Local government in Australia

Local government is the third level of government in Australia, administered with limited autonomy under the states and territories, and in turn beneath the federal government. Local government is not mentioned in the Constitution of Australia, and two referendums in 1974 and 1988 to alter the Constitution relating to local government were unsuccessful. Unlike the two-tier local government system in Canada or the United States, there is (largely) only one tier of local government in each Australian state/territory, with no distinction between cities or counties.

Local government in Australia is generally run by an elected council, and the area it administers is referred to by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as a local government area or LGA, each of which encompasses multiple suburbs and/or localities (roughly equivalent to neighbourhoods), often of different postcodes. LGAs are variously styled using terms such as "city", "town", "district", "municipality", "borough", "region" or "shire". These usually have geographic or historical significance, and there is rarely any legal distinction between them. For instance, cities and municipalities tend to apply to councils in urban and metropolitan areas, whereas districts and shires are found primarily in rural and regional areas. A local government area is also commonly known as a "city council", "local council", or simply a "council". Council members are generally known as councillors, and the head of a council is called the mayor, chairman or shire president. Some of Australia's largest cities, such as Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide, use the historical title of lord mayor. Councillors are usually elected from single-member districts known as divisions or wards, whilst the mayor or president is directly elected by all the voters within that council area. However, the mayor is often entitled to style themselves as a councillor, and is considered an ex officio member of the council. As of August 2016, there were 547 local councils in Australia.

Despite the (largely) single tier of local governance in Australia, there are a number of vast, sparsely populated regions that are not part of any established LGA. Functions of local government in these unincorporated areas may be exercised by special-purpose governing bodies established outside of local legislation, as with Victoria's alpine resorts, or directly administered by state or territory governments, such as the entirety of the Australian Capital Territory. The administrative areas covered by local government bodies in Australia range from as small as for the Shire of Peppermint Grove in the Perth metropolitan region, to as large as for the Shire of East Pilbara in Western Australia's Pilbara region.

As an exception to the generalisation that Australian local government has only a single tier, New South Wales has county councils, which are special-purpose local authorities governing county districts composed of two or more LGAs, and are variously responsible for water supply, flood mitigation and weed management. Formerly, they also played a significant role in urban planning, electricity distribution, and some also operated abattoirs. By the 21st century, only a handful remain, with the majority of New South Wales LGAs no longer belonging to any county council. These councils are not to be confused with cadastral divisions also known as counties, which are largely obsolete but continue to exist by statute.

Types of local government

thumb|Local government areas in Australia.

thumb|Offices of the [[Berrigan Shire Council in Berrigan, New South Wales.]]

thumb|Offices of the [[City of Sydney council, a local government area within Sydney.]]

thumb|[[Melbourne Town Hall, the offices of the City of Melbourne council.]]

Local governments are subdivisions of the six federated states as well as the Northern Territory. The term "local government area" (LGA) is used by the ABS to collectively refer to all local government administrative zones regardless of the varying designations.The Australian Capital Territory has no separate local government, and municipal functions in Canberra and the surrounding regions (normally performed by local governments in other states) are performed by the ACT territorial government.

Local government authorities across the country have similar functions and powers, but have different official designations in different states, which may vary based on whether the LGA is regional or for historical reasons. Below is a table that lists the various designations per state.

{| class="wikitable"

|+Australian LGA status by state/territory Many in Western Australia are officially "towns", even within the Perth metropolitan area.

!Total

|align=left| Aboriginal councils ||| || || || |||2 ||| || || |||2

|align=left| Aboriginal shires ||| || |||12 || || || || || |||12

|align=left| Boroughs ||| |||1 || || || || || || |||1

|align=left| Cities |||30 |||34 |||8 |||27 |||21 |||6 |||2 || |||128

|align=left| Councils |||32 || || || ||17 ||23 ||2 || |||74

|align=left| District councils ||| || || || |||23 || || || |||23

|align=left| Municipalities |||2 The classification, at the two-digit level, is:

RA Rural Agricultural
RS Rural Significant
RT Rural Remote
UC Urban Capital
UD Urban Developed
UF Urban Fringe
UR Urban Regional

Powers and functions

thumb|Offices of the [[Moreton Bay Regional Council in Caboolture, Queensland.]]

