Council advocates for koalas, housing and funding at national assembly

Redland City Council advocated for increased Federal Government support for housing, koalas and funding for councils through three motions put to the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) National General Assembly.

Mayor Karen Williams said the motions not only responded to the needs of the Redlands Coast community, but also aligned with the needs of local government on a national scale.

“All three motions support this year’s Assembly theme of ‘Our Communities, Our Future’ by identifying opportunities that will support councils to build stronger communities into the future,” Cr Williams said.

“Housing pressures are impacting communities nationwide, creating significant social issues and a potential generational gap in home affordability.

“It is important to have a national response to the current housing pressures and our motion raised a number of opportunities that could support this.

“This included innovative models of tenancy agreements, community living arrangement models for older residents requiring social housing, and inclusive zoning to ensure that a reasonable proportion of future dwelling stock is supplied to the market and suitable for those on lower incomes.”

Cr Williams said a second motion called on the Australian Government to restore Local Government Financial Assistance Grants to a level equal to at least one per cent of Commonwealth taxation revenue.

“The allocation of these grants to councils provides an important source of funding to deliver the projects and services that are important to our community,” Cr Williams said.

“A freeze on the indexation of these grants has seen a 43 per cent decline over the past 20 years, with them now equating to 0.50 per cent of Commonwealth tax revenue.”

Cr Williams said the third motion called for more funding and consultation to enable local governments to deliver current and planned federal government koala conservation initiatives and actions.

“Although the Federal Government has allocated an additional $50 million investment in koalas, no money has been specifically directed toward local government entities, even though they have been identified as responsible for, or as potential partners in, the delivery of projects,” she said.

“Council’s advocacy program is proactive and outcome focused. Submitting ALGA motions is one of the many avenues Council engages with in working with the Federal Government towards the best outcomes for our city.”