The President of the Australian Local Government Association says local councils need to have a larger role to play in
The President of the Australian Local Government Association says local councils need to have a larger role to play in the development of new transport routes.
Geoff Lake told delegates at the Urban Transport World conference in Sydney that state and federal governments need to ensure their local government counterparts have this opportunity.
“Local government has for many years called for direct federal involvement in the planning of cities and the funding of major urban transport policies,” he says.
“While local government has managed its urban planning role reasonably well, there are obvious advantages in a co-ordinated approach to city and transport planning.
“This raises questions about the number of councils in urban areas and how to most effectively meet the planning challenges of the population growth we face in coming years.”
Lake adds that in his view local governments can and must do better through a more co- ordinated approach, using regional structures that give them a stronger capacity to work with federal and state governments on major infrastructure needs.