A MODO DE CIERRE NO ACADÉMICO (Reflexión autobiográfica como

Chapman and Wood (1984) state that local government should not be studied apart from its political context (p.10). In this section the political context in which Australian and therefore Victorian local government operates is examined.

The lack of autonomy of Australian local government and the fact that its power is conferred (and limited) by statute has shaped the political environment and has

underpinned discussions on its past and future role. Control of local government by the state is absolute and varies from time to time and from state to state (Bowman and Hampton 1983; Chapman and Wood 1984; Jones 1989, 1993; Rayner 1997; Wensing 1997a; McNeill 1997; Dunstan 1998; Galligan 1998b; Hill 1999; Mowbray 1999; Ellison 2000; Dollery and Wallis 2001; Worthington and Dollery 2001, 2002; Municipal Association of Victoria 2002; Aulich and Pietsch 2002; Worthington and Dollery 2002; Kiss 2003; Dollery 2005; Dollery, Crase and Byrnes 2005; Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Transport and Regional Services 2006; Dollery, Crase and Johnson 2006; Murray and Dollery 2006). The power of the state government over local government was demonstrated in Victoria during the period of the Kennett Government as outlined in section 1.7.4.

The federal government also exercises significant influence over local government through the federal-state cooperative arrangements and funding programs such as Roads to Recovery and AusLink (Bowman and Hampton 1983; Chapman 1997a; McNeill 1997; Caulfield 2003; Municipal Association of Victoria 2003; Powell 2005).

Victoria is the only Australian state that requires approval by the electors at a state–wide referendum to change the process of amending those provisions of the Constitution Act dealing with the system of local government (Constitution (Parliamentary Reform) Bill 2003; Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Transport and Regional Services 2006).

The relatively recent recognition afforded to local government in a Victorian context was demonstrated in the Second Reading Speech on the Constitution (Parliamentary Reform) Bill 2003 when it was stated:

The Constitution Act will also be amended to formalize the place of local government as a distinct and essential level of government and that councils are democratically elected and accountable to their constituents (p.9).

However, as outlined in section 1.7.3 the two proposals to amend the Commonwealth Constitution to provide for the establishment and continuance of a system of local

government were both defeated (Jones 1993; Aulich and Pietsch 2002; Dollery, Crase and Byrnes 2005; Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Transport and Regional Services 2006; Kane 2006).

In 2006 an amendment moved in Federal Parliament to conduct a referendum to extend constitutional recognition to local government was also defeated (Commonwealth of Australia, Parliamentary Debates 17 October 2006).

There is a range of views regarding the lack of constitutional recognition for local government and the impact that this has on its role.

Ellison (2000) considered that Australian local government is vulnerable in the absence of constitutional recognition and has had to rely on cooperation at the inter-government level for survival (also refer Jones 1993).

Aulich and Pietsch (2002) further stated that the lack of constitutional recognition of Australian local government has resulted in a questioning of its fundamental role (also refer Jones 1989, 1993). They stated:

If being ‘left on the shelf’ becomes a position of permanence for local government in Australia, it does raise questions about whether it can claim to be part of the national polity or, rather, exists primarily as an agent for delivering public services on behalf of other spheres of government (p.22).

As a consequence of the failed attempts to gain constitutional recognition, Australian local government is constrained by both an imposed political and legal structure, in that the policies of the controlling level of government directly delineate the legal boundaries for local government (Saunders 1996; Wensing 1997a; McNeill 1997; Dunstan 1998; Ellison 2000; Dollery and Wallis 2001; Worthington and Dollery 2002; Aulich and Pietsch 2002; Dollery 2005; Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Transport and Regional Services 2006; Dollery, Crase and Johnson 2006; Kane 2006). In this way the political and the legal environment is inter-related, as one is established by the other.

In terms of Victorian local government specifically, the Municipal Association of Victoria (2002) stated:

Lacking in adequate constitutional recognition, local government is placed in a subservient position…(and) is subject to a range of discretional controls (and interference) that are exercised by State Government. While its roles and responsibilities are as important as the other two levels of government, local government is not treated as an equal partner in the federal system (p.5).

Discussing the relationships between federal, state and local governments, Saunders (1996) further stated:

The Commonwealth lords it over the states. The states lord it over local government. Local government reciprocates by teaming up with the Commonwealth and in turn is often used by the Commonwealth. Local government tends to come off worst (p.57).

The political context of Australian local government was not unlike the United Kingdom environment, where the relationship between local government and the central governments of Thatcher and Blair resulted in a number of commentators on this topic (Hodge and Thompson 1994; King and Stoker 1996; Leach, Davis and associates 1996; Pratchett and Wilson 1996; Stoker 1996b; Hodge, Leach and Stoker 1997; Boyne 1998; Hughes 1998; Local Government Association (UK) 1998; Rallings and Thrasher 1999; Nicholls 1999; Atkinson and Wilks-Heeg 2000; Giddens 2002; Mulgan 2002; Stoker et al 2003; Geddes 2004; Local Government Association (UK) 2004a, 2004c, 2005c).

Local government in the United Kingdom underwent dramatic change during the period of the Thatcher Government (Hodge and Thompson 1994; Jones and Travers 1996; Stoker 1996a, 1996b; Davis 1996; Leach 1996; Pratchett and Wilson 1996; Rallings, Temple and Thrasher 1996; Hodge, Leach and Stoker 1997; Boyne 1998; Bailey 1999; Atkinson and Wilks-Heeg 2000). The impact of these changes on local government attracted strong criticism, as illustrated by Hodge, Leach and Stoker (1997) who stated that we have gone through eighteen years of persistent attack on local government (p.2).

The local government experience in the United Kingdom during the Thatcher period of government is significant for Victorian local government, as the Thatcher period has been likened to the Kennett period in Victoria during the 1990s. Baker (2003) stated that the Kennett Government’s approach to local government was based on the policies implemented by the Thatcher Government in the United Kingdom (p.130).

The Thatcher era introduced what was described as the enabling council model (Jones 1993; Leach 1996; Pratchett and Wilson 1996; Walsh 1996; Atkinson and Wilks-Heeg 2000). The concept of the enabling authority meant that local government became an enabler rather than a direct provider of services with the key role for local government being a service purchaser (Jones 1993; Leach 1996; Pratchett and Wilson 1996; Walsh 1996; Atkinson and Wilks-Heeg 2000). The enabling concept of local government as it was developed in the United Kingdom decreased the role of local democracy and allowed the market to determine the levels of service (Newnham and Winston 1997).

The introduction of compulsory competitive tendering by the Kennett Government in Victoria was based on the enabling council model (Jones 1993; Marshall 1997; Rayner 1997; Gerritesen 1998; Jones 2002; Baker 2003) as demonstrated by the fact that the Local Government Board (1995) stated that local government councils may see themselves as a bare enabling authority (p.5).

In summary it is clear that the limited autonomy of Victorian local government as delineated by state government has shaped, and will continue to impact on the overall context in which Victorian local government operates. The Kennett era demonstrated the ultimate power of the Victorian state government over local government in a political and legal context and exposed the inherent historical weakness of Victorian local government (Kiss 1997).

The material presented in this section and section 1.7 has explored the historical, political and legal context of Victorian local government and has discussed how these factors have shaped its past and its present role. The final contextual aspect is Victorian local government’s financial environment, which is discussed in the following section.