Patrick Secker (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

In actual fact, I do not have a marginal seat, as Deputy Speaker Somlyay would know. I have received more Regional Partnerships funding in South Australia than any other area in South Australia. It is not for marginal seats. It is actually balanced all around Australia for rural areas. It came about as a result of a summit—I believe it was in 1999—at which the Deputy Prime Minister at the time brought together ideas on what local rural people wanted. That is the history. We have been able to achieve things with local government and state governments through programs such as Regional Partnerships.

Today I rose to speak on local government, which I have a reasonable knowledge of. In fact, I spent 11 years as a councillor in local government in South Australia. I was first elected at the age of 25. I think I was the second youngest councillor in South Australia at the time of my election. I am quite sure that local government is a place that quite a few members of this parliament have cut their teeth on and in which they have learned about representing their constituents, although the local government area is much smaller, with smaller constituencies.

I found it interesting that, when I was first elected, we did not receive any payment at all except for expenses for travelling. I think after a few years we received the princely sum of $200 annually. When I retired—and I was deputy mayor of the Mount Barker council at the time; that is probably a good name for the council, given that I represent the federal seat of Barker—I received the princely sum of $1,500 annually. I think I worked that out to be about 7c an hour for my labours.

We were not highly paid, but most people who go into local government do so to serve their community. Most of them do it to the best of their ability; it is a good training ground for politicians. To me, local government has always been that level of government that deals even more directly with its constituents because of the issues it deals with. It might be rubbish collection; it might be direct planning; it might be a whole lot of issues—food quality—that are more important on a day-to-day basis than the big picture issues we deal with.

I certainly have great pleasure in working with the local government areas in my constituency, the seat of Barker. In fact, I have 16 councils in my electorate and I have regular contact with them as well as with the local government associations. I also try to get to the annual South Australian Local Government Association meeting in South Australia each year. Local governments do have a feel for the local issues, and that is another reason why they are a very important contact for any member of parliament. You can ring them up very quickly and they can say, ‘This is what’s happening with this issue; this is our feeling; we talk to a lot of people.’ They are certainly a great resource for any politician if they wish to use them.

So it gives me great pleasure to speak on this resolution before us. As I have said a number of times, including in my maiden speech, I believe that where possible—and I echo the comments of the member for New England—local people should decide their own fates as best they can for their own areas. I am very much decentralist when it comes to government: if local areas can make decisions for themselves, that devolution of power back to local regimes works well for democracy. They play a very important part in democracy in this country. They provide us with the basic services that allow us to work and do business, to socialise with friends, to gain an education and to ensure that we have a clean and safe environment. The role and functions of a council, as set out in section 6 of the South Australian Local Government Act 1999, are:

(a)

to act as a representative, informed and responsible decision-maker in the interests of its community …

(b)

to provide and co-ordinate various public services and facilities and to develop its community and resources in a socially just and ecologically sustainable manner …

(c)

to encourage and develop initiatives within its community for improving the quality of life of the community …

(d)

to represent the interests of its community to the wider community …

(e)

to exercise, perform and discharge the powers, functions and duties of local government under this and other Acts ...

The range of regulatory services provided by all councils include land use planning, development, building control, fire prevention, dog and cat management and control, parking control and food and public health inspection. Further to these services, councils oversee local road construction and maintenance; footpath construction and maintenance; street lighting; waste management; recycling; stormwater and drainage; library and information services; maintenance of parks, ovals and sporting facilities; coastal care; home and community care services for elderly people and for those with a disability; tourism initiatives; and crime prevention programs. So there is a very wide, very direct relationship between local councils and the people they represent.

Coming back to the Roads to Recovery program, I recall that the Leader of the Opposition called the Roads to Recovery program a boondoggle. How out of touch is he with what local councils think about the Roads to Recovery program? I can assure you, Mr Deputy Speaker, that every local council area in my electorate, and I would suggest all around Australia, thinks the Roads to Recovery program is fantastic.

Councils contribute to many issues that are important to everyday living. Without these services being attended to, we would be in quite a state. Our local roads would be poor, footpaths would be dangerous, rubbish would be strewn in the streets, and other hazards and issues would be poorly managed.

Our government has increased the total amount allocated by way of financial assistance grants to local government for 2006-07 by $67.4 million, so we do continue to increase funding in this area. But I come back to my earlier point: I firmly believe that a share of GST should be going to local government. I think that is an issue that they really need to put some work into, and I would support them wholeheartedly.

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