LOCAL councillors have issued concerns about an upcoming
referendum that could be undemocratic due to unbalanced funding for education
campaigns.
The referendum on constitutional recognition of local government,
set to be held in tandem with the September 14 Federal Election, would remove
all legal obstacles in allowing Federal Government to provide funding for local
governments.
While the Commonwealth has funded councils for many years, in
2009 the arrangement between the two levels of government was successfully
challenged in the High Court.
The court case could put at risk programs such
as the Roads to Recovery and the Regional Development Australia Fund, which
small rural councils particularly depend upon to balance their books.
As
such, councils across Australia are in support of the ‘yes’ vote, including
Wakool, Swan Hill Rural City and Balranald Shire councils, who have received
campaign materials and some have pledged to campaign locally.
For more on this story, see Friday’s edition of The Guardian (28/6/13).
