Jamie Chaffey (Parkes, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Agriculture) | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that local government;

(a) is a critical tier of government in Australia that deserves the trust of the Government; and

(b) employs more than 213,000 local residents in communities throughout the 537 councils across the nation;

(2) acknowledges the Government's reannouncement of the 2022 election commitment to increase the roads to recovery funding program;

(3) recognises that most local councils throughout Australia:

(a) build and maintain tens of thousands of kilometres of local and regional roads;

(b) provide the sewer, water and waste services to communities;

(c) manage parks, gardens and sporting fields to communities;

(d) manage our libraries, halls, civic centres, galleries and cultural centres; and

(e) care for our lost animals, people and infrastructure;

(4) further recognises that local government:

(a) develop master planning in communities for residential growth;

(b) develop master planning in communities for industrial growth; and

(c) ensure the protection of the local environment;

(5) condemns the Government for defunding in the 2026-27 budget such as:

(a) the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program (LRCI);

(b) the regional Precincts and Partnership Program (rPPP);

(c) the urban Precincts and Partnerships Program (uPPP); and

(d) cutting $41.7 million from the Fee-Free TAFE Skills Agreement; and

(6) strongly condemns the Government for cutting funding to local government.

This week, while this parliament sits, more than a thousand mayors, councillors, shire presidents and executive staff are gathering in Canberra for the National General Assembly of Local Government under the Australian Local Government Association's theme of Stronger Together.

As human beings, some of our most basic needs are clean water, reliable sanitation and shelter. These are mostly the domain of local government. We have a need for human connection that relies on local roads to bring us together. This is also the responsibility of local government. Take a look at the parks where we played as children and have spent time with family and achieved our sporting goals. Again, this is the work of local government. And who maintains the footpaths, ensures pets are part of our community and guides the planning and development of the towns and cities in which we live? Local government—the very same organisations that ensure there are cemeteries where our loved ones can visit us once we have gone.

Which tier of government has been systematically underfunded and ignored in the recent budget? Which tier of government is collapsing under the weight of cost shifting and price increases? And which tier of government has no grant fund available to plan for communities' futures? The answer, again, is local government.

Today, I move that this chamber notes that local government is a critical tier of government in Australia that deserves the respect and trust of this federal government. Local government employs more than 213,000 local residents in communities throughout the 538 councils within Australia. Yet, in the recent budget alone, we saw exactly what level of respect the Albanese Labor government has for local government—and that's zero. The Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program, the Regional Precincts and Partnerships Program and the Urban Precincts and Partnerships Program have all been cut and replaced with one program, the growing regions and thriving suburbs program. This is an impressive sounding program that actually translates to our regional councils as 'your funding has been cut'. Instead of the dedicated regional funding and non-contestable programs, every local government across Australia—city or country—will be competing for the same dollars. Our small councils don't stand a chance.

While we're talking about a severe lack of respect for the tier of government that provides services essential for our survival, let's talk about the government's approach to housing support. The Labor government has allocated $2 billion in the Local Infrastructure Fund under the Housing Support Program, with only $500 million dedicated to local infrastructure for regional communities. There are 410 regional, rural and remote councils in Australia and just 138 metropolitan councils. The bottom line of this housing support is that the cities are allocated nine times the amount that has been allocated to regional councils. In this competitive program, what chance does a small council, like Walgett or Central Darling Shire or Brewarrina in my electorate, have?

This government has also quietly cut $41.7 million from the Fee-Free TAFE Skills Agreement. This is yet another blow for equity in our regions and yet another blow for growth and sustainability. Last year, the federal parliament's own Interim report into local government sustainability found councils, municipalities and shires played an essential role. The report noted increased service delivery obligations and cost shifting. It found responsibility for services and management of complex infrastructure assets had shifted from state and territory and federal governments onto local government. It also found councils' funding and ability to raise revenue had deteriorated.

