House of Representatives Committees

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Final report on the majority finding of the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Local Government: the case for financial recognition, the likelihood of success and lessons from the history of constitutional referenda

March 2013

View the report as a single document - (PDF 334KB)

View the report as separate downloadable parts:

Preliminary pages	(PDF 104KB)

Chapter 1 The inquiry	(PDF 143KB)
Scope of the inquiry Major findings Content of submissions

Chapter 2 The case for recognition	(PDF 278KB)
Direct funding today Removing uncertainty Further challenge to direct funding The Commonwealth’s legal advice Uncertainty in local government Codifying government practice Acknowledging local government’s role Supporting the financial sustainability of local government

Chapter 3 Likelihood of success	(PDF 201KB)
State support Local government support Preconditions National civics education campaign ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ cases Legislative limit on spending Funding of partisan campaigns Other matters

Chapter 4 Lessons from history	(PDF 196KB)
Previous local government referenda The strengths of 2013 Bipartisan support Correcting uncertainty Momentum for change The risks of delay Major finding

Appendix A – Submissions	(PDF 65KB)

Appendix B – Exhibits	(PDF 38KB)

Appendix C – Hearings and witnesses	(PDF 59KB)

Dissenting report – Senator David Bushby, Senator David Fawcett and Mr Steve Irons MP	(PDF 265KB)

Additional comments – Mr Mark Coulton MP and Mrs Jane Prentice MP	(PDF 173KB)