20 March 2012
The announcement by the Minister for Local Government, Don Page, of a review of the structure and financial sustainability of councils across NSW is a bold move in the right direction to improving the effectiveness of the 152 councils in the state, says the Urban Taskforce.
Councils are an important part of governance within Australia but in NSW we just have too many to be financially sustainable, said Urban Taskforce CEO Chris Johnson. What is needed is a network of councils that represent bigger regions that can work closely with the state government on managing future growth.
The United Kingdom with its recent Localism Act has linked the aspirations of local government and local communities into the national agendas for growth, employment and prosperity. The NSW government needs to also link our local governments into the states priorities.
The establishment of an expert panel is a good beginning that has flowed from the Destination 2036 Action Plan.
The Urban Taskforce submission to Destination 2036 suggested larger regional councils should be considered with the ultimate potential to have 10 urban regional councils and 10 rural and coastal regional councils with a network of existing councils sitting under this structure.
It is very encouraging that the Local Government Association and the Shires Association are supporting the review and are supporting the need for effective reform.
The Urban Taskforce is keen to contribute to the review panels deliberations as our members are involved with all councils across the state and as an important stakeholder we believe we can make constructive suggestions.
Clearly, there needs to be financial incentives for small councils to work with neighbouring councils in more effective structures. Changes to the structure of local government has been achieved in Queensland and Victoria so it seems logical that NSW should also move in this direction.