This concerning report has been followed up, after the federal election, by a renewed inquiry into local government sustainability. Already, that inquiry has received more than 250 submissions from Carnarvon, Parkes, Huon Valley, Balonne, Kangaroo Island—from right across Australia. The Greater Ballarat Alliance of Councils—councils within the Minister for Local Government's own electorate—has written in its submission that its councils, like many others, are facing increased demands for growth infrastructure and heightened community services expectations amid financial constraints.

The cry is universal; councils are underfunded, and this Labor government is not delivering. These are the same councils who are already, according to the 2024 National state of the assets report, groaning under the weight of a shortfall of $50 billion to $55 billion to replace existing infrastructure reaching its end of life. Our local governments deserve more certainty, more sustainability and a lot more respect, and I commend the motion to this chamber.

Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Andrew Willcox (Dawson, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing and Sovereign Capability) | Link to this | Hansard source

The motion is seconded and I reserve my right to speak.

Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I understand the member for Pearce would like to present a copy of her speech for incorporation into Hansard in accordance with the resolution agreed to on 6 November 2025.

Tracey Roberts (Pearce, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

() (): The incorporated speech read as follows—

I would like to speak against this motion. I do so not just as a member of this House but as someone who spent six years as a councillor and two years as a deputy mayor, culminating in nearly 12 years as Mayor of the City of Wanneroo in my electorate of Pearce, working for 20 years at the very coalface of local government.

I do agree with parts of this motion. Local government is indeed a critical tier of government. It is closest to the community. It builds and maintains our roads, manages our waste and water, cares for our parks and public spaces, and plans for the growth of our suburbs and regions. It employs hundreds of thousands of Australians and delivers the services people rely on every single day.

But, if we are going to stand here and acknowledge the importance of local government, then we also need to be honest about how it has been treated, because this motion tells only half the story. It speaks about trust and recognition but it ignores the reality that, under the coalition, local government funding was cut and councils were left to do more with less. The coalition's 2014 decision to freeze indexation on financial assistance grants for three years reduced funding by an estimated 13 per cent—around $925 million taken out of local communities—and, when indexation returned, it was from a lower base, locking in that loss. That is not trust. That is not partnership. The consequences are still being felt, particularly in regional and outer suburban councils.

Now compare that with what we are seeing under the Albanese Labor government. We are delivering record investment in local government because we understand the role councils play in building strong, connected communities. Since coming to office, financial assistance grants have grown by five per cent in the last year alone and by 35 per cent since 2021-22. That is an increase from $2.6 billion to $3.6 billion in 2026-27. Across our first term, more than $16 billion will have flowed directly to local councils. That is not rhetoric; that is real support on the ground.

It does not stop there. In 2023-24 alone, almost $6 billion flowed from the Commonwealth to local government, supporting local jobs, local infrastructure, and local services every single day. We have doubled funding for Roads to Recovery to $4.4 billion over five years, ensuring councils can continue to maintain and upgrade the roads their communities depend on. We are investing in enabling infrastructure through the $2 billion Local Infrastructure Fund. We are supporting safer roads, active transport, and growing communities through long-term, predictable funding streams. And, critically, we are listening. By restoring the Australian Council of Local Government, we have ensured councils once again have a seat at the table. Respect for local government is not just about words; it is about partnership.

This motion points to individual programs and funding lines, but it ignores the bigger picture. Overall investment in local government is increasing substantially. Financial assistance grants alone are growing at more than 2½ times the rate seen under the coalition, and they are projected to exceed $4 billion annually by the end of the decade, providing the certainty councils need to plan, invest, and deliver.

As someone who has sat in the mayor's chair for many years, I can say this with certainty: what councils value most is stability, respect, and a genuine partnership with the Commonwealth. That is exactly what this government is delivering. So yes, local government matters. But, if we are serious about backing councils, then we must also be honest about the record. Under the coalition, funding was cut and councils were left behind. Under Labor, funding is growing, engagement has been restored, and communities are seeing the benefit. For those reasons, I oppose this motion.

