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School Education Kit: Local Government
This information was put together based on material supplied by the Local Government and Shires Assocation of NSW. This material, and more, is available at their website www.lgsa.org.au.
About Blue Mountains City Council
Blue Mountains City Council is responsible for one of the largest municipal areas in the world. The area comprises approximately 140,000 hectares (542 square miles), 26 townships or villages and has a population of 76,000.
History of Blue Mountains City Council
The inauguration of local government on the Blue Mountains commenced on 4 January 1889 when the Municipality of Katoomba was incorporated and in 1890 when the first Katoomba Council was formed.
On 13 June 1906 the Kanimbla Shire Council was incorporated. This Council covered the major part of the Mountains, except for Katoomba.
On 14 December 1919 the separate Municipality of Blackheath was incorporated.
For some time there were three councils operating in the Mountains but it became necessary to form a County Council to supervise the distribution of electricity and water supplies in the area and so on 1 July 1944 The Blue Mountains County Council was established. Other duties of the county council were the supervision and operation of the sewerage schemes.
In May 1946 Katoomba was proclaimed a City. On 1 October 1947 the Municipality of Blackheath, the City of Katoomba and the Blue Mountains Shire Council, together with the Blue Mountains County Council, incorporated to become the Blue Mountains City Council.
Further changes took place on 1 January 1980 when the electricity function was transferred to Prospect County Council and on 1 July 1980 when the Metropolitan Water, Sewerage and Drainage Board assumed responsibility for water supply and sewerage services in the City.
Further changes to the structure of local government and Blue Mountains City Council were made on 1 July 1993 when the NSW Local government Act took effect. This Act changed the responsibilities of the Mayor and Councillors and separated the functions more clearly from those of the General manager. The new act forced local government to become more responsible and accountable. One of the significant changes was to place all senior staff on performance based contracts.
Blue Mountains City Council has 12 councillors (including the Mayor who is elected by the Councillors) representing 4 wards within the City. The General Manager appoints the staff within Council.
Government - Who Needs It?
Without government, life becomes very difficult.
Imagine living in a town where the garbage was not collected, roads were not maintained and there were no playgrounds, sports fields, schools, hospitals or libraries.
We depend on governments to take care of many of these things. Each local community is different and different parts of the country have different needs. Things that are important in your town may not be relevant in another part of Australia, or event to the next town.
That's why we have local government - to look after the needs of the local community and its people.
Three Levels of Government
In Australia, we have three levels of government making decisions, Federal, State and Local Governments.
In all levels of government we have regular elections so if people are not happy with decisions the current government is making, they have the opportunity to vote in another group of people to form a new government.
Between elections, groups and individuals will often be active in trying to convince governments to change suggested policies or create new policies if they are not happy with the current situation.
Our system of government is often described as being democracy. To be precise we are in fact a parliamentary democracy. Democracy means "rule by the people".
However because it would be a very slow and costly exercise for people to vote on every single issue, we elect individuals to decide such matters on our behalf. We elect representatives for each of our three levels of government - Federal, State and Local Government.
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National Government (Australia)
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Foreign affairs
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Defence
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TV
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Radio
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Phones
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National Highways
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Immigration
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Pensions
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State Government (New South Wales)
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Police
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Fire Brigades
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Ambulances
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Public Schools
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Public Hospital
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Local Government (Blue Mountains City Council)
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Public Health
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Childcare
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Public Libraries
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Waste Collection
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Building Inspections
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Parks and Sports Fields
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Our Three Levels of Government
In Australia we have one National Government, six State Governments and approximately 700 Local Governments. In addition, we have two Territory Governments, the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory, which have similar roles as the State Governments.
The national government is called the federal government and its job is to decide on matters which affect the whole country - things like foreign affairs, the defence forces, TV, telephone services and social security payments. The leader of the national government is called the Prime Minister and the national government meets in the national capital, Canberra.
Each state has its own government. The states are responsible for education, health, police railways, main roads, public housing. The leader of the state government is called the Premier and State Governments meet in the capital city of their state; in NSW this is Sydney.
Local government is responsible for things like garbage collection, local roads, buildings, parks, libraries, childcare, youth services, social planning and the local environment. The leader of the Council is called the Mayor.
The reason why we have the three levels of government is largely due to European development.
The British established the Colony of New South Wales at Botany Bay. Shortly after colonies were established in Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia. The Colony of New South Wales was originally the whole of the east coast of Australia but later Victoria and Queensland seceded as separate colonies.
During the 19th century, the six colonies won self-government. Following the British system of government, they established Local Governments. In New South Wales, most of the metropolitan councils and larger country towns were established between 1859 and the turn of the century.