All local governments are approximately equal in their theoretical powers, although LGAs that encompass large cities such as Brisbane and the Gold Coast command more resources due to their larger population base. Unlike local governments in many other countries, services such as police, fire protection and schools are provided by respective state or territory governments rather than by local councils. However, local governments still maintain some responsibility for fire service functions within Queensland and Western Australia.

The councils' chief responsibility in the first half of the 20th century was the provision of physical infrastructure such as roads, bridges and sewerage. From the 1970s the emphasis changed to community facilities such as libraries and parks, maintenance of local roads, town planning and development approvals, and local services such as waste disposal. Child care, tourism and urban renewal were also beginning to be part of local governments' role. These are financed by collection of local land taxes known as "rates", and grants from the state and Commonwealth governments. They are caricatured as being concerned only with the "three Rs": Rates, Roads and Rubbish.

However, the roles of local government areas in Australia have recently expanded as higher levels of government have devolved activities to the third tier. Examples include the provision of community health services, regional airports and pollution control

History

There is no mention of local government in the Constitution of Australia, though it is mentioned several times in the Annotated Constitution of Australia. "Municipal institutions and local government" appears in Annotation 447, and "Power of the Parliament of a Colony" appears under "Residuary Legislative Powers" on pages 935 and 936.

The first official local government in Australia was the Perth Town Trust, established in 1838, only three years after British colonisation of Western Australia. The Adelaide Corporation followed, created by the province of South Australia in October 1840. The City of Melbourne and the Sydney Corporation followed, both in 1842. All of these early forms failed; it was not until the 1860s and 1870s that the various colonies established widespread stable forms of local government, mainly for the purpose of raising money to build roads in rural and outer-urban regions. Council representatives attended conventions before Federation, however local government was unquestionably regarded as outside the Constitutional realm.

Reforms

Significant reforms took place in the 1980s and 1990s in which state governments used metrics and efficiency analysis developed within the private sector in the local government arena. Each state conducted an inquiry into the benefits of council amalgamations during the 1990s.

An increase in the range of services offered by councils, but only minor cost savings of less than 10% have been noted by academics as outcomes after mergers. The council mergers have resulted in widespread job losses and lingering resentment from some whose roles have experienced a larger workload.

The ACT Government directorate Transport Canberra & City Services handles responsibilities that are under the purview of local government in other parts of Australia, such as local road maintenance, libraries and waste collection.

Many Canberra districts have community organisations called "community councils", but these are not part of the government (though they generally receive government funding). They do not have the power to change laws or policies, and their role is limited to advising government. They are effectively residents' associations.

New South Wales

New South Wales has three unincorporated areas:

Lord Howe Island is managed by the Lord Howe Island Board, a State Government agency.
The Unincorporated Far West Region covers the western third of the state (other than the City of Broken Hill). This area is sparsely populated. Local government functions in this area are managed directly by the state government and its agencies.
Sydney Harbour, managed by the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust.

Northern Territory

In the Northern Territory, 1.47% of the total area and 3.0% of the population are in unincorporated areas. These include the Cox-Daly and Marrakai-Douglas Daly areas in the Top End region, the Northern Territory Rates Act Area and Darwin Waterfront Precinct within Darwin, Nhulunbuy on the Gove Peninsula, Alyangula on Groote Eylandt, and Yulara in Central Australia.

South Australia

In South Australia, 63% of the state's area is unincorporated. Residents in this area – less than 0.2% of the state's population – receive municipal services provided by a state agency, the Outback Communities Authority.

Victoria

Victoria has a number of unincorporated areas which are not part of any LGA, including French Island, the six alpine resorts (Falls Creek Alpine Resort, Lake Mountain Alpine Resort, Mount Baw Baw Alpine Resort, Mount Buller Alpine Resort, Mount Hotham Alpine Resort, and Mount Stirling Alpine Resort) and Gabo Island.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics includes numerous other uninhabited offshore islands, including Lady Julia Percy Island, in its definition of unincorporated areas of Victoria.

Western Australia

Western Australia has two unincorporated areas:

Abrolhos Islands, which are officially uninhabited and controlled by the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development.
Kings Park in central Perth, which is administered by the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority.

References

Citations

– Spreadsheet of population data for local government areas in the 2006 and 2011 Australian census

External links

July 2008 maps, Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC)
Australian Bureau of Statistics: Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) 2005
Australian Government
australianpolitics.com
Local Government Focus (newspaper)
Local Government and Planning Ministers' Council
Local Government & Municipal Knowledge Base