Australia's National Local Government Newspaper Online

Reclaiming local governance from the 'eco rats'

According to Jenny Wills, Director Social and Cultural Policy at the Municipal Association of Victoria, despite Local Government having a seat on the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), it is in grave danger of becoming locked out of our Federal system.

Current COAG negotiations are restricted to the future of Commonwealth/State roles and relations in regard to Human Services, yet the COAG communique dated 14 June 1996 noted the significant role played by Local Government in this area. She said that Local Government is not represented on the Health and Community Services Ministers' Councils and associated officials' meetings and will, therefore, not be party to the proposed multilateral and bilateral agreements based on new roles and responsibilities in the human services arena.

With most States still not having established a specific role for Local Government in human service provision and the Commonwealth seeing Councils as only delivery agents, the opportunity to integrate local needs with national policy objectives is being lost.

"Local Government must talk up its status as the third sphere of government and talk down its role as 750 outlets for prepackaged services," Jenny Wills said.

Describing this as the 'McDonaldisation of Local Government', she said Local Government must become mobilised to defend communal values and promote civic participation in the planning and delivery of services.

"As the natural vehicle for community development, we must anchor democratic values and reclaim civil society back from the 'eco rats'," she concluded.

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