By Jane Garcia in Leura

The Local Government and Shires Association of NSW (LGSA) launched its State Election Policy Platform at the Local Government Association’s (LGA) annual conference held in Leura this week (October 28 – November 1).

The platform addresses themes including autonomy and intergovernmental relations; community and environmental wellbeing; financial sustainability; and transparency and accountability (see www.lgsa.org.au). 
LGA president Genia McCaffery said all NSW councils should mobilise and gain attention for the platform from now until the March State election.

“It is important that you get coverage for these issues in your local media,” she said.
“Local government has been called to provide twenty-first century services on a nineteenth-century revenue base.”

The platform calls for the State Government to enter into a formal intergovernmental agreement with local government to ensure the impact of State legislation on communities is considered.

The State Opposition leader, Peter Debnam, and Shadow Minister for Local Government, John Turner, signed a formal memorandum of understanding with the LGSA during the conference on October 31 and committed to entering a formal intergovernmental agreement for four years should the Liberal and National parties succeed in the State election. Mr Debnam said the MOU would stress that the Opposition wanted to work together with local government as partners, and focus on community service rather than bureaucratic arrangements.

Both the Opposition leader and Shadow Local Government Minister agreed to review rate pegging in NSW, pledging to establish an inquiry into the issue if it was to form government in March.

“It is clear the concept is fraying at the edges with an increasing number of councils applying for variations,” Mr Turner said.

Local Government Minister Kerry Hickey also supported the concept of an intergovernmental agreement and, at time of press, State Cabinet had an agreement under consideration.

In his speech to delegates, the Minister said councils needed to accept that at the end of the day, the community was not concerned with who delivered services, rather than what those services were. He suggested there was an opportunity for local government to look at the duplication of its back-end systems.

“Local government is one business; one business with many providers. While communities are unique, administration is not,” Mr Hickey said.
“Our challenge for the future is to find new and innovative ways of serving the community.
“We need to get the hard-earned money of our communities to work harder.”

He called on councils to form ‘business clusters’, formal arrangements between councils for resource sharing. The Minister urged them to think broadly and creatively at options such as shared administration, forming cooperatives, formal contractual partnerships and greater use of ROCs [regional organisation of councils]. He expected to be writing to Mayors about the proposals for formal business clusters this month.

Mr Hickey said he would also call on the Federal Government to provide a fairer funding deal for councils.

For more coverage of the Local Government Association of NSW’s annual conference see the November edition of Government News magazine.