East Gippsland Shire Council has advocated strongly for the region’s priorities at this year’s National General Assembly of the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA).
The assembly, held each June, is an opportunity for councils from across the nation to vote on motions submitted by participating councils. The motions focus on programs and policies that the Australian Government can support and work with the local government on, or new programs to help local government deliver national objectives.
At its March meeting, Council endorsed five motions for submission to the ALGA for consideration for inclusion on the assembly’s agenda. They covered the topics of:
Mayor Cr Mark Reeves said he was delighted that all five motions were adopted this week in Canberra.
“The National General Assembly is a way for local governments to collectively advocate to the Australian Government, and we are grateful for the support from other councils across the nation on what are key issues,” Cr Reeves said.
“As the level of government closest to communities, it is important for local government to work together to advocate on major community issues and aspirations to the Australian Government, for the betterment of residents everywhere,” Cr Reeves said.
“Motions were requested to focus on eight priority areas, including climate change and natural disasters. Being a council which has experienced floods and bushfires, East Gippsland has some valuable, lived experience of navigating through preparing,responding, and recovery to natural disasters to inform our voting at the assembly.”
Council also participated in the Australian Council of Local Government Forum, which has been re-established by the Albanese Government.
“This was an opportunity to meet with the Prime Minister and a range of federal ministers, including in portfolio areas that impact East Gippsland. These include regional development, local government, transport, climate change and energy to name a few,” Cr Reeves said.
“It was a great opportunity to use the collective strength of our Gippsland council colleagues to impress on a Commonwealth audience – both the Government and Opposition – on the many collective advocacy items for our region. This included the recent Victorian Government decision to bring forward the ban on all native hardwood timber harvesting by six years.”
Cr Reeves was also able to spend some time with the Governor-General, His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC and Mrs Linda Hurley during a dinner with 24 mayors at Government House.
“The Governor-General and Mrs Hurley have been very welcome guests of East Gippsland over the past three years as part of our 2019-20 bushfire recovery. The Governor-General passed on his best wishes to our community and indicated a return visit to East Gippsland within the next 12 months,” Cr Reeves said.