Kay Hull (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to raise the plight of local government and the lack of funds that they are having to cope with at the moment. Local governments have had an enormous amount of cost-shifting put upon them by the various state governments. You will find that many of our local governments, particularly in small rural communities, do not have the rate bases to enable them to meet all of the demands that have been placed on them and are continuing to be placed on them due to this unrelenting drought that has been gripping New South Wales and areas in Victoria. Many of their rate bases have been depleted enormously by the separation of land and water. They have significant problems because of the value of their rates going down but they still have to provide the same level of upkeep and maintenance on their roads and the same level of services in their local communities.

It is a fact that local government has a very significant role in the day-to-day operations of many people across Australia. Local governments are the closest to the people and provide a significant amount of assistance in the health sector, the road sector— (Time expired)