Address to Australian Council of Local Governments

OPEN AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS  

I acknowledge Ngunnawal and Ngambri people.

And I acknowledge the distinguished audience here today.

I am Patrick Gorman.

As Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister I have the pleasure of assisting Prime Minister Albanese and I have corresponded with many of you over the last year.

To all the deputy mayors, I know how you feel.

Everyone wants to see the boss.

Thankfully, you all had dinner with him last night.

INTRODUCTION

It is an honour to address the first Australian Council of Local Government in a decade.

Ten years ago this body last met.

But I want to start my remarks back thirty years ago.

This week back in 1993, my favourite film about mosquitoes and power outages was released.

Jurassic Park was a film with everything.

Almost.

Isla Nebular did not have a local government.

And I think that this is where things went wrong.

The roads were of poor quality.

There were large parks, but no playgrounds.

No first responders when the storms came in.

The dinosaurs had nowhere to send their complaint emails.

Jurassic Park also tells us lots about trust.

Which is the topic of today’s session.

Remember the reason that the dinosaurs escaped was because of a rogue employee.

Dennis Nedry shut down the park’s security system to steal dinosaur embryos.

A reminder that without trust, everyone gets eaten by dinosaurs.

You are trusted partners.

Local government is fundamental to the development and delivery of policies and programs for all Australians.

BUILDING TRUST AND MEETING COMMUNITY EXPECTATIONS

As Assistant Minister for the Public Service I know the important role you play in supporting communities with their everyday life.

The Australian Government must lead from the front, and set the bar high for trust and good governance.

This is something the Albanese Government takes very seriously.

We must be stewards, protecting the integrity of relationships between public servants and the Government, the Parliament and the Australian community.

Every level of government faces challenges when it comes to building trust and meeting community expectations.

It is something that as a nation, and in our local communities, we know all too well.

The Government’s Australian Public Service Reform agenda is looking to address this by:

• embodying integrity in everything it does

• putting people and business at the centre of policy and services

• being a model employer, and

• developing the capability and expertise to do its job well.

These themes are not unique to the APS.

These same challenges are faced by every level of government, including local councils.

There is no doubt building and retaining people’s trust will be challenging.

CONFIDENCE IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Now, please don’t walk away from today feeling overwhelmed by the magnitude of the opportunity and the challenge before us.

Because we all have lived experience of local government stepping up to the plate.

From natural disasters, to human tragedy through to managing growth and opportunity.

I saw this growing up in Fremantle in the 1980s.

A beautiful, humble port city.

A city that embraced opportunity when it knocked.

That knock came loudly when Australia won the America’s Cup in 1983.

Fremantle was to host the world’s oldest continuing international sporting competition.

And it showed me what local government can do.

The City of Fremantle did rise to the challenge.

From planning by-laws, to tourism infrastructure and much more.

As the New York Times reported:

Earthmovers roam the streets of Fremantle like golf carts on a busy Saturday...

The sewers and the electrical network are now more than ample.

It is, by most accounts, a city that will be set for the next 10 years in terms of community services.

Mayor John Cattalini sees the America's Cup as an event that has enabled the city to fulfill its dreams.”

So while I started with the nightmare of a dinosaur theme park gone wrong.

I will end with the dreams that local government delivers.

Dreams for our community.

Dreams for our families.

Dreams for Australia’s future.