"What the High Court has effectively done is given carte blanche to the Federal Government in terms of using corporations power to essentially take over what they like in the states." quote South Australian Premier Mike Rann.
Should the Federal Government use their new found powers to legislate for the decentralisation of all areas of state control? Should responsibility for health, education, planning, transport and police be given by federal legislation to the level of government closest to the people: local government?
The states have done an extremely poor job in all areas. Let's look at their report card on planning.
Planning - C to C Minus. ABC News reported on November 16 2006 that a new report by the Planning Institute of Australia has found most states and territories are under-performing when it comes to planning. The institute has asked its members to rate the state or territory in which they live in terms of planning systems and outcomes.
The national report card focused on 10 key areas, including housing, growth management and infrastructure, but the institute's chief executive officer, Di Jay, says it was public transport that proved to be the greatest disappointment.
"Planners aren't happy with the level of investment that we're seeing in public transport and shifting people away from the car dependent sort of cities that we've been building," she said.
All states and territories were awarded a 'C', with the exception of Tasmania which lagged behind with a 'C minus'.
Local government knows what is needed. Some councils hold public transport forums, all NSW Councils have traffic committees. State governments are just so disconnected from the people, it is not surprising that they also have professional planners off-side.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment