Christmas is a time we when we aspire to goodwill between all men and women, which I presume includes all political parties. It therefore is very apt to talk about an issue which appears to have bi-partisan support for a referendum. Constitutional recognition for local government was said by Ms Gillard to be of “great significance in this term of government.” This policy the Coalition also took to the last election.
Australia has evolved much since Federation, but our system of representation has not. At Federation, there were 3.7 million people in Australia, for which we had six states and one territory. Although there were 1067 local councils they were not noted in the Constitution nor is there now the unambiguous capacity for a flow of funds direct from the Commonwealth to Local government.
At Federation the Northern Territory only had 4765 people and Canberra didn’t exist. Sydney now has vastly more people than the total population of Australia in 1901. Federation was more a reflection of arbitrary lines on a map determined by the fact that a certain person at a certain point in time arrived at a certain point on the coast, followed by another person called a surveyor. There is no reason why Mungindi should exist in two states. It seems unusual that Brisbane has nine of the twelve Senate offices for decentralised Queensland. It is frustrating that Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth have twelve out of twelve for their state. The ACT is a good example of how two senators elected at each election can deliver to their area. If they weren’t quarantined to the ACT they would be in Sydney as well.
It should be recognised that Australia has now developed with clear areas of a distinct demographic in a succinct geographic area. Similar to the ACT, in excess of 181,000 people live in the Townsville region, with a further 164,000 people around Cairns and in excess of 116,000 in the Mackay region. Cairns is further from Brisbane than Brisbane is from Melbourne, yet they do not have the security of enshrined constitutional recognition of their Local Government. It seems absurd that they have to rely on funds and policy flowing from Brisbane to manage their part of Northern Australia.
Central Queensland has 30,000 people around Emerald and 114,000 in the Rockhampton district. They create billion of dollars from the coal industry, yet have to go cap in hand to a city in South East Queensland for their capacity to maintain their roads.
The Gold Coast has a greater population than Tasmania. Tasmania has twelve Senators, the Gold Coast has none. Parochialism abounds between the Gold Coast and Brisbane where more and more the Government of Queensland appears to be the Government of Brisbane. The same could be said of Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. Brisbane itself, by reason of good management back in 1925, was amalgamated into one city council. Sydney with 35 councils is well overdue for a similar move. Brisbane City Council has in excess of 1.7 million people, about the same number as South Australia, but does not have the capacity to enter into a direct relationship with the Federal Government exempt from the state. Why?
Kununurra is further from Perth than Perth is from Adelaide. We should recognise the demographic and geographic isolation of that vast state and their population should be allowed a greater capacity to have a say in their future via strengthening the role of their local government authority.
Australia has changed since Federation and we must untie it from the historical perspective of what the nation was in 1901. The change, in the simplest form, would require adding three words “and Local government” to section 96 of the Constitution. States may see this as a threat, as a loss of influence and a shift of power. That may well be the case, but isn’t it the people’s right to have a greater say in what they do.
Australians should have a greater say via a tier of government that is closest to them which is Local Government.