Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today in support of the motion by the member for Grayndler, and I join with him in condemning the Abbott government in cutting the funding to local councils. In particular, I want to condemn the National Party for these cruel cuts. Indeed, the National Party should be ashamed of their slashing of vital funding for our local councils, especially in those regional and rural areas. These cuts will affect every shire council, city council and local government authority right across Australia, with the harshest cuts of all being the cuts to the Financial Assistance Grants. These cuts, combined with the government's cuts in funding for pensioner concessions, mean that local councils will be forced to either cut services or they may in fact be forced to increase rates to cover these funding cuts. Make no mistake about it—the Abbott government will be responsible for local councils being forced to raise their rates to cover these unfair cuts.

As we have heard, the Financial Assistance Grants are nothing new. They were originally introduced by a Labor government—the Whitlam government—back in 1974, because of the value of what local government contributes to our local communities. Whilst it is true that the role of local government is constantly changing and reflecting the needs and wishes of individual local communities, it is local governments that build and maintain local roads and provide important local services. That was why the Labor government introduced a way to help local governments to deliver these vital services by funding the local governments directly. Since its introduction the Financial Assistance Grants to local governments have been supported by the federal parliament in recognition of the role local government plays in the daily lives of the people of Australia. And this has held true until now.

It is this Abbott Liberal-National Party government that has taken an axe to the support we give to local governments, and they have done this through those cuts to the Financial Assistance Grants, and by ripping away the funding assistance that provides rates concessions for our senior citizens. This is an issue of huge concern for the elderly in my electorate, who are already struggling week-to-week and will now have their rates rebates reduced due to the Abbott government's cuts. And this is on top of their cuts to pensions—another surprise contained in the budget.

It is estimated that the decision to freeze Financial Assistance Grants will cost the local government sector $925 million by the 2017-18 financial year. This hurts every local community right across Australia, but it particularly hurts those smaller regional and rural councils. At its recent annual National General Assembly, the cuts to Financial Assistance Grants were considered by the Australian Local Government Association. They passed a motion that included the resolution:

Delegates of the 2014 National General Assembly, in recognition of the vital importance of the Financial Assistance Grants … to local government for the provision of equitable levels of local government services to all Australian communities, unanimously call on the Commonwealth Government to:

• Restore indexation of Financial Assistance Grants in line with CPI and population growth immediately ...

At the same annual National General Assembly of the Australian Local Government Association, it was the Tweed Shire mayor, Barry Longland, from my electorate in Richmond, who successfully moved a motion that called for the immediate reversal of the decision to cease payments for rate concessions to local government. It stated:

That Delegates of the National General Assembly call on the Federal Government to reverse its decision to cease payments under the National Partnership Agreement on Certain Concessions for Pensioner Concession Cards and Senior Card Holders that will negatively impact on council budgets.

Right across Australia, local governments are pleading their case that they will be hurt by this federal government's decision to cut Financial Assistance Grants and funding for pensioner concessions.

In my electorate of Richmond, these matters have been raised by the local councils. Byron Shire Council have raised their very real concerns about the effect of the cuts to both the Financial Assistance Grants and the pensioner concessions. They estimate that these cuts will amount to $424,200 over the next four years. Similarly, Tweed Shire Council have raised their concerns about these cuts. They estimate it will cost the Tweed community more than $1.5 million over the next four years—a massive cut.

In fact, every council contained within my electorate of Richmond may have to consider cuts to some of their services or, indeed, increasing rates. It is expected that, in Richmond, the Ballina Shire Council, the Lismore City Council, the Byron Shire Council and the Tweed Shire Council stand to lose approximately $4 million over the next four years. This is going to hurt communities in Richmond and, as I say, it is going to mean that those councils may be forced to cut services or increase rates—and this all the fault of the Abbott government and their very cruel cuts.

The people of the North Coast condemn these mean cuts to local governments, because they understand the significance of the services that local governments provide. I stand with my local community in opposing the Abbott government's—the Liberal-National Party government's—cruel cuts to local governments, and I call on them to reverse this decision immediately, because it will have devastating impacts on local councils, particularly those local councils in regional and rural areas. I especially condemn the National Party for the way in which they have completely abandoned the people of regional and rural Australia.

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