Andrew Willcox (Dawson, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing and Sovereign Capability) | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to second this motion supporting local government. After all, local government is the level of government closest to the people, but I believe many in this place have completely forgotten this. Earlier today in the House of Representatives, during question time, in response to a question asked by the member for Fowler, the Prime Minister said:

This isn't a council. This is a serious parliament …

This just goes to show how out of touch the Prime Minister really is. Does the Prime Minister realise it's local councils who actually do the heavy lifting? They build and maintain tens of thousands of kilometres of rural roads and local roads. They provide the vital sewerage, water and waste management services. Can you imagine if there were no sewer, if there were no water, if there were no waste? You couldn't get a good drink of water. Your bin couldn't get emptied. You couldn't go to the bathroom. Councils maintain the parks, the gardens and the sporting fields that our families rely on, and they manage libraries, halls, civic centres and cultural hubs. Councils maintain the very essential services that our community cannot do without.

The Prime Minister then went on to say:

No-one has done more for local government in this House than me.

The audacity of that statement is staggering. The member for Parkes, who presented this motion, served as Mayor of the Gunnedah Shire in New South Wales for eight years before entering federal parliament. I spent 10 years in local government, four years as a councillor and six years as Mayor of the Whitsundays. I can guarantee the Prime Minister that there are many more people in this place who have done a heck of a lot more for local government than he ever will. This Labor government doesn't back local councils; it abandons them. We're talking about the exact same prime minister who just slashed the federal government's contribution to disaster funding, of all things. The uncomfortable truth is that local government receives only three per cent of all tax revenue—that's derived from rates, fees and charges—the state receives around 16 per cent and the feds receive a whopping 81 per cent, mainly through income tax. Yet despite only receiving three per cent of tax revenue, local governments are forced to manage 33 per cent of all public infrastructure assets. How is that fair?

To add insult to injury, the latest federal budget has slashed financial assistance grants to just 0.49 per cent of Commonwealth tax revenue, down from 0.51 per cent. This financial assistance grant is so important to local councils because it's untied funding, so the councils get to determine what is the best use for that money. Let me tell you, they use it very, very wisely.

The Albanese Labor government has completely defunded and eliminated the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure program. This has been used for priority local roads and priority infrastructure programs. They've also made cuts to the Regional Precincts and Partnerships program and the Urban Precincts and Partnerships program.

In its latest stunt, the Albanese government recently announced a massive overhaul to the disaster recovery arrangements, the DRFA, reducing the Commonwealth funding share to a split of fifty-fifty with state and territory governments. This is a huge loss in particular for Queensland councils. Under the historical model, the federal government picked up approximately 64 per cent, capping out at 75 per cent, of the major infrastructure costs. Shifting to a fifty-fifty model strips millions out of disaster recovery budgets and pushes the financial burden directly onto the state and the local ratepayers—just another example of 'when Labor runs out of their money, they come after yours'.

This disaster funding cut represents a massive betrayal of Queensland, where 74 out of the 77 local government areas were formally disaster declared following recent cyclones. For every natural disaster event, a small regional council is now required to pay $130,000 upfront. That is not fair, and it needs to change.

Trish Cook (Bullwinkel, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to oppose this motion. I spent eight years on the ground as a local councillor for the Shire of Mundaring and served proudly as the deputy shire president before coming into this place. Today I'm proud to continue that advocacy right here in federal parliament as the co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Local Government group. I know firsthand the financial pressures that councils face, the critical reliance on federal funding partnerships and the deep frustration in dealing with a federal government that leaves you behind—and that is exactly what the coalition did for a decade.

The reality is quite simple: the Albanese Labor government is delivering for local government, while the coalition spent a decade leaving them behind. Local councils are the lifeblood of our communities. They build the roads we drive on and the libraries where our kids learn, and they manage waste and a whole lot more besides. They need a federal partner that they can trust, and that's exactly what they have under this Labor government.

We are delivering record Commonwealth investment to the sector. Since coming to office, Labor has delivered more than $16 billion in financial assistance grants directly to local councils. This financial year, those grants have increased by five per cent and they're up a massive 35 per cent since 2021-22. That means they've grown from $2.6 billion to $3.6 billion.

