President’s column – 17 July 2020

Place-based deals have been making headlines
these past weeks, all of them positive, all of them reinforcing the key role
Local Government plays in shaping our economy.

The mayors of Albury and Wodonga have signed a statement
of intent to develop a Regional Deal based around the two Murray River cities,
and new annual reports on the Darwin and Western Sydney City deals both
indicate solid progress on agreed outcomes.

There was also a new report from the Australian
Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) that makes a convincing argument
for leveraging “placed-based based funding interventions” to create more
affordable rental housing near employment centres.

Moreover, AHURI says the jobs created by City or
Regional Deals – especially in satellites like Wollongong and Geelong where
existing housing is comparatively affordable – improve productivity by sparing
lower-income workers from housing stress and long daily commutes.

Critics of national and state/metropolitan
strategic planning frameworks have long recognised the spatial mismatch between
employment and housing opportunities in our largest cities, particularly urban
growth areas.

These frameworks often prioritise transport
connectivity to planned housing growth areas – yet the links to “employment
lands” is often weak.

On the other hand, the Western Sydney City Deal,
negotiated between all three levels of government and multiple local councils, is
successfully bringing employment closer to existing and planned housing.

This week, for example, the CSIRO said it wants
to build a new research facility at the Western Sydney Aerotropolis and
relocate 450 of its employees there.

What gives these “strategic funding
interventions” an edge over high level national or safe strategic plans is high
level of coordination and collaboration between federal and state agencies and
local government.

By virtue of our extensive business and service
activities, our on-the-ground presence, and expertise, councils understand
local economies in ways that state, territory or Commonwealth agencies or
governments cannot hope to achieve.

Local government knows what investments, support mechanisms, and interventions will enable our communities to grow and prosper.

It stands to reason, then, that leveraging this
capacity – as City and Regional Deals do – will lead to faster results on the
ground and more sustainable outcomes in the longer term.

The role of councils in supporting population
growth planning and facilitating affordable housing options is crucial – and
becoming more so as key workers like nurses, teachers and emergency services
personnel are forced out of inner cities and middle-ring suburbs and further
away from their place of work.

The AHURI report’s finding that City and
Regional Deals can also enable housing that is within reach of lower-income
households is welcome news which I hope gives state and federal policymakers
pause for thought.

The clear advantages that vertical governance
models confer in delivering strategic outcomes is why, among other things, ALGA
continues its advocate for a reversal of local government’s shock exclusion
from National Cabinet nearly two months ago.

A member of the Council of Australian
Governments (COAG) since its inception in 1992, ALGA had previously worked
closely with the states, territories, and Commonwealth to deliver nationally
significant programs and reforms.

Economic recovery from Covid-19 looks more challenging with each day, so it’s vital every arm of government is working together, outwards common goals, in the most coordinated and effective way.

Being relegated to a single, annual appearance
before the National Reform Council is hardly conducive to maximising combined
effort.

ALGA highlighted the role of the local road latticework
in achieving successful border closures weeks ago, yet another example where we
could have added value to the Covid-19 response at the highest level.

Public health inspections, local health
education, small business support, regional tourism management, local job
creation through targeted infrastructure spending, and other economic recovery
strategies, are all areas local councils can and do play a key role in – and
should be coordinated in synergy with the national effort.

Once a year? Hardly effective thinking.

David O’Loughlin,
ALGA President