Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My three-part question is to Senator Johnston as the Minister representing the Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads. Firstly, is the minister aware of the outrage in Queensland over the processes adopted by the Labor government to force amalgamations upon Queenslanders? Secondly, what is the Howard government doing to assist people in regional Queensland to have effective local government representation? Thirdly, is the minister aware of any alternative policies?

David Johnston (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice and Customs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Macdonald for his question and acknowledge his efforts over a very long period to ensure not only that this issue is given the attention that it warrants but also that all that can be done is done by this parliament to ensure that this Labor assault on local government in Queensland does not succeed. It was only a few weeks ago that Senator Boswell raised this issue with me in this forum. All the opposition could do on that occasion was wring their hands. They simply do not care about representation at a local level. They do not care about this issue other than now running scared because Mr Rudd’s attack dog of the last month has turned to put the bite back on Mr Rudd and his federal candidates in Queensland.

The Howard government have made it clear that we will use the full limits of Commonwealth power to ensure that the people of Queensland have a say in the future of their local government. We will see, from the Labor Party’s proposal in Queensland, councils reduced from 156 to 72. It is not enough for Labor to be hatcheting local governments despite the obvious and real concerns of Queenslanders, particularly regional Queenslanders like those in Hervey Bay. Hervey Bay will be swallowed whole despite being one of the fastest-growing local governments in Australia. It is not enough to be swallowing up councils like that; they are so determined that they have threatened to make it illegal to conduct a vote on the issue. Can you imagine a government in Australia making it illegal for people to support their local government? We see hand wringing from the other side and now federal Labor candidates are screaming blue murder. They could not care less about fair and effective representation or local government because all they care about is their electoral prospects evaporating faster than Lake Eyre in a heatwave. That is what is happening in Queensland.

The federal government is totally committed to ensuring that Queenslanders have fair and effective representation, and has moved quickly to enable all Queenslanders to have their say in the future, particularly in regional Queensland. The government has allowed the Australian Electoral Commission to undertake any plebiscite on the amalgamation of any local government body in any part of Australia. If local councils avail themselves of this democratic opportunity, the AEC will conduct, free of charge and at the expense of the Commonwealth, referenda or plebiscites about the amalgamation proposal of the Beattie government in any of the local government areas. The Commonwealth has made its position clear that, within the limits of our constitutional power, we will do whatever it takes to make sure that the people of Queensland have a say in their future representation and that the outrageous arrogance of Labor in Queensland is rejected. The Leader of the Opposition on this issue is John Howard’s echo. Today’s position for the Leader of the Opposition is what the Prime Minister said yesterday, and the only reason that the Labor Party are interested in this at all is that the focus group has suddenly told them that things are crook in Tallarook. The focus group has said, ‘You had better get out of bed because our candidates in Queensland are haemorrhaging.’ Have a look at them! Their Queensland response is hand wringing in the extreme. (Time expired)