David Crisafulli
May 30, 2013
The State Government has announced a “carrot and stick” approach to indigenous councils, aimed at ending what it describes as a “handout approach” to government funding.
The changes are aimed at encouraging councils to collect more money locally, in the form of municipal charges for water and other amenities.
Councils which introduce local charges will become eligible for a share of a reserved pool of $1.5 million, withheld by the State Government from its $32 million allocation to the 16 indigenous councils.
Local Government Minister David Crisafulli told a gathering of indigenous mayors and councillors in Cairns today that it was time indigenous councils which functioned well were recognised.
But he said “incentives” needed to be given to those that needed to improve.
“For years, governments have rewarded the councils that aren’t prepared to collect revenue from their community, to the detriment of those which do,” Mr Crisafulli said.
“In effect, we’ve rushed in and topped up revenue for those which weren’t prepared to make the tough decisions.”
Mr Crisafulli said the problem was not the amount of money government was spending “but how we are spending it”.
“We will only lift indigenous communities to their full potential if we end the handout approach and replace it with an ability to chart their own financial success,” he said.
In the 2013-2014 financial year, the State Government Financial Aid base grant will be $29 million, to be spread between all of Queensland’s Indigenous communities on traditional funding guidelines.
There will also be $3 million in incentive payments to councils which will be split into two equal parts:
- Payments which will be made available from February 2014 to councils which have shown improved generation of their own income (for example, through collection of municipal charges)
- A Business Incentive Scheme, which will be an application-based fund to encourage business and economic opportunities
In an another change, councils which have received unqualified audit reports will receive their payments in two instalments rather than the current bureaucratic process of four quarterly payments.
