{"id":36898,"date":"2013-06-24T11:30:33","date_gmt":"2013-06-24T01:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=36898"},"modified":"2020-12-18T10:43:46","modified_gmt":"2020-12-18T00:43:46","slug":"council-backs-yes-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2013\/06\/24\/council-backs-yes-vote\/","title":{"rendered":"Council Backs ‘Yes’ Vote"},"content":{"rendered":"

June 24, 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

The South Burnett Regional Council has come out to publicly endorse the “Yes” case for the September referendum aimed at recognising Local Government in the Australian Constitution.<\/p>\n

A council spokesman said the referendum was seeking to change the Constitution to give legal certainty to the Federal Government\u2019s ability to provide some funds directly to local governments.<\/p>\n

“Local governments are known for being the level of public administration closest to their communities. The Federal government has recognised this by providing funds to community and infrastructure programs at a local level, such as the Roads to Recovery program, which delivers much-needed funds for improving our roads,” the spokesman said.<\/p>\n

“Recently, High Court decisions have cast doubt over the ability of the Federal government to channel funds directly to Local Government.<\/p>\n

“The remedy to this is for a referendum to ensure the Australian Constitution recognises Local government so that any funding relationship is delivered with legal certainty.<\/p>\n

“It does not require a major overhaul of the Constitution but the addition of a simple phrase in Section 96 to include the reference to local government: ‘Parliament may grant financial assistance to any state or local government body formed by or under a law of a State or territory’.”<\/p>\n

The South Burnett Regional Council declared its support for recognition of Local Government in the Australian Constitution at the December 2012 Council meeting.<\/p>\n

“Federal funding for community and infrastructure programs provides much-needed financial assistance and is vital to the continued growth and prosperity of the South Burnett region,” the spokesman said.<\/p>\n

The Local Government Association of Queensland has launched a national campaign aimed at getting majority voter approval for the change to the Constitution and has established a website<\/a><\/strong> to share information.<\/p>\n

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