It's budget season in Canberra and now is the time make our shared budget aspirations known to our Federal representatives.
ALGA has put together a Federal Budget Submission with recommendations that are designed to benefit every community by improving local services and infrastructure, promoting fairness and boosting local, regional and national productivity.
The submission is titled Invest in Australian Communities and full copies can be found on the ALGA website at this link. Your council will also receive a headline summary of the submission in the mail next week.
In formulating its submission, ALGA listened to you and your local government association and summarised issues and proposals which are key to the vast majority of councils across the nation, not the least of which is our financial sustainability.
The proposals put forward in ALGA's submission not only support local communities but are estimated to boost the nation’s Gross Domestic Product by $9.5 billion and create more than 24,000 new jobs with economic benefits distributed across the entire country.
However, while it's our job to listen, to summarise, and to advocate at the national level – only you can make it local and relevant to your local Federal Member this budget season.
Your assistance in discussing our shared budget aspirations with your local Federal Member of parliament will multiply the number of voices speaking on behalf of local communities in Canberra.
You can help our collective national campaign enormously by making our budget proposals relevant to your local Federal Member, in your own language, using your own local examples and asking them to promote our collective concerns in their respective party rooms. Their voices will resonate with others from across the nation and be reinforced by our targeted advocacy in Canberra of every minister and shadow, and every department head we can talk to about these issues.
Investing in local communities is an investment in the prosperity and success of the nation. Book your meeting with your Federal Member(s) now and ask them to advocate for greater investment in local government this budget.