John McVeigh (Groom, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a great honour and, in fact, a pleasure to speak in support of the motion that was moved by the member for Mackellar recognising the important role that local government plays in Australia. In moving this motion, the member for Mackellar spoke of the fact that many in this House have a background in local government—he mentioned his own—and I, too, have enjoyed such a background, in my case in the Toowoomba Regional Council, brought about by the significant amalgamation in 2008, in Queensland, of the Cambooya, Crows Nest, Jondaryan, Pittsworth, Millmerran, Rosalie, Clifton, and, of course, Toowoomba councils at the time. I had the great honour of being elected via a by-election in late 2008, following the passing of the late councillor Ian Orford. So I began my career in local government almost exactly 10 years ago. It was tremendous to have the opportunity to serve, alongside others, the people of the Toowoomba region, through local government—as they say, the level of government closest to the people. In more recent times, I've had the great honour of being the federal minister for local government. So I support this motion, and I speak to this motion from the perspective of one who has had a fair involvement in the local government sector over many years.

I'm particularly proud that the coalition will provide more than $2.4 billion in untied grants to 546 local councils under the Financial Assistance Grants program, and the fact that the government have provided more than $11 billion under this program since 2013-14, underlining the fact that we've been very much focused on delivering local services and building vital community infrastructure, and one does that best by supporting the local government sector. From 2013-14 to 2021-22, the government has set about ensuring that $4.8 billion will be provided under the Roads to Recovery Program; almost $745 million to the Black Spot Program; and $480 million from 2015-16 for the Bridges Renewal Program—not to mention the more recent initiative, some $3½ billion for our Roads of Strategic Importance initiative.

These programs are important right across the country, nowhere more so than my own region around Toowoomba. Black spot funding in Toowoomba, for example, has seen us assist the Toowoomba Regional Council on the intersection of Hogg and Tor streets in Wilsonton Heights in the north-west corner of our city. Just over $1.05 million from the federal government has assisted the council, who also contributed $250,000, with that particular black spot that was identified. The Roads to Recovery Program has involved the allocation of just under $30 million to the Toowoomba Regional Council, including $1.8 million for the gravel sealing of Pierce Creek Road, and the Linthorpe Road reconstruction, with almost $1 million in contributions there. There is the Bridges Renewal Program. I can refer to the Mally Roadculvert, the latest Groom project under this program. There was some $350,000 for that. It is in Hodgson Vale, where those culverts are being replaced. Most importantly, the Roads of Strategic Importance initiative has great promise for the future. I'm already on the record as recommending to the government that the Brimblecombe Road, particularly with its intersection with the Warrego Highway, be a focus there.

When I talk about risk management from the regional council, I'm very proud of flood mitigation through our city since the tragic 2011 events. To be part of a government that has supported the Toowoomba Regional Council is very satisfying, in that regard in particular. But local government is not just infrastructure; it is about understanding the local community. I acknowledge that Toowoomba is a refugee-welcome zone, led by our mayor, Paul Antonio. I acknowledge that he and other councillors today, in Clewley Park in Toowoomba, have led a White Ribbon breakfast. I am unfortunately not able to be there, with parliament sitting, but that's what our council does.

Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I stand to voice my support and recognition for the role of local government, particularly when it comes to local roads in regional Australia and certainly in my electorate of Mayo. The poor state of our country roads is a regular complaint to my office and an issue that comes up time and again. When I did an electorate-wide survey, which I mailed out to everyone in my community and where we had thousands of responses, certainly our local roads were in the top 10 issues for people. It is why, with my Senate colleagues in 2017, we fought so hard to secure the two-year funding of $40 million for local government roads in South Australia and why I'm advocating for the continuation of the Supplementary Local Road Funding program.

This program addressed the anomaly that South Australia experienced: we have 11 per cent of the nation's roads and we have seven per cent of the nation's population, and yet we were receiving less than five per cent of the funding from government to maintain our roads. That was one of the budget cuts of 2014. Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott took that $40 million from South Australia. I was very pleased to get that reinstated, but it does run out next July. I'm already in conversations with the government, with my team, about reinstatement for that, because it is critical for our roads.

