The annual Australian Local Government Association National General Assembly was held in Canberra from 19 to 22 June. For the first time in this Council term, I attended the Assembly, accompanied by Council CEO Sarah Philpott, joining approximately 1000 delegates from Australia’s local governments.
The theme for the Assembly was Partners in Progress and followed on from the work of the Australian Local Government Association in the lead-up to the recent Federal Election, where our advocacy was ‘Don’t leave local communities behind’.
At the Assembly, I was pleased to note that the importance of the role of local government was reaffirmed by federal members of Parliament who attended and spoke at the Assembly.
-Lynette Martin, Mayor, City of Mount Gambier
City of Mount Gambier put forward three Motions to the Assembly concerning regionalisation, regional housing and homelessness, which were carried, and another in relation to federal support
for circular economy initiatives, which, due to lack of time to address at the Assembly, will be debated at a future ALGA Board meeting.
Sarah and I also took the opportunity to meet with Minister Catherine King, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Minister Kristy McBain, Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories, Dr Rachel Bacon, Assistant Secretary Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, as
well as the Regional Australia Institute and National Farmers Federation.
These meetings were positive and allowed us the opportunity to promote Mount Gambier and the Limestone Coast Region as areas worthy of investment in meaningful infrastructure projects to
provide a sustainable economic future for our region and to further contribute to the economic success of South Australia and Australia.
The Regional Australia Institute has released a consultation paper called Rebalancing the Nation, which aims to see the opportunities and potential of regional Australia realised, leading to a more
productive, balanced and equitable Australia.
City of Mount Gambier aims to ensure that we are considered part of this plan and will continue our
advocacy to achieve this.
