The taxation system is in need of an urgent overhaul to give Local Government a fair share of money collected, South Burnett Mayor Wayne Kratzmann said today.
Mayor Kratzmann was speaking after returning from a meeting of Mayors and Chief Executive Officers held in Townsville last week to consider ways to ensure the future financial sustainability of councils.
“We went with an open mind and came away with a host of things to think about,” Cr Kratzmann said.
He said the bottom line was that Councils right across the State do not have access to enough funds to deliver services to the standard that their communities expect.
The meeting, convened by Local Government Minister David Crisafulli, heard about the challenges facing Councils and possible solutions.
Several issues were referred to the Minister to take to the LNP State Cabinet.
These included the lack of grants funding consistency, review of the standards required for traffic control and review of waste and sewerage regulations.
“Many Councils are rationalising parks, reviewing their tender processes, rejecting Federal funding that does not extend past the start-up phase and considering shared services for backroom functions such as finance and human resources,” Mayor Kratzmann said.
“The way forward is a challenge and the fact is that Local Government does not get a fair share of the tax collected by government. Unfortunately there is little likelihood that the Federal Government will move in the foreseeable future, if at all, to review the tax system.
“The tax system, both revenue and expenditure, needs an urgent overhaul.
“It’s about time the Federal Government and Opposition committed to a full and frank review, otherwise Local Government will simply not be able to deliver essential services.”
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