I welcome the black spot funding for another three years, but I do call on this government to examine its long-term commitment to local road funding in South Australia. I believe that piecemeal black spot grant applications for projects that may or may not be successful are just not enough. I know that from the work that my office did with the Parliamentary Library. We mapped the electorate of Mayo: the casualties, the injuries, the major crashes and where the black spot projects had been funded. When you look at that across the nation, the data of where the crashes are does not always marry with where the funding goes. I believe that the black spot funding is one of those projects that is always at risk of pork-barrelling, and this reinforces my belief that local councils need the financial autonomy to place upgrades for the roads where they know that they need them most. They are on the roads every day.

When I recently raised Supplementary Local Road Funding program with the Prime Minister, his response was that further investment in South Australia will be 'considered as part of future budgets'. This was after the Prime Minister spruiked South Australia's share of the Financial Assistance Grant program. Let's not forget that the indexation for this program was frozen again back in 2014 and only resumed in September 2017. We have a lag there in real terms for council, and yet council is expected to deliver more and more each year. Funding for local government should not be alms for the poor. We need to properly equip our local governments. They deliver on our roads, but they also deliver on a whole range of wellbeing programs throughout our community. More and more, state and federal governments are expecting councils to do more and more with the little money that they have.

In Mayo, we have challenging terrain and we have, sadly, a very high level of fatalities in our region. Right now, my community is deeply mourning the loss of two teenagers in a crash between Strathalbyn and Wistow. It is a state government road, but one with limited passing opportunities and it has failed to keep pace with the population growth and increased traffic in my community. I know that the Alexandrina and Mount Barker councils have made numerous appeals in recent years to the South Australian government to invest in safety improvements. I also raised the condition of this road with the former state Labor government. I understand that the new state Liberal government is now considering upgrades; however, we have lost two more people. This is a road that needs urgent—urgent—attention.

As the member for Mayo, I am more than familiar with all the roads across my electorate that need upgrading—Victor Harbor Road, Main South Road and the Adelaide to Mannum Road. My fellow members would know the needs in their regions. Local councils know their roads. Fixing local roads is usually the biggest part of their annual budgets, which is why it's so important that we adequately fund them. So I call on this government for South Australia: please continue the supplementary road funding and not just the $40 million over two years. We need this to be properly indexed. I would also call on the government to catch up with the federal assistance grants. The freeze was in 2014. We had three years of no increase. I think government needs to work on this immediately.

David Gillespie (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I fully support this motion. The support that the federal government gives to local government is quite substantial, whether it's the Roads to Recovery funding, the Financial Assistance Grant funding, the Black Spot funding, the Bridges Renewal funding or the Roads of Strategic Importance funding. There is another one which we help them with, and that's the Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program.

To put things in perspective, I'm very proud to stand here and outline some of the bridge work that has happened in the Lyne electorate as a result of these policies. I would like this House to recognise the contribution of former Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson, who, in the Howard-Anderson government period, introduced Black Spot and Roads to Recovery funding, and also to acknowledge the work of Warren Truss, who initiated the Bridges Renewal Program and the Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program.

In the Port Macquarie-Hastings Council alone, there was financial support for three bridges, totalling $1.24 million. In the MidCoast Council, which is a merger of the old Greater Taree City Council, the Great Lakes Council and the Gloucester Shire Council, there was financial support for 11 bridges, totalling $5.57 million. In the old Taree City Council, which was in existence in my first term of representing Lyne in the parliament, there was another $800,000 for two bridges. I am very pleased to say that I also fought for and delivered a bridge across Dyers Crossing and one on the Moto Road over Dickensons Creek. These sound like names that don't resonate with people in this chamber but they certainly resonate with people in the Lyne electorate, because beef trucks and dairy tankers couldn't go over these regions. They had to make 10- and 15-kilometre diversions to get raw product out of these valleys. The old timber bridges that are being replaced are the lifeblood of regional Australia, and there are so many more planned: Abdoos Creek; Kellys Creek; Possum Brush Road Bridge No. 2 replacement; Milbai Creek Bridge; McQueen Bridge, which is also in the MidCoast Council; Kundle Creek Bridge; Emu Creek Bridge; Diamond Bridge; Little Cedar Party Creek Bridge; Burrell Creek Bridge; Bulga Creek Bridge; and Bobin Creek Bridge.

