24th Jun 2013, 8:04 PM – Senate Constitution Alteration (Local Government) 2013 - Second Reading - Fund yes and no campaigns equally

This division relates to the Policy For constitutional recognition of local government.

The majority voted against a motion that: further consideration of the bill be made an order of the day for the first sitting day after the Government puts into place financial arrangements to provide for equal funding for both the ‘yes’ and the ‘no’ cases, to ensure that the Australian community is properly informed about the arguments for and against the proposed change to the Constitution.

This motion was introduced by Senator George Brandis and would have required the Federal Government to fund the yes and no campaigns for constitutional recognition of local government equally.

Background to the bill

This bill represents a third attempt to have local government recognised in the Australian Constitution. Previous attempts occurred in 1974 and 1988.

Recognition of local government in the Constitution would mean that the Commonwealth can directly fund local government.(For an academic discussion of what it means to recognise local government in the Constitution and the background of this latest attempt to do so, see Professor Anne Twomey's report (906 KB). ) Currently the Federal Government can only fund local governments through the states.

Because this bill requires altering the Constitution, conditions under Section 128 apply. These conditions include that the bill must pass both the House of Representatives and the Senate and then be submitted to voters in the states and territories in the form of a referendum. To be successful, there must be a double majority, which means:

• more than half of voters in Australia must vote 'Yes'; and
• more than half of voters in more than half the States must vote 'Yes' (in other words, a majority of voters in at least four of the six States must vote 'Yes')(Read more about what a double majority is here.)

More information about this Bill and the context surrounding it can be found here (775 KB) in its bills digest.

References