Local Government reform in the Terriotry needs more than a name change. The Territory Labor Opposition offers alternative policy and an alternative Government supporting elected Councillors, Local Boards and Shire Staff working hard to improve services in the bush. As a Member of Parliament I studied the CLP political strategy including the Hon Adam Giles relentlessly attacking Shire Councils, branding them ‘toxic’ while promising to scrap Labor’s Local Government reform when in power. Good governance sees policy reviewed like Labor’s plan to strengthen Shire Local Boards with both decision making and budgets however the CLP promised to scrap the policy returning a Community Council model. I warned the Hon Adam Giles that his strident political strategy labelling Shires as ‘toxic’ and baseless CLP election promise to scrap the model set clear expectations and perceptions in the bush for returning to individual councils provided with new plant and equipment, vehicles and individual budgets. However the reality announced by the CLP this week after 12 months consulting, spending 250 thousand dollars on 100 community meetings was dump the word Shires and reinforce Labor’s plan to strengthen Local Boards in decision making. Local Government Minister the Hon Alison Anderson called the CLP’s decision on the Shire name change as ‘monumental’ citing a Liberal Government ‘listening to people, giving their voices back.’ However regional and remote communities were idly promised scraping shires to win votes and expecting major CLP reform, not changing words from ‘Shires’ to ‘Councils’ and ‘Local Boards’ to ‘Local Governing Bodies’! The Chief Minister and CLP Cabinet have now discovered the rigors and reality of Government regularly ‘back flipping’ on their un-funded election promises for the bush in a vastly different political environment from ‘all care but no responsibility’ in Opposition. Minister Anderson needs to lose the rhetoric on Shires and conduct the necessary work to deliver long term financial sustainability and improved governance representing major policy reform as people in the bush have long memories well beyond 2016! The CLP need to legislate Shire reform in Parliament responsibly as regional and remote constituents want action, ironically reflecting Labor’s policy agenda for strengthening local people in Local Government decision making. On legislating for Shire boundary changes the Hon Adam Giles stated, ‘after more consultation and full financial analysis,’ that is purely political speak from a Chief Minister ‘back flipping’ and a far cry from his forthright, “we do not want to create talk and no action”. The CLP Government is responsible for economic policy, spending taxpayer dollars delivering services now committing $6.2 million over four years to Shire Council reform so lets’ hope taxpayers money goes way further than simply changing the names?
Posted on: Fri, 16 Aug 2013 05:46:04 +0000
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