As the colonies developed and increased in population, people began to recognise a growing number of areas of common concern. Issues such as trade between the colonies, the need for a common immigration policy, and the need to sort these issues out quickly and locally, led to a call for the young colonies to join together as the one nation.
After lengthy discussions involving the six colonies and the British Government, the Colonial Governments agreed to give up some of their powers seen to be of common or national interest to a new Federal Government. The Colonial Governments, at the time of Federation in 1901, became known as State Governments. The State Governments retained most of the powers they had as Colonial Governments including Local Government.
How Local Government Came into Being
The first attempt to establish local government goes back as far as the 1840's when the councils of Sydney and Melbourne were both established. However, it was not until 1859 that the first general municipal legislation was proclaimed in NSW.
Most metropolitan councils, and councils of the larger country towns were established between 1859 and 1900.
Rural areas of NSW (including some areas which have now become part of metropolitan Sydney and Newcastle) were not incorporated until 1906, when the first shires were established.
The present system which covers all parts of the state was established under the Local Governments Acts of 1906 and 1919 when the various pieces of existing legislation concerning local authorities were consolidated.
The expanding role of Councils has increased demands of Local Government's financial and legal structure.
Traditionally the primary area of responsibility of councils was the provision and regulation of property related services. The major concern of the first local government authorities was to achieve an adequate system of roads and public sanitation.
Although these matters continue to be important councils are now increasingly involved in a wide range of community, cultural and recreational services.
Today many local councils are major organizations in their own right.
State/Local Government Relations
Local Government is not specifically mentioned in the Constitution so it gets its authority from a State Government Act. The relevant State Government has ultimate power over all councils in that State. In New South Wales this is the Local Government Act (1993). A total overhaul of this Act in 1993 out resulted in extensive reforms to Local Government.
If Councils act within the provisions of the Local Government Act, the State Government is unlikely to interfere. But if things go wrong in an individual council, such as allegations of corruption or gross mismanagement, the State Government may dismiss the elected councillors and appoint an administrator to sort out the problem.
Under the Local Government Act (1993) and other State legislation, such as the Public Health Act, Environment Assessment and Planning Act, the Bushfire Act and the Dog Act, councils are empowered to look after local matters, such as local roads, footpaths, garbage collection, parks and gardens, libraries and swimming pools. Councils also have a planning and coordinating role in the provision of community services.
Types of Councils
In New South Wales, all Local Governments are called councils. Some are referred to as city councils, while others are called shires. Although shires are usually rural, some of Sydney's outer councils still retain the title shire, such as Sutherland and Hornsby Shires.
In all councils, elected representatives are called councillors and the leader of council is known as the mayor . Council is usually divided into wards with a number of councillors representing each ward.
The Council meets in the council chambers or the town hall on a regular basis to discuss local issues and make decisions on behalf of the local community.
Residents are allowed to come along and attend council meetings and address the Council on certain issues.
County Councils and Regional Organisations
Some jobs are too big for one local council to do, but too small for the state or federal government to undertake.
Councils sometimes join together to get the job done. Sometimes they form a county council which can look at regional issues such as water control or flood plans. Representatives are elected from local councils and headed by a chair person. Often the county council will be formed for specific jobs, and will have no power beyond those jobs.
Sometimes councils join together to form a regional organization of Councils. These do not have any specific power but can be a good way for councils to get together to discuss regional issues which affect more than one council such as air pollution, job creation, insurance.
Blue Mountains Council belongs to the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils.
Wards
Some Councils like Blue Mountains cover a large area and are separated into wards. In the Blue Mountains each ward has three elected Councillors to represent the people of that area.
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First Ward (The Mounts and Bell to Leura)
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Second Ward (Wentworth Falls to Faulconbridge)
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Third Ward (Springwood to Warrimoo)
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Fourth Ward (Blaxland to Lapstone)
At Work in the Community
Blue Mountains City Council is one of the 152 Local Government Authorities in New South Wales. They all provide government of the local area by local people.
Originally, in New South Wales, the major responsibility of councils was constructing local roads and sanitation.
As the local communities grew so did the demand for additional local services. Local councils took on an expanded role in providing services to meet the needs of the local community . Today these areas include recreational, social, cultural and environmental matters.
Services
Council 's responsibility covers some key areas such as:
Providing: many services and supporting community services
Protection: ensuring the community is safe and clean
Prevention: pollution, noise, disease
Planning: future of community, what services will be needed
Representing: the area to other governments, to tourists and visitors, overseas
Local councils are responsible for many of the day to day services that make our lives run smoothly such as:
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Noxious weed control
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Car parks
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Building controls
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Waste disposal/recycling
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Cleaning public areas/roads/footpaths
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Childcare centres
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Libraries
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Youth centres
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Senior citizens centres
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Tourist Centres
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Protection of the natural environment
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Roads, maintenance, signs
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Streets - shopping centres/benches
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Parks and gardens
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Public works/community buildings
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Sports centres/swimming pools
Building control and preservation
Plans for all new buildings must be approved by Council to make sure they are safe and well built and comply with all regulations. Anyone who wants to build, or alter, a house or building must first get approval from Council.