The Black Spot funding is a really important source of funds for local government. They rely on this extra funding from the federal government, which is granted on a points-by-points basis. Unfortunately, a black spot often means a death, a fatality, or a very severe injury, but some of the roads that have been improved have been quite substantial. To put things into perspective, in 2018-19, the Australian coalition government provided over $2.4 billion in untied funds to 546 local councils under the Financial Assistance Grant Program. That is another huge help that the Commonwealth government gives to local councils. I put the state governments on notice. A lot of them do cost-shift. All of you here would appreciate that. They cost-shift to the federal government and they cost-shift down to local government. Back in the early nineties, the state government of New South Wales, in their wisdom, bequeathed approximately 16,500 kilometres of hitherto state roads to local governments, and that's why areas that I have in the Lyne electorate are now suffering with huge road and bridge burdens that used to be the responsibility of the New South Wales state government. It's an absolute scam, and we need to call out our state colleagues to step up to the mark and support a lot of regional Australia, because they do need all the funds.

In addition to the Financial Assistance Grants program, the Building Better Regions Fund is a great help to local councils. $200 million went towards the third round of the Building Better Regions Fund. That's being extended out to 2021-2022. Many members here use the Stronger Communities Program to support a lot of the volunteer organisations, amateur sporting organisations and social groups that have nowhere else to turn. There's $22½ million in the fourth round being delivered as we speak. Whether it's Rotary clubs or people who have got groups together for bridge, for community support or for loneliness organisations, all these sorts of community groups come to look for help. This fund is vital. (Time expired)

Anne Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I represented the people of Werriwa in this parliament, I was a councillor for eight years at Liverpool City Council. One thing you learn quickly as a councillor is that local government is far more than the three Rs of rates, roads and rubbish. Local councils build communities. They consult and provide great services and facilities. They play a critical role in community engagement, facilitating and bringing together residents, community groups and important services to build stronger, healthier communities.

One such project is the 2168 Children's Parliament, which had its fourth and final sitting of the current parliament last week. As I've spoken about in the House previously, I had the great privilege of being an ambassador. The initiative is delivered under the Commonwealth government early intervention and prevention initiative and is part of the 2168 Strong Children and Communities Project, supported by Liverpool City Council, the NSW Department of Education and Mission Australia. The 40 student parliamentarians come from local primary schools in the 2168 postcode in my electorate. They've met regularly over the school year in workshops, presentations and parliamentary sittings. The children took advantage of their unique position and audience to tackle the big issues of traffic, bullying, drug and alcohol abuse and renewable energy. While the program has already delivered some great outcomes, I think the full benefit of the program will only be realised in the years and decades to come. Who knows? We might see future councillors, mayors and MPs amongst these bright, inquisitive leaders of tomorrow.

Local government also plays a key role in the arts. In my home community, they fund and resource important cultural institutions, such as the award-winning Campbelltown Arts Centre and Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre. There are venues that host theatre of an exceptional quality—from world-class names to hardworking local volunteer ensembles, from modern suburban comedies to Shakespeare and the classic myths and sagas from the many cultural groups that make up my electorate.

On Saturday, the Casula Powerhouse announced the winners of the Mil-Pra AECG Award, which acknowledges and celebrates the significant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture in my region. I'd like to congratulate Leanne Tobin and Shane Smithers for respectively winning the acquisitive Maria Lock Award and the acquisitive Mayor's Choice Award. The weekend before, Hedar Abadi took out the top prize in the Liverpool Art Society exhibition. Hedar arrived in Liverpool as a refugee and now regularly exhibits his works.

Councils, through their arts and cultural programs, help us tell our local stories. Through doing this, they build stronger local communities. This is despite the cost shifting and inadequate funding to the arts, especially in Western Sydney. While Western Sydney has 10 per cent of Australia's population, it attracts only one per cent of federal and just over five per cent of New South Wales cultural, arts, heritage and events funding. This is simply inadequate. As the work of the Campbelltown Arts Centre, the Casula Powerhouse and artist like Hedar Abadi show, the stories of Western Sydney aren't second-rate or inferior. They are richly diverse, they are important and they need to be told.

In addition to inadequate funding, council also faces cost shifting from both tiers of government. The peak body for councils in my state, Local Government New South Wales, estimates that cost shifting by state and federal governments cost councils upward of $800 million for the financial year 2015-16. A recent report found that the total amount of cost shifting comes in at about $30 million for Liverpool and $8 million for Campbelltown City Council. Further, councils in my region have been hit hard by the freeze between 2014 and 2017 on the financial assistance grants from the federal government. Liverpool City Council lost just under $3.5 million, Campbelltown almost $3.8 million and Fairfield just over $3.7 million. Initiatives like the Black Spot Program and the Bridges Renewal Program make a contribution, but the federal government can and should do more to assist our local councils. The need is made more acute in New South Wales, where the local government sector has faced the additional challenge of a hostile state government. The New South Wales government has forcefully merged councils, stripped away decision-making powers of councillors and overridden local government controls in the name of progress and reform.

