Empowered councils, red tape reduced with local government reforms

• Crisafulli Government is delivering on its commitment to empower councils, with reforms announced at the LGAQ Annual Conference today.
• As part of delivering a fresh start for Queensland, local governments will be empowered with reduced red tape and streamlined processes so they can better serve their communities. 
• The changes are the next step in delivering on the Equal Partners Agreement.
• The Crisafulli Government is delivering support for local councils and a fresh start for Queensland. 

The Crisafulli Government is delivering a major step towards empowering Queensland’s councils, and enacting the Equal Partners agreement, announcing local government reforms at the LGAQ’s Annual Conference. 

In response to calls from councils over many years, the Crisafulli Government will introduce the Local Government (Empowering Councils) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill to Parliament this year.

Councils have been advocating for reform for years, while the former Labor Government refused to listen during their decade of decline.

The changes deliver on a key election commitment of the Crisafulli Government to help rebuild the relationship between state and local government and demonstrates the promise to work alongside councils to deliver for Queensland. 

The reforms will remove costly and time-consuming red tape and streamline legislative requirements. It delivers a raft of changes to re-empower Queensland’s local governments and provide them with the fit-for-purpose framework they need. 

Key changes proposed in the Empowering Councils Bill include: 

• re-empowering councillors to appoint senior council staff, giving them a say in senior, strategic appointments to the council,  
• clarifying the powers of the mayor and other councillors to provide certainty about their responsibilities,
• removing conduct breaches from the councillor conduct framework and streamlining training requirements, so councillors can focus delivering for their communities, 
• allowing election candidates to include contact information other than their residential address, protecting the privacy and safety of participants, and
• making the conflict-of-interest framework clearer and more straightforward, to remove red tape from councillors without sacrificing integrity in government. 

The Empowering Councils Bill will do this by amending the Local Government Act 2009, City of Brisbane Act 2010, Local Government Electoral Act 2011,  
Local Government Regulation 2012, City of Brisbane Regulation 2012 and Disaster Management Regulation 2014. 

The Crisafulli Government has also signed an Accord with Queensland's Indigenous Leaders, in the next step in enacting the Equal Partners in Government Agreement and delivering a fresh start for Queensland as promised.

The Accord mirrors the Rural and Remote Councils Compact and is another way the Crisafulli Government is working with councils to deliver on water, sewerage, infrastructure and jobs.

Minister for Local Government and Water Ann Leahy said the reforms would finally give councils the framework they needed to deliver for Queenslanders. 

“We are delivering a fresh start and empowering local governments to deliver for Queensland communities,” Minister Leahy said. 

“Under Labor, councils were kept in the dark and treated like second-class citizens, which is why we promised major reform, and that’s exactly what we’ve delivered. 

“Local governments are genuine and equal partners in delivering The Right Plan for Queensland’s Future to get Queensland heading in the right direction for the benefit of all Queenslanders. 

“Councils know the Crisafulli Government are committed to working alongside them for our local communities, and this Bill empowers them to do exactly that. 

"Queenslanders rightly overwhelmingly rejected the Voice to Parliament while at the same time called for greater practical outcomes to be delivered in Indigenous communities, which is exactly what the Accord does.

"Unlike the Voice to Parliament, this is elected officials working together to deliver for their communities.

“We have done everything we said we’d do in our first 12 months of government – we are freeing you from unnecessary red tape and bureaucratic burdens.” 

ENDS  

MEDIA CONTACT:  Michael Howard 04 0000 2676 

BACKGROUND: 

The Bill forms part of the Crisafulli Government’s broader delivery for councils, including: 

• Red Tape Reduction Taskforce launched and concluded, with the report now being considered by government.
• Depreciation Taskforce for Local Government launched, with the taskforce now accepting submissions from local government with the goal of tackling depreciation challenges and reducing costs for taxpayers.
• Making the Works for Queensland program permanent, with secure funding for regional councils to create jobs and deliver the infrastructure their communities need.

Through the Local Government Grants and Subsidies Program, councils have access to a new round of competitive funding for priority water, waste and community projects, with more than $100 million available over the next four years.