3 August 1979
FOR PRESS COMMOMEALTH ASSISTANCE TO LOCAL GOVERNM1NT
-Statement by the Hon0W. C. Fife, M. P.,
Minister Assisting tvhe Prime Ministert
in Federal Affairs.
Premiers have been advised that $ 221.74 million will be
made available to the States for passing to local
government authorities as general revenue assistance in
1979-80 under arrangements provided by the Commonwealth
in the Local Government ( Personal Income Tax Sharing)
Act 1976. This represents an inc-rease of 23.6% on
last yeaits allocation.
The amounts to be paid to each State in 1979-80, together
Ii th the corresponding amounts for 1978-79 are
LOCAL GOVERNMENT TAX-SHARING ENTITLEMENTS
1978-79 1979-80
New South Wales 65.49 80.93
Victoria 45.67 56.44
Queensland 30.25 37.39
South Australia 15.43 19-07
Western Australia 16.85 20.82
Tasmania 5.74 7.09
Total 179.43 221.74
The funds provided to the States under these arrangemnents
are allocated to individual local government authorit. ies
by the States0 Under general guidelines provided in the
Commonwealth legislation, at least 30% 1, of the funds are
to be distributed to all Coiuncils on a per capita basis,
which may be weighted for area or population density, with
the balance being allocated on a needs basis which is the
subject of prior inquiry and report by the individual
State Grants Commissions.
The funds will be made available to the States for paymeLt
to each local government authority as soon as possible
after the States Grants Commissions have compl) eted their
assessments and the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister
in Federal Affairs has been notified that the proposed
distribution is in accordance with the legislation. 0
0 a0// 2
General revenue assistance to local'government has
increased from $ 80 million under the previous Labor
Government to S140 million in 1976-77, $ 165 million in
1977-78, W19.4 million in 1978-79 and 9221.74 million
for 1979-80. As a result, local government will have
received over$ 700 million in untied grants in the four
years of the tax sharing arrangements.
Mr Fife went on to say that the Government had increased
the percentage allocation of personal income tax to local
government for 1979-80 from 1.52% to 1.75%~ and maintained
its commitment to increase the percentage to 2% by
1980-81.
In addition to the funds provided to the States, the
Commonwealth has made provision, under the Memorandum
of Understanding between the Commonwealth and the Northern
Territory, for an amount of $ 1.062 million to be made
available in 1979-80 to the Northern Territory Government
for on-forwarding to the local government authorities in
the Territory.
The Commonwealth Government's tax sharing arrangements
have thus provided a very substantial and rapidly growing
source of funds to local government bodies throughou-,
the country. Just as importantly, the funds are provided
without strings giving local governments the freedom,
and the responsibility, to determine their own expenditure
priorities. Canberra