On Tuesday 22nd Sept the WA Parliament's Select Committee into Local Government tabled its 448 page report into the operation and regulation of Local Government in WA. Here is your cheat sheet for its findings and recommendations.

The report's recommendations can be summarised into the following themes;

  1. A new Local Government Act should be modernised and include a "non exhaustive" statement of local government functions and clearly define the roles of Councillors and CEOs and what the council's governance role is;
  2. Cost Shifting to local governments should be considered in the explanatory memoranda of any new bill impacting on local governments;
  3. A new (or reworked old) parliamentary committee should be set up to deal with issues in the system of local government;
  4. The Office of the Auditor General's work be carefully considered by the Government to support local government financial management and refine financial reporting requirements;
  5. DLGSC be a one stop shop for complaints about the local government sector and be appropriately resourced;
  6. An early intervention policy be considered in dysfunctional councils;
  7. More training for individual Council members;
  8. The Local Government Standards Panel system should be improved;
  9. WALGA should not be constituted under the Local Government Act (or any new Act)

The full report can be obtained here.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

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