Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to stand to speak on the Constitution Alteration (Local Government) 2013 which is a bill to alter section 96 of the Constitution to specifically state that the Commonwealth may grant financial assistance to local government bodies formed by a law of the state. The bill simply recommends the introduction of 17 words to section 96 for consideration at the referendum on 14 September. Those 17 words essentially put into the Constitution what is already happening in our system of governance in this country.

When the Constitution was first drafted 100 years ago, the role of councils was significantly different compared to now. The roles of the states were incredibly important. They were the principal governing bodies and they are well and truly recognised in the Constitution. But the role of councils, which were very new, was essentially to grade a few roads to keep them clear for horses and to deal with rubbish collection and not much more than that. So we had councils which were never recognised in the Constitution. Perhaps at the time there was no reason to do so, as the federal and state relationship was the major one that needed to be dealt with. Now, of course, our local councils are remarkably different to that.

I have two councils in my electorate, Holroyd and Parramatta, that cover most of my electorate but Auburn and Hills have little bits on the edges. All are remarkably different councils but they all provide an incredible range of services, from child care to sporting fields to rubbish collection to footpaths to road maintenance, coordinating and assisting a whole range of groups from bushcare groups to people who help the homeless.

In fact, so great is the role of local councils that when I am doorknocking—and I do a lot of doorknocking; I managed to pass the 70,000 houses mark a couple of week ago but unfortunately half of them are in another electorate now due to a redistribution—it is the local council issues that are most often raised. It is the state of a road, whether a local road is being used as a major thoroughfare or whether a footpath needs to be replaced. It is the things that affect daily lives of people. These are the things where the people of our community interact mostly with government and in the most cases their major interaction is with local government.

I find when I am dealing with community organisations, particularly the grassroots organisations, so strong is the influence of council and the support that council provides those organisations that they tend to fall within council boundaries. So the bushcare organisations in the Parramatta area will fall under the umbrella of the Parramatta City Council and they will all know each other, or they will fall under the umbrella of the Holroyd City Council and they will know each other. People who work with the homeless, and particularly the grassroots organisations, will tend to work within one council area or another as the level of financial and other kinds of support given by councils leads to this sort of separation along council lines.

Federal governments over time have recognised this and increasingly we are seeing federal governments contribute directly to local governments. In the past five years alone, the Commonwealth has partnered with local government to deliver over 6,000 community projects which range from things such as libraries, indoor and outdoor sporting facilities, pools, walking trails and bike tracks to bridges, in virtually every single community right across Australia. The practice of the Commonwealth government providing funding directly to local councils is a longstanding one that is well received at local council level and by our local communities.

In the electorate of Parramatta there have been some extraordinary projects funded. In fact, there has been over $2.3 million given for 17 black spots across the electorate since 2007 when I was elected. I had been out to a number of those spots and talked to residents before the funding was given. I had gone out later to see the effects on the local community of that funding. We have received several grants to improve energy efficiency. Our local council of Parramatta, in particular, received more than $550,000 for the upgrading of lighting, heating, cooling and ventilation and the building management system at Riverside and for new lighting in a number of council car parks in the area.

If you then look at sporting and recreational facilities, there was $450,000 for the Kelly Park upgrade—the park playground equipment. That was funded directly in Merrylands. The MJ Bennett Reserve upgrade provided playground equipment and a memorial wall and resurfaced the basketball court. There have been a number of national bike path projects through Parramatta. Most people, including the Attorney-General, know that I am a cyclist and I have ridden over those bike paths probably three to four mornings a week for most of the last 10 years. Every time another bit of it turns up, there is a major celebration.

We have an extraordinarily beautiful river in the Parramatta River, if you are down there at full tide early in the morning or late at night when the river is calm and full. The bike paths that have been funded through that project have opened up some of the most beautiful parts of our foreshore and well and truly linked incredible infrastructure like the great parks at Homebush to Parramatta right through to Richmond now. It is important. We cyclists have well and truly enjoyed that.

The bushcare groups tell me they like it as well because it lets them get into some areas that they could not get into and replant seagrass and such things. There is also an upgrade of Sturt Park, upgrades of parks and reserves at Carlingford and Epping and improved access for a pedestrian path at Harvey Murray Park. There was also quite extensive funding for disability access to buildings and to bus stations which again form an incredibly important funding flow for our local community.

So what does this change actually mean? We have a terrible history in Australia of voting for referendums. I and my local councils really hope this one will be significantly different. The change in many ways is a minimal change. It is the smallest change you could possibly make in order to capture in the federal Constitution what is already happening. The change is worth talking through. The section 96 heading is 'Financial assistance to States'—because, again, a hundred years ago that was the relationship between state and federal governments and councils were mostly very small organisations at the time—and it changes the heading to 'Financial assistance to states and local government bodies'. So the change adds four words—'and local government bodies'.

The next paragraph, as it is now, reads:

During a period of ten years after the establishment of the Commonwealth and thereafter until the Parliament otherwise provides, the Parliament may grant financial assistance to any State …

I am wondering whether we could lose the words 'During a period of ten years after the establishment of the Commonwealth', Attorney-General, because I think the 10 years has passed. The change adds another 13 words. It adds 'or to any local government body formed by a law of a State'. So it would then read: 'During a period of ten years after the establishment of the Commonwealth and thereafter until the Parliament otherwise provides, the Parliament may grant financial assistance to any State, or any local government body formed by a law of a State'. I point out again that the provision of financial assistance to a local government body formed by a law of a state is something that already happens and has happened for many years, and I have outlined already some of the projects funded under that practice which is currently in place.

This minimal change leaves alone any question of Commonwealth involvement in the management of councils. That is well and truly a role for the state. States form councils, they can amalgamate them, they can abolish them and they have oversight of them. This change to the Constitution leaves that as it is. There is no change to the relationship between the Commonwealth government and local council, except that it recognises that Commonwealth governments do provide financial assistance to local councils. This is an incredibly minimal change that recognises the reality of the three levels of governance in Australia.

I should also add that these words were developed in incredibly strong consultation with local councils. They are, in fact, the choice of local councils. As a person who spends a lot of time trying to remove words from every document I ever write, I have to say that this is an incredibly efficient way to make a minimal change that simply recognises the existing relationship between Commonwealth government and local councils in terms of funding, and leaves alone the responsibility for local councils with state government. I commend the bill to the House.

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