Visions for Gippsland and Australia
Beyond State Governments:
Exploring Regional and Local Governance in an
Australia Without States
POST EVENT SUMMARY
The 11th Shed a Tier Congress was attended by about 40 people at the Mirboo North session on Saturday 9 July and about 25 people on Sunday 10 July in Sale, with a total of 50-55 people attending over the two days (noting that some attended both days). The majority of speakers and attendees were from Gippsland, but several participants came from other parts of Victoria, New South Wales, the ACT and Queensland.
All speakers (see final program accompanying this notice) either strongly supported or were strongly open to the idea of an Australia without State governments, though all were realistic that such change wouldn't be easy, and that more events like this Congress would need to take place to help generate a groundswell of grassroots support.
Saturday in Mirboo North
In the opening address on Saturday in Mirboo North, South Gippsland Councillor David Lewis stated:
State governments will be hard to remove. So we need to concentrate on the means to that end ... In general this implies supporting anything that strengthens Local government or the Federal government and the bonds between those two.
Lev Lafayette of Melbourne University recommended:
that the federal system of government be replaced by a confederacy of neighbourhood governments where everyone has the opportunity to participate
Charles Mollison of the Foundation for National Renewal (see http://www.national-renewal.org.au/start.html) described his model involving a single set of national laws and 100 regional parliaments.
Australian Democrats leader Senator Lyn Allison spoke of the possibilities for an increased role of local governments in health care, incremental reforms in areas such as industrial relations and health care, and of ideas Australia could borrow from the New Zealand system of government. John Hockey of Cape Woolamai, of the Australian Taxation Reform Group, supported the abolition of State governments as part of an overhaul of Australia's constitution and taxation system. Peter Consandine of the NSW based Abolish State Governments party spoke of his campaign to win an upper house seat at the 2007 NSW State election. Afterwards, at the Congress Dinner at the Grand Ridge Brewery restaurant, John August of the Abolish the States Collective (see www.asc.org.au) responded to several academics who have attacked the idea of abolishing the States.
Sunday in Mirboo North
On Sunday in Sale, Wellington Shire Councillor John Jago called for a national constitutional convention, to discuss possible reforms to our system of government, and of the gains possible through cooperation among regional groupings of councils. Councillor Gary Jungwirth of Hume City Council in Melbourne spoke of the importance of local democracy and of Hume City's Bill of Rights - possibly a world first. East Gippsland Independent MP Craig Ingram stressed the importance of local government networks and the need to remove inequities between local government areas and communities generally. John August, the Sydney based convenor of the Abolish the States Collective (see www.asc.org.au), summarised discussions and efforts generally over recent years in the quest to abolish State governments. Former MP for East Gippsland Bruce Evans reported on work he has done to expose rates inequities which see residents in Gippsland and elsewhere unfairly treated compared to their Melbourne counterparts and privately owned power plants in the Gippsland area. Peter Consandine and Charles Mollison provided repeats of their Saturday speeches. New State advocate Ian Johnston gave a presentation promoting a New State for a large portion of central inland Australia, with Alice Springs the proposed capital city.
Common themes from most or all speakers included the importance of empowerment, equitable financial resourcing and democratic structures for local and regional communities, the waste and buck-passing present with the current three levels of government, the need for a national set of laws, and the importance of a fairer deal for areas outside the capital cities. Individual speeches, or extracts, will be placed on the Beyond Federation website in coming weeks.
Beyond Federation wishes to thank the speakers and other attendees over the two days for their tremendous input and inspiring ideas. We also wish to thank Mirboo South resident Ron Brown who played a very large role in organising this event. Finally, we wish to thank the media for their excellent and generous efforts in reporting this event.
For further information please contact Beyond Federation co-convenor Mark Drummond (Canberra) at email markld@ozemail.com.au or phone 02 6255 0772 or by post at: 5 Loddon Street KALEEN ACT 2617 [please note: I (Mark D) will be away on a family holiday from Wednesday afternoon of 13 July until 20 July]
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Beyond Federation was established in January 2002
Convenors: Jim Snow & Mark Drummond
Committee Members in addition to Convenors: John August, David Bofinger,
Max Bradley, AJ Brown, Charles Mollison, Cath Moore, Klaas Woldring
Beyond Federation MEDIA RELEASE
towards a "best possible" system of government for Australia
postal address: 5 Loddon Street Kaleen ACT 2617 phone 02 6255 0772
Beyond Federation was established in January 2002
Convenors: Jim Snow & Mark Drummond
Committee Members in addition to Convenors: John August, David Bofinger,
Max Bradley, AJ Brown, Charles Mollison, Cath Moore, Klaas Woldring
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