If a building is of historical importance the person wanting to make alterations must comply with Council and the NSW Heritage Council regulations. In this way Councils can help save historic buildings.
Councils also inspect buildings at each stage of construction to make sure the work is being done properly.
Council areas also have different "zonings" so that factories are not built next to people's houses and the environment is protected.
Making the Decisions
Councils do a lot of different things to keep the local area running.
The elected Councillors do not do these things themselves; they do not maintain parks or build roads. Their job is to make decision about what work should get done and when it should get done.
They must take into consideration all the things that need to be done in the community, how much money the Council has to spend and work out what things have priority. The Councillors are there to represent the views of the community.
The main duties of elected Councillors are:
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To make decisions about the running of the community and the Council
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To listen to the problems and ideas of local people and take those ideas to the rest of Council
With some issues, groups in the community may actively try to convince council to make a particular decision. For example, bicycle users might want bike paths made or a group of residents may be concerned about plans to remove some trees. These groups are called Pressure Groups. Some are highly organised, permanent groups, such as the Chamber of Commerce, while others are less formal, forming over a particular issue then disbanding once the matter is resolved.
Each year, the councillors elect one councillor to be the mayor. He or she presides over council meetings and represents council at formal functions. The mayor makes sure that the general manager and council staff carry out council decisions.
Councillors are not paid a salary but receive an annual allowance to help cover expenses in fulfilling their role on council. They generally carry out their council duties in addition to their full time job in the workforce and/or commitments in the home.
Council staff provide reports to council to assist councillors in their decision making. For example, the council's engineers have the expertise to provide information on which roads require maintenance work, the cost of this work in the current financial year and how much more it could cost if this work is delayed.
Looking After the Community
Councils are concerned with directly helping members of the community. They do this by protecting public health and providing community services and recreational and cultural facilities.
Community Services
Councils can provide services especially for their residents. These include:
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Running baby health centres, child care centres, play centres
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Providing meals on wheels for elderly and sick people
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Providing housing and organizing activities for elderly people
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Providing drop in centres and activities for young people
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Working with other government agencies to plan and provide services
Recreation and Culture
Councils provide and run a number of places which help people living in the community, and visitors to the community, enjoy their free time. Blue Mountains Council runs libraries, sports centres, swimming pools and maintains parks and sports fields for the community.
As well council provides community halls or buildings for locals to use for meetings, and supports local arts and cultural events such as festivals, galleries.
Council also provides information to visitors to the area through the tourist information centres at Glenbrook and Katoomba and through the Blue Mountains Tourist Authority.
Public Health
Council makes sure that we all stay healthy by:
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Destroying rats and vermin
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Making sure public buildings, restaurants and shops are clean
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Providing public toilets
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Registering pets and collecting strays
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Protecting the environment
Business Community
Councils can support local business by supporting business networks, cleaning and maintaining shopping areas and promoting the area to visitors. This support of business can help create jobs in the region for local residents.
Doing the Work
To carry out the decisions made by the councilors, the council employs a number of staff.
Blue Mountains Council has around 300 staff members whose duties range from clerical services, to street cleaning, to construction workers, to health inspectors.
Each council employs a General Manager who runs the council and makes sure that council decisions are turned into action.
The General Manager is responsible for:
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employing all the other council staff
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ensuring that all the money council receives and spends is accounted for
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that council records are properly kept
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that the Councillors receive accurate and expert advice from council officers
All councils employ engineering staff who are responsible for public works such as roads, bridges, parks and special projects.
Environmental health surveyors look after public health and make sure the environment is clean and safe. They inspect shops and businesses to make sure they are following health regulations.
Local government planners make sure that development occurs in an orderly way by keeping activities (such as houses and factories) separate. They prepare plans setting out what building and activities can take place, and where. They work with building surveyors, who approve building applications and check construction to make sure that building rules are followed.
Council employs youth officers, recreation officers and community liaison officers, as well as child care workers, librarians, education officers, garbage collectors, gardeners and road workers.
Council also has planners who can talk to community to find out what the residents would like in the area and where they see their community in the future.
All of these people work together to provide the day-to-day services that council provides and to help work out what services the community will need in the future.
Meetings and Committees
Council Meetings
Councillors have regular meetings to make decisions about what council staff should do and what should happen in their area.
Most Council meetings are open to the public and Blue Mountains Council provides the agenda for the meeting to the public and on its website before the meeting.
