2.2.1 Constitutional Recognition

2.2.1.1 There should be an acknowledgment of Local Government in the Constitution Act of the Commonwealth of Australia as a means of recognising the existence and importance of Local Government as a sphere of responsible government in Australia.

2.2.1.2 The Constitution Act of Queensland should maintain its recognition of the existence and status of Local Government and ensure its continuance.

2.2.1.3 The State Government should with the spirit and intent of Chapter 7 Part 3 of the Constitution of Queensland Act 2001 namely "arrange for a summary of the Bill to be given to a body representing local governments in the State a reasonable time before the Bill is introduced in the Legislative Assembly".

2.2.2 Autonomy

2.2.2.1 The general competence power which exists under the Local Government Act should be retained to allow Local Governments to respond as they consider appropriate to the needs of the communities they serve and to provide the services required.  Restrictive and unnecessary conditions and approvals imposed by other governments on the performance of Local Government activities should be removed.  Commonwealth and State Governments must continuously be informed of the restrictions placed on Local Governments to rate and charge for services, by any additional taxes imposed by the Commonwealth and State.

2.2.2.2 There should be no interference with the autonomy of Local Governments in the setting of rates and charges.

2.2.3 Sphere of Governance

2.2.3.1 Local Government opposes creation of statutory bodies at a regional level which constitute a non-elected fourth sphere of governance.

2.2.4 Dismissal of Local Government

2.2.4.1 Only where an appropriately constituted public inquiry finds that a Local Government as a whole is acting illegally or is condoning the illegal actions of its officers, should the State Government have the power to dismiss a Local Government.  The dismissal should occur only after the passing of an Act of Parliament which provides for new elections for the Local Government as soon as reasonably practicable; and which provides for the appointment of a Commission to conduct the affairs of the Local Government until new elections have been held.

2.2.5 Boundary Changes

2.2.5.1 A public inquiry should be held prior to any boundary changes unless the agreement of all Local Governments involved in the changes is obtained.

2.2.5.2 Where the involved Local Governments initiate and agree on boundary changes, these should, as a general principle, be implemented without interference by the State Government.

2.2.5.3 An amalgamation of one Local Government with another or major boundary change shall not take place if the majority of electors in either Council is opposed to such amalgamation or major boundary change.

(Major boundary change occurs when a part of a Local Government area which contains at least 10% of the population of a Local Government or which contains at least 10% of the Unimproved Capital Value of the Local Government is joined with another Local Government.)

2.2.6 Consultation

2.2.6.1 Local Government seeks a commitment to consultation from all State political parties in respect of the development of policies which affect Local Government.

2.2.6.2 Local Government Departments of both the State and Commonwealth should be the prime avenue for communication between Local Government and other spheres of Government.

2.2.6.3 When State Cabinet has before it a proposal which will significantly affect the responsibilities or resources of Local Government, the responsible Minister should provide a report to Cabinet which includes:

• the likely impact on Local Government
• the views of Local Government  as expressed by LGAQ
• consultation mechanisms for proposal implementation
   

2.2.7 Partnership Role

2.2.7.1 Where Local Government shares in the provision of services with another sphere of government, Local Government's partnership role should be recognised.  Consequently, sharing in the funding of a service should automatically entitle Local Government to a proportionate share in the direction and management of the service.

2.2.7.2 Local Government representatives should be permitted to attend and participate in Commonwealth-State meetings to develop policy on matters of significance to Local Government; and to attend meetings of Commonwealth and State representatives to develop strategies for implementing policies, where these strategies directly concern Local Government.  State Governments should acknowledge the merit in direct Commonwealth-Local Government contact, to facilitate coordination and to simplify the administration of projects and programs which have already been agreed upon.

2.2.7.3 Local Government supports the continued existence of Federal and State Local Government portfolios and their administrative arms.  The Commonwealth and Queensland Departments responsible for Local Government should examine and monitor, Commonwealth and State policies and programs affecting Local Government, to ensure that they are not changed without adequate consideration being given to their impact on Local Government.

2.2.7.4 Local Government supports development of protocols in relation to particular functions and services to establish roles and responsibilities of each sphere of government.  Details of existing protocols are included as Appendix A of this Policy Statement.

2.2.8 Coordination and Integration

2.2.8.1 In undertaking local area planning, including development of the Community Plan, Local Government is responsible for linking the issues (physical, environmental, social, economic and cultural) and the activities of government both within Councils and beyond and developing a shared understanding and sense of direction.

2.2.8.2 The roles and responsibilities of the three spheres of government should be more clearly defined so as to avoid wasteful and unnecessary duplication of effort and to speed up decision making, such definition to provide proportionate allocation of financial and other resources.

2.2.8.3 A mechanism, such as a regular round table conference of the three spheres of government, should be established to facilitate such definition and ensure an equitable distribution of national taxation revenue to those spheres of government best able to plan for and deliver community services and facilities.

2.2.8.4 Representatives of State and Local Governments should review the range of functions and services currently delegated or devolved to Local Government with a view to rationalising any anomalies.  The State Government should take note of advice from LGAQ  on the particular tasks and degree of responsibility which are appropriate for Local Government in respect of those functions and services in which it is, or might become, a participating Government.

2.2.8.5 All three spheres of government should cooperate to develop arrangements to ensure that the activities of Commonwealth Departments and Authorities relating to programs and policy implementation are coordinated appropriately and adequately with those of the State and Local Government.

2.2.8.6 As far as possible, existing regulatory and approval systems operated by Local Government should be utilised for the implementation of new State Government policies and objectives impacting on the responsibilities of Local Government, with adequate financial arrangements being made.

2.2.9 Regionalism

2.2.9.1 The voluntary grouping of Local Governments to deal with specific regional issues is encouraged.

2.2.9.2 The Local Government Act provides the opportunity for regional approaches to deal with matters which extend across Local Government boundaries and the use of such cooperative arrangements should remain as a matter for decision by individual Local Governments and not be imposed by Federal or State Governments.

2.2.9.3 Federal and State Governments, when referring to 'regional' policy, should not assume that individual Local Governments can be adequately or appropriately subsumed under 'regional' generalisations.  The intra-regional diversity of the needs and resources of councils should be recognised by other spheres of government.

2.2.9.4 Local Government supports the funding by Federal and State Governments of voluntary regional organisations of Councils and similar regional bodies having Local Government membership, only insofar as such funds are in addition to and do not reduce allocations to individual councils through financial assistant grant and other program grant arrangements, unless agreed to by the Councils.

2.2.10 Delegation and Devolution

2.2.10.1 The State Government should actively attempt to comply with the spirit and intent of the Inter-governmental Agreement on Cost Shifting signed in April 2006 by the Commonwealth, States and Local Government.

2.2.11 Bi-partisan Approach

2.2.11.1 Local Government, through the LGAQ, adopts a bi-partisan approach whereby it deals with the Government of the day to achieve its aims but reserves the right to use the political process to persuade decision-makers where necessary.

2.2.12 Right to Information and Information Privacy

2.2.12.1 The Right to Information and Information Privacy legislation should permit Local Governments to recover from applicants the actual cost of processing applications for access to documents.

2.2.13 Election Expenses

2.2.13.1 Expenses incurred by candidates at Local Government elections should be tax deductible in the same manner as are those incurred by Federal and State election candidates.