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| Local mayors join budget backlash, saying funding freeze threatens services | Local mayors join budget backlash, saying funding freeze threatens services |
| (4 months later) | |
| Tony Abbott is facing a backlash from local mayors who say they will have to increase rates or cut municipal services to cope with a three-year funding freeze announced in the budget that reduces forecast federal grants to local government by $925m. | Tony Abbott is facing a backlash from local mayors who say they will have to increase rates or cut municipal services to cope with a three-year funding freeze announced in the budget that reduces forecast federal grants to local government by $925m. |
| Mayors are warning the cuts planned by the prime minister will hit hardest in rural and Indigenous communities where councils have almost no other sources of money and may have to raise rates by an extra 5% or sack council employees. | Mayors are warning the cuts planned by the prime minister will hit hardest in rural and Indigenous communities where councils have almost no other sources of money and may have to raise rates by an extra 5% or sack council employees. |
| “It is absolutely catastrophic, especially in the rural areas,” said the president of the Municipal Association of Victoria, Councillor Bill McArthur. | “It is absolutely catastrophic, especially in the rural areas,” said the president of the Municipal Association of Victoria, Councillor Bill McArthur. |
| “Communities should be outraged by this federal budget, and we have very transparent budget processes so when services are cut or rates go up people are going to know exactly who is to blame and exactly why these changes are happening.” | “Communities should be outraged by this federal budget, and we have very transparent budget processes so when services are cut or rates go up people are going to know exactly who is to blame and exactly why these changes are happening.” |
| The chief executive of the Local Government Association of Queensland, Greg Hallam, also said rural and Indigenous communities would be hardest hit and Queensland mayors were set to meet the deputy prime minister, Warren Truss, to argue that the move to freeze the “untied” grants was unfair. | The chief executive of the Local Government Association of Queensland, Greg Hallam, also said rural and Indigenous communities would be hardest hit and Queensland mayors were set to meet the deputy prime minister, Warren Truss, to argue that the move to freeze the “untied” grants was unfair. |
| He said all mayors would be lobbying hard to reduce the duration of the freeze when they descended on Canberra for their annual general assembly in mid-June. | He said all mayors would be lobbying hard to reduce the duration of the freeze when they descended on Canberra for their annual general assembly in mid-June. |
| “John Howard had a freeze on local government grants in his first budget in 1996, but it only lasted for one year. We want this one lifted as soon as possible, three years is just too long,” Hallam said. | “John Howard had a freeze on local government grants in his first budget in 1996, but it only lasted for one year. We want this one lifted as soon as possible, three years is just too long,” Hallam said. |
| The local government organisations are pleased with the $350m increase in roads funding announced in the budget, to be funded by state government asset sales. | The local government organisations are pleased with the $350m increase in roads funding announced in the budget, to be funded by state government asset sales. |
| But Felicity-ann Lewis, president of the Australian Local Government Association, said the cuts to “untied” grants would hit the council’s general activities and take away almost everything the councils were gaining in extra roads funding. | But Felicity-ann Lewis, president of the Australian Local Government Association, said the cuts to “untied” grants would hit the council’s general activities and take away almost everything the councils were gaining in extra roads funding. |
| "These grants are used to maintain a great range of infrastructure including local roads, bridges, parks, swimming pools, libraries and community halls as well as services to the young, the elderly and community groups of all kinds. Decisions will be made at a local level about how these funds are used, and clearly some services will suffer," she said. | |
| “Some of the smaller councils may not be viable, local democracy may just cease to exist in some places.” | “Some of the smaller councils may not be viable, local democracy may just cease to exist in some places.” |
| The federal government is already staring down a revolt by the premiers who were shocked to find the budget cut $80bn in growth funding they had factored in after 2017, and scrapped scores of funding agreements meaning they will lose health funding and federal contributions to pensioner concessions from July. | The federal government is already staring down a revolt by the premiers who were shocked to find the budget cut $80bn in growth funding they had factored in after 2017, and scrapped scores of funding agreements meaning they will lose health funding and federal contributions to pensioner concessions from July. |
| At a crisis meeting on Sunday the premiers demanded an emergency meeting of the Council of Australian Governments, but Abbott has said there will not be another gathering until the next scheduled meeting in September, after the immediate funding cuts take effect. | At a crisis meeting on Sunday the premiers demanded an emergency meeting of the Council of Australian Governments, but Abbott has said there will not be another gathering until the next scheduled meeting in September, after the immediate funding cuts take effect. |
| “It is up to the states to run public hospitals and I'm more than happy to keep talking to them about what might be needed to get our federation right, to fix the federation, and that's what that federation white paper process is all about ... the funding changes that we're talking about here don't happen for more than three years. So, there's plenty of time to get all of this stuff squared away,” he said on Tuesday. | “It is up to the states to run public hospitals and I'm more than happy to keep talking to them about what might be needed to get our federation right, to fix the federation, and that's what that federation white paper process is all about ... the funding changes that we're talking about here don't happen for more than three years. So, there's plenty of time to get all of this stuff squared away,” he said on Tuesday. |