Council considers Future of Local Government review
Published on 29 April 2022
The City of Launceston will advocate for the establishment of a greater Launceston metropolitan council as part of a proposed submission to the State Government's Local Government Board Review into the Future of Local Government in Tasmania.
Last year, the State Government announced the Future of Local Government in Tasmania review, with the objective of creating a more robust and capable system of local government.
The Local Government Board has been undertaking community engagement in recent weeks, and has asked for Tasmanian Councils to provide written submissions exploring the optimal future design for Tasmania's local government sector.
The City of Launceston's draft submission has been prepared by Councillors and Council staff, and its formal endorsement will be considered at next week's Council meeting. The City of Launceston's draft submission focuses on the 'spill-over effect', which occurs when a central municipality provides services that are used by residents from surrounding municipalities who do not contribute to their costs.
"It is clear that the spill-over effect is impacting the urban area in Northern Tasmania with Launceston being at a financial disadvantage relative to other Councils," the draft submission notes.
"As it currently stands, Launceston is required to provide and maintain regional level infrastructure, which is not required to be provided by surrounding Councils.
"While the residents of surrounding Council areas live close together and are most benefited by the regional assets provided by the City of Launceston, they are not providing any funding for their maintenance — aside from fees and charges for use of these assets where it is applicable.
"In fact, the costs borne by City of Launceston ratepayers and avoided by the residents of other municipal areas are in excess of $4.2m annually."
The draft submission urges the Board to explore the creation of a metropolitan council in the greater Launceston area and to encourage greater resource sharing between rural and city councils.
Launceston Mayor Albert van Zetten said the City of Launceston's position in the Northern Tasmanian region was unique among all Councils in Tasmania, as it was impacted by the 'spillover effect' more than any other council in the State.
"The draft submission suggests a metropolitan Council model should be explored for the Northern Region so that the costs of regional assets are more equitably dispersed across the communities which benefit," Mayor van Zetten said.
"A future metropolitan-based Council could address the spill-over effects which we see in Launceston, but there would be other benefits including more effective regional planning and a more integrated approach to strategic growth.
"In addition, the draft submission suggests cost savings should not be the primary goal of future local government reform; rather the goal needs to be determining how we create a more robust and capable system of local government.
"I look forward to the discussion around the table next week as the City of Launceston considers endorsing this draft submission to the Future of Local Government in Tasmania Review."