Will the Mayors get what they want, anything is possible with the rodent on the ropes.

Direct federal funding to Local Government will be the way that future regional infastructure is delivered throughout Australia. The national Government collects taxes and is flush with funds. The States are in debt by $70 Billion and have next to nothing for local government.

The Australian Local Government Association commissioned PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to complete this national study on the financial sustainability of local government.

The study identified that local government is responding to rising community expectations by providing a growing range of essential services and infrastructure that underpin local communities. This expansion in roles and service quality, coupled with growth in input prices generally exceeding the average rate of revenue growth, has seen a significant number of councils develop financial operating deficits.

To moderate the size of these deficits, some councils have deferred or reduced expenditure on infrastructure renewals. Hence many local councils across the country have sizable financial sustainability challenges which require major reforms in the way councils are funded and the way they operate.

In the absence of such reforms councils may have no option but to cut back on the level of local community services and infrastructure. We need a Federal Government take-over of local government from the states. One Local Government Act for all Australian Councils.

The states do a poor job in providing services and infrastructure due the high leakage of funds to the overheads of running 8 civil services and parliamentary upper and lower houses. It's time our broken 3-tier system of government was replaced with a unicameral system, with local government delivering services and infrastructure according to local priorities.

I would like to see an article on OLO justifying the existence of the states. I have no idea what their unuque worth is that the federal government and local governments cannot provide. All I know is that we are stuck with them as they were originally separate British colonies.

I wouldn't like to scrap bi-cameral parliaments, however, I think it fair enough for the Feds to directly fund Councils, and perhaps have a uniform Local Government Act - preferably not drawn up by the National Party.

The State role is important in undertaking some larger regional rasks such as transportation, healthcare and policing as if these became national issues they would be too large to be responsive to the needs of citizens or too parachial if left to Councils, which I don't think should be too large either.

As a “CONSTITUTIONALIST” and Author of books in the INSPECTOR-RIKATI® series about certain constitutional and other legal issues I for one find it appalling how dumb the general public really is. See also my blog at http://au.360.yahoo.com/profile-ijpxwMQ4dbXm0BMADq1lv8AYHknTV_QH and my website at http://www.schorel-hlavka.com and this is underlined by the general incompetence of the judges at the High Court of Australia in dealing with constitutional matters appropriately.
Indeed, their failure to interpret the intentions of the Framers of the Constitution as to what Section 96 of the Constitution stands for is much of the underlining problem why the is so much going wrong.
The Commonwealth of Australia is a “POLITICAL UNION” between the people of the different Colonies (now States) and local councils have no constitutional position in this.

This posting would not allow me to set it all out but if any Reader were to think he/she is an “Australian citizen” by “nationality” then you are dumber then dumb! How then could you possibly understand let alone comprehend what the Constitution is about? And, which Constitution do you think is applicable?
If the States cannot refer legislative powers without a Section 123 of the Constitution State referendum (that is also something they don’t even know) how then can any mayor hand over any powers where they have no constitutional position to do so?
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The issue is not if I like or do not like certain conduct by the States, but that they are part of the Federation! That is what we are having. Changes should not be made by stealth but must be done within constitutional framework.
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As the Framers of the Constitution made clear no one owns the water that rains on the property as you can use it as you like, but if the states were to give legislative powers to the Commonwealth you might end up paying water-tax for the rain falling on your roof! The Federal Government has no money other then “OUR” money and seeks to manipulate this to try to get more power. Fool you if you accept this!