools clean, make sure our playing fields are ready for weekend sport, maintain our roads and support communities through floods and fires,” said ASU National Secretary Emeline Gaske.

“Canberra must restore the 1% benchmark because councils are running on empty.

"There is a real crisis in funding for local government," said Local Government NSW President and Inner West, Darcy Byrne.

"In many regional communities, in particular, there is simply not enough funding for basic services to be maintained.

"Financial Assistance Grants have fallen from 1 per cent of Commonwealth taxation revenue to barely half that over 30 years. Without action now there's a real danger of councils having to not only cut basic services but shut their doors all together.”