The United Services Union’s eight year fight for increased funding for local government has paid off with a new Federal Funding Compact with Australian Councils. The USU has taken this fight to four successive ALP National Conferences and is proud to announce this massive win for our members and our industry.
In a great win for local government and its workers the Federal Government has announced a new “Federation Compact” which includes a firm commitment to significantly increase Financial Assistance Grants to Local Government.
USU General Secretary Graeme Kelly OAM addresses the ALP National Conference.
A long fight
The USU commenced this campaign at the ALP National Conference in 2018 and we never gave up, campaigning tirelessly at every conference up until our victory this year in Adelaide.
To get the job done we teamed up with the ASU national and state branches, QLD Branch of AWU and Local Government NSW President Darcy Byrne achieving this momentous victory.
We approached the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) to form a strong industry force calling on the whole of federal parliament to immediately lift Financial Assistance Grants to 1% of total tax revenue.
WIN AT CONFERENCE
At this weekend’s ALP National Conference the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government of Australia Katherine King moved the motion supporting the Compact with USU Secretary Graeme Kelly OAM seconding it.
In an unprecedented show of unity by the entire sector last month we took our message to Canberra.
Led by our campaign trucks, every Local Government Association, on behalf of all 538 councils across Australia, wrote to the entire Federal Parliament to warn them of the growing financial crisis in our sector and to commit to fairer funding for all councils.
Following Saturday’s announcement we now have a clear pathway to returning to historic levels of funding.
This is a big win for our sector and will be especially beneficial in our rural, regional and remote communities.
It will protect the sustainability of local councils and protect local jobs and local communities.
“On behalf of local government workers across NSW and the nation, I thank Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for his support of the local government sector and its workers.This Compact enables Councils to plan effectively, keeping skilled workers in secure, local jobs.”
– Graeme Kelly OAM
The compact means that local councils will have clear funding and will not have to use funds otherwise allocated to providing the services and facilities they deliver to communities.
WHAT DOES THE COMPACT MEAN?
In addition to the increased Financial Assistance Grants the five year Compact will also:
- Ensure Roads to Recovery funding can be used to purchase plant and equipment to enable councils to carry out their own road maintenance with their own trained workers, to the extent possible;
- Support and increase the availability of apprenticeships in local government, as well as other employment programs in a local government context;
- Deliver new capabilities to improve outcomes in housing, planning, emergency management and aged care; and
- Ensure the Government publishes an annual summary of funding for Local Government.
This is a win for all local government workers and their communities. The USU is proud to have played such a pivotal role in delivering it. We will be working hard to ensure the Compact delivers for our members..