Local government is the closest form of government to the people. It does fantastic work building strong and healthy communities, but it could do so much more, more effectively, if it was properly resourced and supported by other levels of government, especially the federal government.

Josh Wilson (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm very glad to be part of the debate on this motion. I'm well aware of the vital role that local government plays across Australia and I'm particularly familiar with the role it plays in my electorate. The cities of Cockburn, Fremantle and Melville, and the Town of East Fremantle all contribute to the distinctive culture and character that is a feature of the various landscapes and neighbourhoods within the federal electorate that I represent. On Sunday I was at the George Street Festival in East Fremantle, which has been going for nearly 30 years. On the Friday before that I was at Yangebup Family Centre in Cockburn, which provides both child care and social inclusion programs for seniors. Earlier in the same week I met representatives of Friends of Monument Hill, which of course is the principal commemorative site for veterans and for those who lost their lives or suffered in their Defence Force service. All of these activities, facilities or locations are operated and sustained by local government in partnership with the local community.

I had the privilege of representing the Beaconsfield Ward as councillor in the City of Fremantle for nearly seven years, including five years as Deputy Mayor. I loved that work. It was challenging work and taught me a great deal. I want to take this opportunity to recognise two aspects of the local government world that might sometimes get overlooked. The first is the quality and commitment of local government staff, from the CEO, directors and managers right through to the workers who staff libraries and recreation centres, manage our parks, deliver essential services and run cultural programs. All these people provide critical public services, and I know that those who work for local governments in my electorate often do so because they find community work compelling in itself. They are drawn to building resilience and vitality and creating a sense of shared wellbeing in our neighbourhoods. I applaud that.

The second aspect I want to mention is that layer of community and resident groups and organisations whose volunteer work is essential in guiding, supplementing and partnering with local government. There are dozens of these across the Fremantle electorate, from the Aubin Grove residents group in the south-east to APACE in North Fremantle by the coast. They include groups focused on history and heritage, like the Fremantle Society and the Heritage Guides, through to surf life-saving clubs at Leighton and Coogee Beach, and of course organisations that protect local amenity and environment like Native ARC, Save Beeliar Wetlands and Friends of Woodman Point. I say to all of those volunteers and office bearers at the end of another big year, well done and thank you.

Traditionally there has not been a lot of direct involvement between the Commonwealth and local governments, but that has gradually changed. Of course it was the Whitlam government which took a direct interest in the delivery of essential local services like sewerage. Since that time Labor has made sure to look at how the Commonwealth can partner with and enable local governments and local communities. Indeed, people will remember that during the global financial crisis it was a hallmark of Labor's world-leading approach that stimulus funding was directed through the Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program, which produced the double benefit of underwriting local employment and creating community infrastructure of lasting benefit. In the Fremantle electorate that resulted in fantastic and enduring projects like the restoration of Locke Park rotunda in East Fremantle, the new community and recreation centre in Hilton and the brand new Coogee Beach Surf Life Saving Club in Cockburn. I've been glad to subsequently build on those community facilities through the Stronger Communities Program—for example, with $20,000 for the new first responder training room at Coogee Beach and with $7,000 for new lights in the PCYC at Hilton, among a range of other local improvements.

I'm grateful to the member for Mackellar for bringing this motion and for highlighting the programs through which the Commonwealth supports local road improvements and other amenities. I do need to point out that the outcomes under these programs vary and, as I've noted in the past, Western Australia rarely gets a fair share. The Bridges Renewal Program is a good example. I'm glad to have supported the successful application from the City of Cockburn, which is currently delivering the much-needed duplication of the Spearwood Avenue Bridge. But, within the program as a whole, WA has fared poorly. Of the 375 projects supported so far, only 12 have been in WA—that's three per cent. Of $341 million in total funding, only $28.5 million has been directed to WA, which is about 7.5 per cent. You can't say that we're getting a look-in when WA is 10.5 per cent of the national population and a full third of the Australian land mass.

Local government is the most accessible and responsive layer of government in Australia. It reflects the services and landscape of our neighbourhood. It reflects our local character. For all those reasons, I'm supportive of measures to increase the ways in which the Commonwealth can engage with and fund that vital work.

Debate adjourned.