Premier’s Local Government Council
Special Meeting on the Nation Building and Jobs Plan
20 March 2009
The Premier’s Local Government Council (PLGC) met on 20 March 2009 to discuss the efficient delivery of infrastructure under the Prime Minister’s $42 billion Nation Building and Jobs Plan (NBJP) to boost Australia’s economic growth and create jobs in the context of the global recession.
As part of the Plan, all states and territories signed a National Partnership Agreement (NPA) worth $21 billion to deliver social housing and school infrastructure, provided a range of conditions are met – including extremely tight commencement and completion timeframes. Failure to meet these conditions will result in withdrawal of funding and, potentially, the reduction of an equivalent amount of future, untied Commonwealth funding (e.g., GST payments).
The PLGC meeting was an opportunity for the Tasmanian Government to update local government on the Tasmanian social housing, school and transport infrastructure projects likely to be funded under the NBJP. It was also an opportunity to inform and discuss the direction that the Tasmanian Government intends to take to meet the timeframes set by the Commonwealth for social housing and school infrastructure NPA projects.
Local government members agreed that the NPA represents a significant opportunity for Tasmania and that meeting the obligations under the Agreement would be a major challenge. They acknowledged the need to introduce exceptional measures to ensure the State receives its share of funding and avoids potential financial penalties.
Local government members noted the importance of local government planning expertise to the delivery and long-term success of NPA projects and committed to working with the Tasmanian Government to ensure Tasmania takes full advantage of the stimulus package. They also provided important input that will influence arrangements for the implementation of NPA projects over the next 12-18 months.
The Council agreed that discussions between the Tasmanian Government and local government on the matter would be ongoing.
The next meeting of the PLGC is scheduled for 8 April 2009, in Hobart.
