Declining autonomy in local government

State governments could also look for ways to support councils that find it difficult to attract skilled professionals; perhaps bonded scholarships, sponsorship of tertiary courses and research, a public servant exchange program or sabbatical arrangements could be established.

States should also encourage their departments to work more closely with local government in dealing with community issues. One excellent example is the work of some education departments that co-operate with local councils in establishing recreational, education and sporting facilities on a single site.

But local councils themselves need to be revolutionaries and keep looking for ways to improve the way they do things and keep pushing new policy initiatives. The majority of local councillors work very hard for their constituents, and most members of the public have a poor understanding of the workloads of most councils. But local government associations need to continue to provide training to raise the competence and credibility of local councillors.

Attitudes to local government are not improved through allegations of corruption and favouritism. Such attitudes just reinforce bad stereotypes and work against the respect needed from local communities and do nothing to raise the confidence of state governments to the capacity of local councillors to act without close supervision.

Co-operation between the Victorian government and the Municipal Association of Victoria looks to raise the competence of local councillors through comprehensive training and punitive sanctions. This could be a model for other states to consider.

Councils also need to get serious about regional co-operation. There are many examples of councils working together in areas that promote efficiency, but what about new initiatives?

Some councils have shown the way to co-ordinate projects to deal with community issues. Many local councils work with their neighbours with purchasing and asset management but this is just tinkering. Serious and effective regional co-operation involves long-term approaches across a range of policy areas.

Councils need to be responsive to new ideas and to identify innovative approaches in areas such as economic development, environmental management, and community resources.

Australia is facing significant public policy issues and local government should play a key role in identifying solutions but it needs more opportunities to undertake new initiatives that reflect community needs and demands. More flexible funding models should be developed that allow local councils to pursue initiatives that lead to improvements for their communities.

In reflecting the principles of the Aberdeen Agenda the federal and state governments need to reverse the decline of local government and help rather than undermine a key institution of our democracy.