Hey Will Shakespeare, here’s a scurrilous plot for you!

On September 14, a referendum will be held to determine whether local government should be recognised in the Constitution. Currently it exists at the whim of state governments – did you know that?

This week the O’Farrell government is attempting to push a Bill through the NSW Parliament* that would hold local councils hostage to the whim of any current or future government.

Is there a connection? Is there an attempted pre-emptive move here?

For various reasons – some good, some bad – state governments find local governments annoying. Too many NIMBYs, too small to be viable, too quick to point out the state’s failings, always too loud in crying poor. It’s a fact that local government is the most immediate tier of our unwieldy governmental structure, the most connected to the community. This is a good thing. In fact, it’s essential to have a tier of government which is awake to and acting on the dodgy footpath in Ramsay St, the village renewal in the shopping centre, and the number of places and staffing in the local childcare centre. Any government which is beyond the local level loses touch, and the community feels left out.

What is also essential is a national government. Defence, foreign affairs and trade, health, education, major catchments and ecosystem management, national energy markets and long range strategic planning – all these sit naturally on the relevant desks in Canberra.

So what is state government for? What can state governments do that either local or national governments can’t? You tell me, because I can’t find a thing that they can do better than either of the other two. Why do we have them? Because they are a historical artifact of colonial days: Henry Parkes could not convince the various Premiers to merge into a truly national form, and so we are stuck with the legacy of poor vision from 1898. Excellent reason for state governments to exist. Brilliant.

Which leads back to the question of the Bill currently making its miserable and Machiavellian way through the NSW Parliament.

I suspect it’s an attempt to hobble the referendum, to weaken local government before it has a chance to finally grow up on the national stage. Deny it if you will Barry O’Farrell, but the evidence supporting my suspicions is compelling.

* Local Government Amendment (Early Intervention) Bill 2013

Another take on the situation can be found in The Fifth Estate, here.