USTRAL( 1
FWRME MWNSTER
CHECK AGAINJT DELIVERY EMBARGOED UNTIL DELIVERY
SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER
OPENING W) THE AUSTRALIA LOCAL GOVERNMENT CENTRE
CANBERRA 26 FEBRUARY 1987
Sir Albert Abbott, National President of the Australian
Council of Local Government Associations,
Tomn Uren,
Ladies and Gantlenen
it has boen a long held objective of the Australian Council
of Local Govornment Associations to have its own building in
the National -Capital a bricks and mortar presence in
Canberra which would both assist and highlight the
increasingly prominent role Local Government is playing in
Those who wor-ked to bring this project to fruition saw the
need for Local Government to have a strong voice and a high
profile in Canberra. They saw the need for Local Government
to understand better the decision-making processes at the
Federal level and to be better positioned to participate in
national policy development.
The fulfilner't of that objective has been made possible by
the support of your State Associations, local councils and
individuals. It has been a true co-operative effort and the
result is ai credit to you all.
So it is a pleasure to be here today to open officially this
new Centre.
I had the pleasure last August of presenting in Adelaide the
first National Awards for Innovation an effort by the
Commonwealth and your Council to strengthen Local Government
by promoting and disseminating innovative techniques and
approaches 1-y Local Government associations.
2.
The awards symbolised the current close relationship between
the Federal and Local tiers of government. indeed our
relationship has never been closer than it has been in the
four years since my Government came to office in March 1983.
Your Council, Sir Albert, has played an important role in
building and enhancing that relationship.
We were the first Federal Government to appoint a Minister
for Local Government and in Tom tUren you have had a
formidable champion of your cause at the Commonwealth level.
As well as his continuing efforts to help local government
organisations improve the quality of their services, Tom has
been a strong advocate of the constitutional recognition of
Local Government, which would give formal and long overdue
expression to the reality of Local Government participation
in the Feciezation.
The close : nilationship between Federal and Local Governments
is based not just on the Commonwealth's recognition of your
ability to deliver services and assist people at the grass
roots levels throughout Australia.
It is also firmly anchored in the knowledge that now, more
than ever before, we need co-operation among the various
levels of Government to meet effectively the economic and
social challenges wie face as a nation.
Increasing~ y we need a Local Government sector competent in
the administration of local affairs and the design and
delivery of community programs, as well as one which is
responsivc in meeting broad national goals.
Local Govcrnment is certainly proving its capacity to play a
role in national policy making.
The truth of that assertion is demonstrated by the
contribution made by Local Government representatives at the
National Economic Summit and the Taxation Summit, and by the
continuing and valuable work performed by the Australian
Council of Local Government Associations on the Economic
Planning Advisory Council. we are grateful to you for the
care and the thoughtfulness which typifies your work in
these forumsn.
At the local level, the productive relationship between our
two levels of government takes tangible form in the
thousands of buildings and projects and services we have
created together.
Under the Conmunity Employment Program, we have together
helped many thousands of people, unemployed for long periods
of time, find valuable work and develop new skills while
contributing in a real way to their local community.
3.
Under the Home and Community Care program we have together
provided aged people throughout Australia with improved home
care, in the belief that encouraging people to stay at home
rather than seek institutional care not only provides a
better life for the people themselves but is more economical
for the nation as a whole.
These examples can be multiplied elsewhere thanks to your
contribution to programs for youth, housing, the
environment, local and arterial roads, and the " Buy
Australian" campaign, to mention just a few.
on the central issue of revenues, my Government is committed
to supportingj Local Government through the system of untied
grants. Following the national Inquiry into Local
Government Finance, and our consultation with the States and
your National Council, we were able to improve that program
and to creato the new Local Government Financial Assistance
Act of 1986.
The new act is significant in that it is the first piece of
federal legislation to require Local Government to be
consulted in determining the principles governing the
distribution of funds.
in view of the necessity for budgetary constraints in the
current economic climate, that act provided a good and fair
outcome for L. ocal Gov,, ernment.
I made it clear earlier this week that Australia still faces
considerable economic difficulties which will require all of
us to practise continued restraint.
The Government has decided that a May Expenditure Statement
will be necessa~ ry to ensure that necessary savings can take
effect over the full 1987-88 budgetary year.
I have also put the States on notice that they, too, must
accept further disciplines.
In this current situation, restraint is required not just of
the Commonwealth but of all levels of government for some
time to come.
I want to turn now to one of the key mechanisms we have
developed for coordinating policies towards Local
Government, namely the Local Government Ministers'
Conference. Given the active involvement of your National Council in the
research program sponsored by the conference, it is
appropriate that I publicly launch today the first two
products of that work.
One report concerns the role of Local Government in the
co-ordination and delivery of human services a field of
activity in which Local Government is becoming increasingly
involved.
The other report concerns the role of Local Government in
economic development, drawing attention to the contribution
to business and employment creation which Local Government
is able to make.
Both of these reports warrant serious examination at every
level of Government. Accordingly, I have asked Tom Uren to
consult his Ministerial colleagues and to arrange for the
Office of Local Government to consult with the Australian
Council of Lo,; al Government Associations, and also to seek
responses fron relevant Departments, so that he can report
to me on the implications of these reports for the
Commonwealt: i.
I am also p'. eased to learn that the Local Government
Ministers have now turned their attention to a national
review oE Local Government labour markets. The review is
the first o-its kind, and is a significant initiative
investigating a significant issue.
These various initiatives demonstrate the partnership that
is developing between our spheres of Government. We are
witnessing, I believe, a historic transformation of
inter-governmental relations in Australia.
Now that you have consolidated your presence in Canberra
with this new Centre I believe your involvement and
influence in national administration will grow. So I have
much pleasurc in officially opening the Australian Local
Government Centre.