Townsville's Acting Mayor is calling on Townsville's federal candidates not to leave Council in the 70s and come to the table with a fairer deal for local government funding.
Queensland councils currently receive just 0.5 per cent of Australia's total taxation revenue, leaving ratepayers left to foot the bill for the increasing amount of services left for Council to deliver.
Acting Mayor Ann-Maree Greaney said Australia had grown immensely in the last 50 years and with greater expectations on local governments than ever before, it was time for the Federal Government's Financial Assistance Grants to be reevaluated.
"1974 was a very different time, Gough Whitlam was Prime Minister, a loaf of bread cost just over 20 cents, the average price of a house in Brisbane was $21,500 and councils were delivering the basics, so today it's not absurd to be asking for 1 percent of Australia's total taxation revenue," Cr Greaney said.
"Over the years, the services people expect a Council to deliver have grown far beyond roads, rates and rubbish, which is why the funding model that determines how much councils receive from Canberra, developed in 1974, is now outdated.
"Back in 1974, TV screens were still black and white; we have come leaps and bounds in half a century – and now the demands and expectations of communities are radically different.
"Today, communities are increasingly relying on councils to provide the services they need – like parks and amenities, water, rubbish collection and recycling, roads, libraries, playgrounds, community safety initiatives, emergency management, events and programs, splash parks and the pools that make cities more liveable.
"The fact is the level of government that has the most direct impact on communities is the level that is doing it with the smallest share of government taxation revenue."
Councillor Greaney said cost of living was the number one issue Australians were facing today and with increasing prices and demands, councils were struggling to keep up due to bearing the costs of things that were not traditionally a local government responsibility.
"The truth is, when the cost of everything is increasing, councils don't have the money to provide everything our communities need," she said.
"By leaving local government to split just half a percent, councils have no other choice but to raise rates or cut services – it's not the answer.
"We don't want to make it any tougher on our community or see ratepayers missing out, not when there is a better, fairer way.
"We're not asking for much, just 1 percent, or $1 to come back to local councils from every $100 of tax paid to those in Canberra.
"I'm urging our federal candidates here in Townsville to back the ratepayer and work with their parties to come to the table with a fairer deal, one that allows us to deliver for our communities and doesn't leave us in the 70s."
