When Jen and I first spoke about the ‘Helicopter View’ column when I became Mayor, we decided that the concept should be for me to write about big picture issues that are relevant to Local Government and use examples specifically from Dubbo (or other Councils).
Well today I have reached nirvana. When it comes to big picture issues relevant to Local Government, it doesn’t get much bigger than the referendum that will be held on 14 September.
Referendums do not occur that often. It has been 14 years since we have had a referendum and, in the lifetime of an average Dubbonian (36 years) we have only had three elections with referendums (often more than one question is asked when a referendum is held). The Constitution of Australia can only be changed by a referendum and, since Federation on 1 January 1901 – when the six colonies became the six States of the Commonwealth of Australia and the Federal Parliament was formed as described in the Constitution – there have been 44 referendum questions put to the people. Of those 44, a Yes vote has only occurred eight times. That is a very low 18.2 per cent success rate. It seems that Aussies, like people from around the world, are naturally resistant to change. The eight that were successful are interesting. In 1906 the people voted that the beginning of the term of members of the Senate be moved from 1 January to 1 July. In 1910, the Commonwealth was given power to take over State debts. In 1928, financial arrangements between the States and the Commonwealth were again changed. In 1946, after the tough war years, the Commonwealth was given power to legislate on social services. In 1967, the highest Yes vote was recorded in our history when 90.77 per cent of the country said Yes to counting Aboriginals as part of our population. In 1977, three questions received an affirmative vote from Aussies: that Senate vacancies were to be filled by another member of the same party; that the Territories could vote in referendums; and that Federal court judges must retire at the age of 70. It has now been 36 years since a Yes vote in a referendum in this country.
A referendum in Australia requires a double majority – firstly a majority of electors from across the entire nation must say Yes. In addition, a majority of electors in a majority of the States must agree. There have been five instances when the nation agreed with a question put forward but not a majority of the States. The most interesting example of these five was in 1977 when 62.2 per cent of the nation agreed that Senate elections should be held at the same time as elections for the House of Representatives. This referendum ultimately failed because only a majority of people in NSW, Victoria and South Australia agreed.
I have also found some of the No votes interesting. In 1988, only 33.62 per cent of the country (the third lowest vote in the history of referendums) felt that Local Government should be recognised in the Constitution. This was down from 1974 when 46.85 per cent of the people said that the Commonwealth should be able to make financial assistance grants directly to any Local Government body. The lowest ever Yes vote was achieved in 1988 when only 30.79 per cent of our country felt that we should have freedom of religion, fair terms for property acquisition and extend the rights to trial by jury. These items seem like fair and reasonable things to me but maybe it was complicated by so many being included in the one question. If you objected to ANY one, you would probably vote No. There were some other negatives that I just don’t understand – and to be fair it is hard to apply 2013 thinking to times of yore but one referendum stands out in particular to me. In 1988, only 37.60 per cent of the nation said Yes to the question: “To provide for fair and democratic parliamentary elections throughout Australia.” What? We said no to that? That was largely driven by the widespread gerrymandering which was endemic during Joh Bjelke-Petersen’s time as Queensland Premier so I can’t understand the negative on that one.
It is with that background that we face a referendum this year. The question that will be put will allow a change to section 96 of the Constitution along the following lines (the underlined words are the words that will be added): “The Parliament may grant financial assistance to any State or to any local government body formed by State or Territory legislation on such terms and conditions as the Parliament sees fit.”
This is really about the Federal Government funding Local Governments directly and this occurs now. ‘Roads to Recovery’ money is direct from the Federal to Local Government. Dubbo’s Barden Park upgrade has received $3.5 million of Federal money. Apex Oval recently received $4.5 million of Federal money. Each year we receive Financial Assistance Grants (FAGs) direct from the Commonwealth. The issue has come to the fore due to two recent High Court decisions that bring into question the legality of the Commonwealth providing direct funding. In Pape v Commissioner of Taxation in 2009, which was a case about stimulus payments, the High Court considered the Commonwealth was unable to spend money without explicit Constitutional powers as set out in sections 51 and 61. Then in Williams v Commonwealth, a case about school chaplains, the High Court found the Commonwealth could not spend money without supporting legislation.
The actual funding to Local Government has not been challenged in the High Court – yet. Academic commentary suggests a challenge to the Commonwealth’s funding may well succeed. People that are keen to see Local Government continue to provide a range of services with Commonwealth money therefore support the referendum to ensure the continued flow of money from the Commonwealth to Local Governments across the nation. The last time this was put to a referendum – back in 1988 – the argument from people arguing for the rights of States was that the Commonwealth has no business funding Local Government and all monies should go via the States.
Funding from the Commonwealth Government through grants is an important source of revenue, particularly for regional and remote communities. Funding from the Commonwealth accounts for seven per cent of total Local Government revenue. In the absence of greater funding from Commonwealth and State governments, Local Government faces the choice of reducing services, further delaying repair work, or trying to raise more local revenue (from local communities already paying their fair share). Funding certainty is critical to the short and long-term planning of Councils, particularly in rural and regional areas where there is a greater reliance on external funding.
I urge all residents to consider their referendum vote carefully in September this year and if you believe, as I do, that Local Government is the most efficient, transparent and connected level of government in this country, please vote Yes for constitutional change.
Tell me your thoughts on the referendum at mayor@dubbo.nsw.gov.au.
Clr Mathew Dickerson
Mayor of the City of Dubbo