Friday 10 June 2005

HOW MUCH LONGER CAN LOCAL GOVERNMENT SURVIVE?

-WHEN ARE THEY GOING TO SPEAK OUT?

- ARE COUNCILLORS COMPLETELY GUTLESS & POLITICALLY IMPOVERISHED?

Advice received by the Monash Ratepayers Association is that the State Government is cutting council budget funding by 10%. This is almost certain to result in even steeper rate increases for residents.

This when Councils across Victoria are currently trying to balance their budgets and we are already seeing rate increases announced of more than 8% for some councils.

Local government is under financial stress due to continued cost shifting on to them.

Candy Broad, Minister for Local Government, was forced to admit the 10% funding cut during last week’s Public Accounts and Estimates Committee (PAEC) Hearing.

The Minister spent most of her time criticising the Federal Government at the recent PAEC Hearing, for inadequately funding local government. The truth however is shown in the State Government’s own Budget Papers.

· The 2005-06 Budget clearly shows that Specific Purpose Grants provided by the Federal Government for on passing to local government increased by 5.5%, while the State Government slashed its grants funding by 10%.

· The Federal Government increased Financial Assistance Grants by 5.6% or $15 million and an increase for identified local road grants to local government by $5 million. In total – a $20 million funding increase from last year.

· What the Minister failed to mention at the PAEC Hearing was that the State Government in fact slashed their contribution to local government through Grants and Transfer Payments from $125 million for the 04-05 year to $113 million for the 05-06 year.

· The Minister also failed to mention that while the Federal Government provided councils with $250 million in the Roads to Recovery Program. In stark contrast, the State Government slashed the amount of pavement to be resurfaced by 14% over the last two years.

Candy Broad is good at waffling on about ‘Community Strengthening’ and ‘working in partnership with local government’. But in reality, she is starving local councils of funds and as a result passing the cost onto ratepayers.

If Candy Broad cannot represent her portfolio within the State Government and ensure Local Government receives its fair share of the 30 billion dollar State Government Budget, it is time she resigned or was moved on. (A 30 billion dollar budget that has increased by over 50% since 1999!)

Similarly, it is about time that councils across Victoria stood up to demand their fair share of that 30 billion dollar budget.

Once again, we must point out: as usual, the Municipal Association of Victoria (headed by Councillor Lake from the City of Monash) sits on its hands and does nothing! The MAV is supposed to be the body that defends Local Government and its silence is deafening. Councillor Lake, when are you going to put your elected responsibilities ahead of your political ambitions?

Editor

Monash Ratepayers Association

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