The Local Government sector in Western Australia accounts for a staggering $4.1 billion contribution to our state’s economy every year, yet the closest level of government to the people has become one of the most bureaucratic and unaccountable.
The Liberal Democrats have a plan to change that.
If elected, we will:
- Impose an immediate freeze on Council Rates across WA, to ensure that local governments return to an ethos of living within their means
- Tear up the partnership agreement between WALGA, Local Government professionals, and the State Government, immediately ending WALGA’s monopoly, and opening the sector to competition from local businesses
- Legislate to simplify planning approval processes, and reinstate the principle that owners have a right to do what they will with their property, so long as it doesn’t negatively impact upon their neighbours;
- Commit to producing a comprehensive Green Paper on Local Government Reform within twelve months of the new parliament being sworn in.
The current status quo, which sees automatic rates increases year upon year, and an ethos that encourages wish-list building at the expense of the local ratepayer, has to stop. The major parties have failed to address it over numerous terms of government, but the Liberal Democrats have a workable plan and a commitment to immediate and effective change in this vital area of our economy.