COST-sharing across governments was the major topic of discussion at the recent Local Government Association of Queensland Annual Conference attended by a team of Redland City councillors.
Redland City Council submitted six motions for debate, all of which were accepted, and will now be binding on the LGAQ, influencing their advocacy priorities and agenda and shaping their Advocacy Action Plan for the year.
The conference was held in Brisbane from October 21–23 where RCC’s official delegates Mayor Jos Mitchell and Deputy Mayor Julie Talty were joined by councillors Wendy Boglary, Peter Mitchell, Lance Hewlett, Rowanne McKenzie, and Paul Bishop.
“Motions were developed by the relevant council sections in response to issues that were impacting Council and the community,” Cr Mitchell said.
“There were 114 motions put up of which over 100 were accepted, and that’s what the LGAQ will now drive forward.
“They will use that to lobby state and federal government on those issues.”
The conference also entailed forums, guest speakers and a trade hall, and a full schedule of information sessions including sessions dedicated to new mayors, roads and transport, grant funding and council insurance.
“There are a lot of networking opportunities, opportunities to talk to key stakeholders, and a lot of opportunities to learn more from other councils,” Cr Mitchell said, “How they’re dealing with issues, how they’ve resolved problems, get ideas, and share what we’re doing.”
Cr Mitchell said the theme of the conference focused on cost shifting between state to local government responsibilities, which one of RCC’s motions focused on.
“When you talk about our ratepayer bases, and the amount of money that we get returned to council to do the far-reaching things that we do, all we get back from every tax dollar taken from our resident is three cents,” she said.
“The message was really strongly about championing that cost sharing.
“It was about bringing us all together to share information so the LGAQ can then advocate on behalf of all local councils to try and get a bigger piece of that pie so that we can do the things we need to do and do them well for our residents.”
It was Cr Mitchell’s first LGAQ conference since being elected in March this year, the mayor calling it a “twofold” experience.
“It was a very hopeful, uplifting experience in that you realise that there are 77 councils filled with councillors all fighting similar battles wanting to represent our residents wholeheartedly,” she said.
“It also brought home, though, how difficult it is.
“It really brought home the strong advocacy that we need to do and how it’s only getting harder for councils.
“If we want improved services, we need more money, and to do that, we’re going to have to lobby state and federal government very strongly.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for all of us to come together and realise local government doesn’t have to act in isolation.”
Redland City Council’s accepted motions:
- Red imported fire ant management: support to address cost-shifting to local governments.
- Allow online voting for local government elections in Queensland.
- Review the Queensland Development Code to modernise residential development requirements.
- Collaboratively review the Queensland planning system to ensure efficiency, transparency and accountability.
- Amendments to identify what occurs when a Planning Scheme amendment timeframe is not met by the Queensland Government
- Reinstate Youth Week funding.
