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Would Kevin Rudd deliver two-tier government?

By Klaas Woldring - posted Thursday, 4 January 2007


It is heartening that University of New South Wales Law Professor George Williams has set his sights on getting into Parliament as an ALP member because his views on this issue are encouragingly forward looking. Williams realises that the Australian Constitution essentially needs to be rewritten. It is essential for its survival that the ALP embraces this view.

As to government structure, basically, a forward-looking choice here is between a two-tier national government and a number of fairly autonomous regions, on the one hand, OR a national government plus a more developed local government level, both directly elected, on the other hand.

With the first option the number of such regions that have been proposed vary from 30 to 100. In addition there are some who argue, most unconvincingly I would suggest, that the existing Constitution could be used to create more states. Apart from the fact that this has proved to be highly impractical, and for over 100 years impossible, if successful it would greatly compound and multiply the serious problems that the existing system is saddled with already.

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Conservative support from stronger national powers has covered many public policy areas in recent years. The principal ones are health, education (primary, secondary, TAFE, VET and tertiary), taxation, industrial relations, transport, environment and power.

There are several other others, less often in the news: control over ports, national scurity, decentralisation, taxation, registration of names and licences, law and justice, and control over airports.

In a speech to the Young Liberals’ conference early in 2005 Tony Abbott said, “federalism was not working”. He pushed for federal control over hospitals because, he claimed, “the states were wasteful and inclined towards socialism”. In March, 2005 PM Howard, said:

If we were starting Australia all over again, I wouldn't support having the existing state structure, I would actually support having a national government, and perhaps a series of regional governments having the power of, say, the Brisbane City Council.

In the health area a real brawl raged with both New South Wales and Queensland for months. There is a strange mix of responsibilities here: the federal government runs Medicare, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and the bulk of aged care. But the states run hospitals. Rudd has indicated he favours the transfer of hospitals to the federal jurisdiction.

Strengthening local government in a new two-tier system

The major concerns for local government (LG) have been lack of funding and status. Only recently we saw on TV the plight of the large Blue Mountains Shire unable to fulfil the reasonable demands of its ratepayers due to lack of money.

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Local government has always been the Cinderella of the three-tier system of government. It is an appendix of the state governments which themselves are under stress. Why should it continue to be like that? There is much evidence that the Australian people favour a strengthening LG. LG seminar sessions in the lead up to the Constitutional Convention (1998) indicated strongly that the people want LG recognised in the Constitution.

Cranny (2006), a governance officer with Blacktown City Council, has suggested that there should be a federal Local Government Act now that the High Court’s ruling on WorkChoices legislation has made this possible. All parties in the federal Parliament recognise the importance of LG nationally.

The position I put here favours the maintenance of LG in regional and rural areas, with expanded functions for some, powers delegated directly from the national government, and particularly, much stronger financial status and independence.

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About the Author

Dr Klaas Woldring is a former Associate Professor of Southern Cross University.

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Related Links
Abolish the States Collective
Australian Local Government Association
Beyond Federation
Progressive Labour Party
Republic Now!

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