5th Jun 2013, 7:04 PM – Representatives Constitution Alteration (Local Government) 2013 - Third Reading - Pass the bill

The majority supported passing the bill in the House of Representatives (in parliamentary jargon, they supported reading the bill for a third time). It will now be sent to the Senate for them to consider.

The main idea of the bill is to recognise local governments in the Australian Constitution but it can't do this on its own. To amend the Constitution, there must be a successful referendum (as required by Section 128).

Rebellious Liberals

Liberal MPs Alex Hawke and Dennis Jensen crossed the floor to vote against the bill.

Unlike Labor Party members, Liberal members are allowed to rebel. However, it is increasingly uncommon.

What does recognising local governments mean?

Recognising local governments in the Constitution would mean that the federal government could directly fund local governments instead of having to fund them through state governments.

For an academic discussion of the effects of recognition, see Professor Anne Twomey's report (906 KB).

Background to the bill

This is the third time that the federal government has tried to change the Constitution to recognise local governments. The first time was in 1974 and the second time was in 1988.

See the bills digest (775 KB) for more background information.