Anne McEwen (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I too would like to contribute to this debate on the Constitution Alteration (Local Government) 2013. I think it is very important to clearly put into the debate what this amendment to the Constitution is all about. What is proposed is a small but very important amendment to the Australian Constitution. I agree with other senators that we should not take lightly amendments to our Constitution and that we should not proceed down this path until such time as such a change has been thoroughly investigated. This proposed change to the Constitution does come after consideration by the community as a whole but, in particular, by the expert panel that was set up by the government to consider constitutional reform in local government so that local government would be specifically mentioned in the Australian Constitution. It also follows on from the report of the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Local Government, set up by the federal government, and including members of all parties, to further investigate how we could progress this very important issue.

What the amendment to the Constitution would do is ensure that local government would be recognised in the Constitution by inclusion of an express statement that the Commonwealth can grant financial assistance to local government. That is something that has been missing from the Constitution and it has been the subject of attempts to change the Constitution in the past. It is very important that we do make this change to the Constitution, because there is some debate as to whether or not the financial assistance that the Commonwealth provides to local government is safe and secure in terms of legal challenges. Of course, this is a change to the Constitution that has been proposed by local governments across Australia. I, along with many of my colleagues, was at a dinner the Sunday night before last with members of local government from around Australia, and the discussion there was wholeheartedly in support of this change to the Constitution.

I think it is important to reflect as well about what could potentially be at stake here if this bill does not get up and if the constitutional referendum does not get up when the federal election is held later this year. We are talking about the services local government provides with financial assistance from the Commonwealth. We are talking about services that are very valuable to all of our constituents and all of our communities. We are talking about important services that local governments provide such as child care. We are talking about services such as roads, which all of us know local governments provide and maintain. But there are lots of other services that local government provides that perhaps are not as well known. I am thinking of programs that assist people in aged care and people with disabilities. I am talking about really important locally based arts programs that assist artists to exhibit their works and promote them. I am talking about dog and cat management by local government as well. That is another important thing that affects all of us who are fortunate enough to have pets. I am talking about management of parks and grass verges, and bushfire management, which is very important in my state. I should also mention libraries, which are a very important service, particularly these days with the different kinds of technology available. Our local governments provide all of these services and they do it with the support of both state and federal governments.

One of the issues that has been raised about the proposed amendment and the forthcoming constitutional referendum is that somehow it will take away states' rights with regard to their relationship with local government. Nothing could be further from the truth. This amendment and the constitutional referendum, if successful, will not detract from the rights of states and the way that they interact with local government—and, of course, local governments are established under state acts. All that this amendment will do is ensure that the financial arrangements between the Commonwealth and local governments are secure.

I think it is disingenuous of the opposition in particular to run the half-hearted line that they do support the amendment but do not support constitutional recognition of local government. Senator Barnaby Joyce, the Leader of the Nationals in the Senate, was happy to stand on the stage with Minister Albanese at the local government dinner a couple of Sundays ago and wholeheartedly support this proposed change to the Constitution so that local government is recognised. I think there is some division in the opposition ranks as to what their position should be on this particular amendment and that is coming forward as they are trying to obfuscate the debate by dragging it out and raising all sorts of red herrings. When this is explained to the Australian people properly there will be overwhelming community support for this very important change to the act so that we can have a referendum on the constitutional recognition of local government.