LGAT Submission - Inquiry into local government sustainability
Earlier this year, the Federal Government initiated an inquiry into the sustainability of local government. We consulted with all 29 Tasmanian councils to provide a statewide perspective of shared issues.
It’s no secret that the role of councils in our communities has changed significantly. In the past, they were only expected to provide services to a property. Now they also need to provide a range of services to people.
This role expansion reflects the demand that local government step in when other levels of government fail to deliver, such as providing general practitioner services.
We recognise that the ability to develop and tailor local solutions to complex policy problems is becoming more important. This means local government will play a vital role in shaping and supporting strong and sustainable communities.
Because of this, councils will inevitably face increasing demands on their already-strained resources in the years ahead due to complex and growing community needs. The impact of this will be strongly felt in regional and remote communities.
To meet these future challenges, councils need to have the right capability and resources at their disposal. The Australian Local Government Association has been advocating for Financial Assistance Grants to be restored to at least one per cent of taxation revenue for many years. There’s also the need for grants to be indexed to address the inflation cost that occurs between grant commitment and the final deed. The case studies we have identified in our submission are just a few examples of local government covering these increased costs.
By providing councils with a fairer distribution of Commonwealth taxation revenue, they can continue to deliver on the expectations of their communities into the future.