Let's compare the records. In the coalition's last five years in office, the financial assistance grants increased by $368 million. In Labor's first five years, they have increased by $943 million. That is more than two-and-a-half times the growth that the opposition achieved. We are providing long-term certainty, with funding projected to exceed $4 billion annually by 2029-30. We hear the coalition complaining bitterly about the conclusion of the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program—the LRCI program—but they're crying crocodile tears, completely ignoring the fact that it was the Liberals and the Nationals who made the decision not to fund future rounds of the LRCI. Under their watch, the program was set to expire completely in 2023-24. If they wanted to make it ongoing, they could have done so, but they didn't. Instead, it was this Albanese Labor government that stepped up at the 2022 election, committing an additional $250 million to councils in regional and outer urban areas and extending the LRCI until June 2026. Thanks to Labor, 466 of Australia's 550 councils benefited from this extra funding. If the Liberals and Nationals had their way, regional councils, whom they pretend to represent, would have had $250 million less funding than over the last few years. They are quite literally complaining about the consequences of their own decision.

Our support goes far beyond this. We have given local government a permanent seat at the table by restoring the Australian Council of Local Government. In 2023-24 alone, almost $6 billion flowed from the Commonwealth to local governments—that's equivalent to $16 million every single day, supporting local jobs and infrastructure. We've doubled the funding for the Roads to Recovery Program, committing $4.4 billion nationally, which is a 76 per cent increase. We have also introduced the landmark $2 billion Local Infrastructure Fund to help councils deliver the enabling infrastructure that they need for new housing. ALGA President Matt Burnett warmly welcomed this, praising the government's trust in local councils. Labor is backing our councils to build stronger communities based on local priorities. We are restoring the funding, the certainty and the respect that was stripped away during the coalition years. I urge the house to reject this hypocritical motion, and I commend our record to the House.

Alison Penfold (Lyne, National Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm incredibly disappointed at the last speaker's attempt to try and justify this government's support of councils. As the Deputy Chair of the Regional Development, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, who's participating in an inquiry on the financial sustainability of local government, let me say that local governments are, frankly, sick and tired of the political arguments. They are responsible for a third of this nation's public infrastructure. They're responsible for delivering and supporting liveable communities.

As someone who represents a regional community, one that was smashed by a disaster just over 12 months ago, I think the days of trying to score political points around who's funding our local government more over the years—frankly, right now, what we're hearing from local governments is they just don't have enough funding. It's no use standing here and saying, 'We're delivering more than the coalition.' If you listen to what local governments are saying, they're genuinely wanting to deliver real upgrades in community infrastructure: roads, bridges, community facilities and sporting facilities. They just want government to stop. They want parliament to listen to their needs. They're here in their droves over the course of this week, debating these issues. This is a serious problem. This is a crisis of federation. When we're dealing with something of this order, what we need is less of the politics, more of the active listening and more of the consideration of how we support our local communities—how I, and how we all get together and support communities.

I have five local councils across the Lyne electorate: Port Macquarie-Hastings Council, Mid-Coast Council, Dungog Shire Council, Maitland City Council and Port Stephens Council. They are all trying their hardest to make sure that the citizens, the ratepayers in their communities, have the support, have the facilities and have the roads that they deserve and they expect. They play such an important role as the tier of government closest to the people.

Councils are raising a number of issues in the context of the inquiry. Concerns include cost shifting, where more federal and state responsibilities like aged care, GP care and child care are being pushed onto local government without the funding required to deliver them. They're also raising concerns about aging infrastructure and workforce shortages. And they're raising concerns about a disaster funding system that too often rebuilds assets to yesterday's standards.

We've had many councils appear and talk about the challenges they have in securing betterment funding. Indeed, in my own electorate, where the bike bridge has been completely washed out as a result of the May floods, the council there cannot get betterment funding to raise the height of the bridge. They can build the bridge back at the same height to a better engineering standard, but that still puts it in frame for a one-in-100-year flood, which means that Wingham and communities such as Tinonee and surrounding areas are disconnected from schools, GPs, pharmacies and their workplaces. This is why betterment funding matters. In terms of the Lyne electorate, the Prime Minister came and said the May flood was due to climate change. Well, if that's the case, that's a stronger argument for betterment funding. Yet what do we see? No funding for betterment.