This gives residents the chance to see what will be discussed at the meetings and to come along if there is something that will interest or affect them.
The Mayor chairs the meeting and the General Manager and council staff are there to provide more detailed advice to the councillors if needed.
There are detailed rules about how Council meetings are run and what records must be kept. The decisions made at the council meeting are recorded in the council "minutes" which are then made public.
Members of the Public may address the Council meetings on issues that concern them. There are some limits to how many people may talk on each subject and how long they may speak for. Generally three members of the public may speak for three minutes each on each item on the Council agenda.
Council Committees
It would take too much time at Council meetings to discuss the details of everything that Council is doing in the community. For that reason Councillors form committees to deal with specific issues, for instance one may deal with financial issues, another with the revitalization of the town centre. Sometimes special committees are formed to deal with a particular matter that is concerning the community.
Committees generally make recommendations to a full Council meeting where a final decision on the issue will be made.
This system helps councils get through the large amount of work they have to do.
Council Meetings are held in the Council Chamber at BMCC's Administrative Headquarters, Katoomba
Elections
The people who live in or own property in each local government are can chose who they want to represent them on their local council.
The state government makes the rules about how and when council elections are held. Elections are held every 4 years in NSW. A returning officer, who is appointed by the state government electoral office, runs them.
There are four main stages to electing a new council - nominating, campaigning, voting and vote counting.
Nominations
The first stage is to call for nominations, which the returning officer does by advertising in the local paper with information about how people can stand for election.
Anyone who is allowed to vote can stand for election. They must be nominated (have the written support) of two other people in the community. A person standing for election is called a candidate.
Campaigning
The candidates must convince the voters that they should elect them to council. They also want to let the voters know what they "stand for", what their position is on certain issues and what they will do for the community when they are elected
They can do this by:
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Media stories and advertisements
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House to house visits
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Public meetings
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Pamphlets
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Talking to clubs and societies
Voting
All residents must vote if:
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They are 18 or over; and
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An Australian citizen; and
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They have lived in the area for at least three months
People who own property in the area can vote in council elections even if they live somewhere else as long as they notify the council beforehand.
On Election Day each voter goes to the polling booth and is given a ballot paper which lists the names of all candidates in the election. The voter must mark the paper with numbers.
Counting the Votes
When the polls close the votes are counted to determine the new council. The results are formally announced by the returning officer and published in the media.
How Do We Pay For the Work?
There are four main ways councils get the money to pay for the things they do.
Rates
Most of Council's incomes comes from taxes on land; these are called rates.
Everyone who owns land or houses or other properties must pay rates to the council. The amount they pay each year depends on the value of their land. The amount paid by the owner of a flat would be less than the amount paid by the owner of a large property.
Rates do not have to be paid on all land. The state and federal governments don't pay rates on the land they own, nor do charities and churches. Schools don't pay rates, nor do local hospitals.
Charges
Another way council can get money is by charging a fee for some of the services they provide. Councils do not include the cost of collecting garbage in their rates, but charge for this separately.
Council charges money for you to dump rubbish at the tip, to swim at the local pool or to use the council run sports centre. You have to pay for building inspections and to register your dog.
These charges help Council pay for the services it provides.
Grants
Councils sometimes get money form the state or federal government in the form of grants.
Every council is given a yearly grant from the federal government and the council can decide how to spend this money in its district.
Other grants may be for specific projects and cannot be used for anything else. For example a grant to fix a road could not be used to buy books for the library.
Loans
Councils can also borrow money for major projects if they cannot afford to pay for them all at ones. The council must eventually pay this money back, with interest.
The Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area
On 29 November 2000 the Greater Blue Mountains was announced as Australia's 14th World Heritage Area. The Greater Blue Mountains Area was nominated for its outstanding natural values, including the biodiversity of its plant and animal communities, its vegetation dominated by Australia's unique eucalypts and for the unmatched beauty of its natural landscapes.
World Heritage listing of the one million hectare Greater Blue Mountains area:
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Grants international recognition of Australia's eucalypt forests and other scelerophyll (hard leaved) vegetation.
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Includes the largest protected, most intact, scelerophyll forest wilderness remaining within a broad range of temperate climates.
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Provides an exceptional living example of evolution of the modern Australian flora, to its present distinctive character in the classic Australian circumstances of low fertility soils, a drying climate and geographic isolation which is one of the great stories of the evolution of the earth's plant cover.
The listed property is made up of seven outstanding National Parks as well as the famous Jenolan Caves Karst Conservation Reserve. These include Blue Mountains, Wollemi, Yengo, Nattai, Kanangra-Boyd, Gardens of Stone and Thirlmere Lakes National Parks.
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