Why Local Government Matters

1-7 August is Local Government Week in New South Wales, and this year's theme is 'Our Council, Our Community'. Councils provide invaluable services and support to local communities all year round, and Local Government Week reflects on the importance of councils to the community. Local Government Week is a great opportunity to explore all the ways that councils are a part of communities, and councils around New South Wales are organising a range of events and activities to showcase their day-to-day work.

Local Government Week also provides an opportune time to highlight the UTS Centre for Local Government (UTS:CLG) and the Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government's (ACELG) landmark research Why Local Government Matters. We have been undertaking this ground breaking national research to determine community attitudes to local government since 2015. The project is the first of its kind to explore community perceptions of Australian local government.  

Centre Director Associate Professor Roberta Ryan summarises some of the key findings of the research in this new video. 

Associate Professor Roberta Ryan, UTS Centre for Local Government:
Why Local Government Matters is a major piece of social research on community attitudes to local government by the Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government (ACELG), undertaken with substantial expertise from staff of the Centre for Local Government at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS:CLG). The research aims to better understand how and why the activities of local governments and their roles in society are valued by communities. 
 
The research investigates:
• What does place mean to people?
• The role of government
• How do people want their services delivered?
• How do people want to be involved in government?
• What do people think about local government?
• How do people's personal characteristics and values impact on their responses?
 
Based on a survey of 2,500 Australians and numerous focus groups around Australia, the research highlights that Australians feel a strong emotional connection to the local areas in which they live, providing them improved emotional wellbeing and a stronger sense of their personal identity. The respondents said that decisions are best made by involving communities, experts and government together in the process and that local government is the best level of government to make decisions about the local area. 
 
It is important that local government delivers a diverse range of activities, with planning for the future being amongst the most important. There is strong support for the role of government in service delivery, particularly in health and education, and Australians do not necessarily agree that the private sector or the market deliver the best or most efficient services. There is enormous support for government to provide services that deliver a healthier and fairer society, and that decisions about services should not be made just on value for money. The research also shows Australian communities want to be involved with government in making decisions about how and what services should be delivered in their local area.  
 
The report is important for Australian local government and other tiers of government, organisations and agencies that work closely with councils. The results are also invaluable for broader debates about reform of the sector, the role of local government in the federation, and immediate local-level issues such as service delivery, community participation in council decision-making, financial sustainability, and the wellbeing of local government areas. 
 

 

The Why Local Government Matters research aims to better understand how and why the activities of local governments, and their roles in society are valued by communities. The research investigates for example:

  • What does place mean to people?
  • The role of government
  • How do people want their services delivered?
  • How do people want to be involved in government?
  • What do people think about local government?
  • How do people's personal characteristics and values impact on their responses?

Based on a survey of 2,500 Australians and numerous focus groups around Australia, the research highlights that Australians feel a strong emotional connection to the local areas in which they live, providing them improved emotional wellbeing and a stronger sense of their personal identity. The respondents said that decisions are best made by involving communities, experts and government together in the process and that local government is the best level of government to make decisions about the local area. 

It is important that local government delivers a diverse range of activities, with planning for the future being amongst the most important. There is strong support for the role of government in service delivery, particularly in health and education, and Australians do not necessarily agree that the private sector or the market deliver the best or most efficient services. There is enormous support for government to provide services that deliver a healthier and fairer society, and that decisions about services should not be made just on value for money. The research also shows Australian communities want to be involved with government in making decisions about how and what services should be delivered in their local area.  
 
Why Local Government Matters resources: 
Summary report (PDF, 708.99kB)
Full report (PDF, 3.67MB)

 

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