The other issue that's been raised, of course, is the issue of financial assistance grants. The fact of the matter is that there was a promise to move towards one per cent. That was a promise that the minister for local government made. And yet, in this budget, we see it at 0.49 per cent. Now, I don't want to play politics. We all need to do better at ensuring that our local governments have financial sustainability. We can't call them a tier of government and not give them the financial autonomy that they need to deliver the services for their communities. I commend this motion.

Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

The coalition put this motion before the chamber—and don't tell us about politics. That's their motion. The coalition is so enamoured with local government that they campaigned ferociously when the Hawke government put up a proposal to recognise local government in our Australian constitution in 1988. In 2013, the coalition scuttled, by the way, the bipartisan approach that the Gillard government wanted to take in recognising local government through a proposed referendum.

Local government in this country is recognised by state legislation, and the coalition has an appalling record when it comes to local government. Who could ever forget Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey's infamous 2014 horror budget? The coalition broke an election promise. They froze indexation of financial assistance grants for three years. At the time, the Australian Local Government Association, ALGA, estimated the freeze caused a permanent 13 per cent reduction in the total grants base, compounding the shortfall for local councils nationwide. It was a politically disastrous budget and a shocking decision. It severely damaged Joe Hockey's relationship with ALGA and the coalition's standing with local government after they opposed the two referenda that were going to be put to them, one by Hawke and one by Gillard. I think in large part this really destroyed Joe Hockey's aspirations for prime ministership.

In contrast, when we came to office, we provided assistance, for example, in natural disasters. We heard the previous speaker speaking about natural disasters. I remember being in this House, in this parliament, when the coalition voted against the natural disaster funding, much of which was going to local councils in Queensland. It cost $11 billion of taxpayers' funding to rebuild Queensland after the 2011 floods. The coalition voted against the funding to provide support for local councils and local communities. So don't give us this nonsense, the complete nonsense that we've got in this motion, that somehow the coalition is supportive of local government. Look at how they voted. They opposed the referendum to recognise local government. They opposed the funding to provide support to recover from the floods in my home state of Queensland. When we put it up, they opposed it. This was money going to councils, and we had to bring forward other money to councils to help them to rebuild.

Also, of course, during the global financial crisis, when we rolled out extra support for councils, for community infrastructure, the coalition voted against the money again. Again in federal parliament they voted against it. So don't give us this rank, faux worry that somehow we're not supporting local government when we've actually doubled the Roads to Recovery funding from $500 million to $1 billion, and we've increased Black Spot funding from $110 million to $150 million per year. That's what we've done. We've also brought forward assistance with financial assistance grants. Look at what the Labor government does and what Labor governments have done, and look at what the coalition governments have failed to do or opposed. This motion here is just full of nonsense—absolute nonsense.

I've had the honour and privilege of representing all or part of Ipswich and Brisbane councils, the Scenic Rim and Lockyer Valley, as well as the Somerset region. I can tell you that it's been Labor governments that have made huge differences, like the Robelle Domain parklands, the upgrades to the civic centre in Ipswich and other projects, like the Orion pool in Springfield in Ipswich; and other projects all up the Brisbane Valley Highway, like the Esk community and civic centre up there in Somerset and also things like the art gallery in Toogoolawah. Recently, as part of Thriving Suburbs, we provided $5 million for tourism, for the environment, for medical rooms and for library facilities in Esk and Toogoolawah. These are things that Labor governments have done—not coalition governments, who actually oppose these things. The Kilcoy information centre is funded by the federal Labor government—also, upgrades to the Kilcoy showgrounds and other showgrounds. The coalition has opposed this again and again and again.

To come into this place and provide this type of motion—it is exactly the opposite of what coalition governments have done, which is exactly the opposite of the incredible commitment that Labor governments have to local government.

Helen Haines (Indi, Independent) | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.