Local government

The Coalition Government is developing an effective partnership with local government to ensure councils are responsive to the needs of their communities, financially secure and able to efficiently deliver improved services.

To achieve these ends, the Coalition has:

• allocated $160 million over four years for country roads and bridges, funded through the Coalition Transport Policy;
• allocated $100 million for Local Government Infrastructure Account, provided through the Regional Growth Fund;
• allocated $20 million in the Green Light Plan to assist local councils to replace streetlights with energy efficient, environmentally sustainable fluorescent lighting;
• allocated $17.2 million for the Living Libraries Infrastructure Program to deliver on our commitment to enhance life long learning opportunities for all Victorians and invited applications for the first round of funding;
• allocated an additional $6.5 million for the recurrent funding of local libraries over the next 3 years to reverse funding cuts budgeted for by the former Labor government;
• established a bi-partisan Ministerial Advisory Council to undertake a comprehensive review of the role of public libraries in Victoria;
• established a Ministerial-Mayors' Advisory Panel to promote a more meaningful dialogue between state government and local government in Victoria;
• established the Local Government/Aboriginal Partnership Project to strengthen relationships between Aboriginal communities and local government throughout Victoria,
• legislated to bring forward council elections to the 4th Saturday in October, ensuring new councils are better equipped to manage the development of council plans, codes of conduct and council budget; and
• consulted extensively with the people of Greater Geelong regarding the best model for the direct election of the mayor of the City of Greater Geelong and will announce that model in the near future.

The Coalition Government is committed to improving the channels of communication between the state government, local governments and local communities. We recognise the importance of the role local government has in the provision of services to Victorian communities, and we will ensure that councils receive the support they need to deliver those services efficiently.

Achievements and policies implemented in the first year of Coalition Government

• Establishment of steering committee for Local Government/Aboriginal partnerships project
• Initiated electoral review of MelbourneCity Council
• Funded $6.5 million increase in recurrent library funding
• Created $5 million distribution fund for flood clean-up
• Delivered on election commitment to invest $4 million over four years to upgrade Scouts Victoria and Girl Guides Victoria facilities across the state and an additional $440,000 to upgrade the Scouts activity centre
• Promoted anti-violence measures such as a toolkit for sporting clubs

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