Published Tuesday, 03 June, 2008 at 04:11 PM
Minister for Main Roads and Local Government
The Honourable Warren Pitt
Reforms to focus on capacity building and accountability in 2008-09
Following a successful structural reform of Queensland’s councils, the State Government will focus on building better capacity, accountability and transparency across the local government sector in 2008-09.
Local Government Minister Warren Pitt said the reform process was far from over.
“In 2007-08, the government implemented the most significant reform of local government in Queensland’s history, delivering a stronger and more sustainable sector that is better placed to deal with the challenges confronting our growing state,” Mr Pitt said.
“However, the reform process is far from over, and in the coming year we will be turning our attention to legislative reform, performance management and capacity building for local governments.”
Mr Pitt said the Department of Local Government was now working closely with councils on the next stages of the reform program.
“In the coming year, the department will complete its review of the Local Government Act 1993, with a focus on reducing the complexity of the legislation and giving councils a more flexible framework for the delivery of services to Queensland communities,” he said.
“We will continue to work with councils to develop and implement enhanced performance evaluation systems, which will help them to operate more effectively and to establish better long-term planning linked to better services for their communities.
“We will also strengthen transparency and accountability across the sector by requiring councils to develop community reports to keep their ratepayers advised on the performance of council.
“The department’s capacity building program will also focus on developing ‘best-practice’ processes to help councils meet their statutory requirements and improve their overall performance.
“This will include providing a suite of specialist and generalist programs targeted at three broad categories of councils – large regional; rural and remote; and Indigenous.”
Mr Pitt said it was important for the government to follow through with the reform program to ensure the future sustainability of local government in Queensland.
“The local government reform program will continue as we strive to ensure that local government in Queensland is an efficient and effective third sphere of government that is both sustainable and able to deliver on the increasing demands of ratepayers,” he said.
“To achieve this we will continue to work closely with councils to ensure they have the capacity and resources to meet changing community needs and expectations.”
Media contact: Minister Pitt’s Office 3227 8819
Local Government Minister Warren Pitt said the reform process was far from over.
“In 2007-08, the government implemented the most significant reform of local government in Queensland’s history, delivering a stronger and more sustainable sector that is better placed to deal with the challenges confronting our growing state,” Mr Pitt said.
“However, the reform process is far from over, and in the coming year we will be turning our attention to legislative reform, performance management and capacity building for local governments.”
Mr Pitt said the Department of Local Government was now working closely with councils on the next stages of the reform program.
“In the coming year, the department will complete its review of the Local Government Act 1993, with a focus on reducing the complexity of the legislation and giving councils a more flexible framework for the delivery of services to Queensland communities,” he said.
“We will continue to work with councils to develop and implement enhanced performance evaluation systems, which will help them to operate more effectively and to establish better long-term planning linked to better services for their communities.
“We will also strengthen transparency and accountability across the sector by requiring councils to develop community reports to keep their ratepayers advised on the performance of council.
“The department’s capacity building program will also focus on developing ‘best-practice’ processes to help councils meet their statutory requirements and improve their overall performance.
“This will include providing a suite of specialist and generalist programs targeted at three broad categories of councils – large regional; rural and remote; and Indigenous.”
Mr Pitt said it was important for the government to follow through with the reform program to ensure the future sustainability of local government in Queensland.
“The local government reform program will continue as we strive to ensure that local government in Queensland is an efficient and effective third sphere of government that is both sustainable and able to deliver on the increasing demands of ratepayers,” he said.
“To achieve this we will continue to work closely with councils to ensure they have the capacity and resources to meet changing community needs and expectations.”
Media contact: Minister Pitt’s Office 3227 8819