83-568: City of Wagga Wagga is a local government area in the Riverina region of southern New South Wales , Australia. The mayor of the City of Wagga Wagga is Cr. Dallas Tout, an independent politician. The City of Wagga Wagga includes the suburbs of as well as the villages of Wagga Wagga was first incorporated as the Borough of Wagga Wagga on 15 March 1870. It received city status and became
166-588: A unitary authority , but the Australian Bureau of Statistics refers to the whole of the ACT as an unincorporated area. The ACT Government directorate Transport Canberra & City Services handles responsibilities that are under the purview of local government in other parts of Australia, such as local road maintenance, libraries and waste collection. Many Canberra districts have community organisations called "community councils", but these are not part of
249-536: A desire to regulate inter-colonial tariffs . Tensions existed, however, between the larger colonies and the smaller ones, and in the degree to which each colony embraced protectionist policies. Those tensions and the outbreak of the American Civil War harmed the political case for federalism in the 1850s and 1860s. In 1889 the Federal Council of Australasia was established. It arose out of
332-459: A fear of the growing presence of German and French colonies in the Pacific, and a growing Australian identity. The council could legislate on certain subjects but did not have a permanent secretariat, an executive, or independent source of revenue. Perhaps most problematically New South Wales , the largest colony, did not join the body. A series of conferences to discuss federalism was promoted by
415-591: A geographic or historical interpretation. The council board members are generally known as councillors , and the head councillor is called the mayor . As of August 2016, there were 547 local councils in Australia. Despite the single tier of local governance in Australia, there are a number of extensive regions with relatively low populations that are not a part of any established LGA. Powers of local governments in these unincorporated areas may be exercised by special-purpose governing bodies established outside of
498-545: A larger workload. The growth of the Regional Organisations of Councils has also been a factor in local government reform in Australia. In 1995, there were 50 such agreements across the country. A 2002 study identified 55 ROCs with the largest involving 18 councils. Local government powers are determined by state governments, and states have primary responsibility for funding and exclusive responsibility for supervision of local councils. Local government
581-606: A new draft which contained substantially the same principles of government as the 1891 draft, but with added provisions for responsible government . Some delegates to the 1898 constitutional convention favoured a section similar to the bill of rights of the United States Constitution , but this was decided against. This remains the case, with the Constitution only protecting a small and limited number of constitutional rights . To ensure popular support,
664-737: A referendum bill being approved at a national referendum. A national referendum under this section requires a double majority to be valid, which consists of a majority of votes nationally, and a majority of votes in a majority of states. The Constitution also contains a schedule setting out the wording of the oath and affirmation of allegiance. Under section 42, parliamentarians are required to take this oath or affirmation before taking their seat. The oath or affirmation reads: I, A.B. , do swear [or solemnly and sincerely affirm and declare] that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Victoria, Her heirs and successors according to law. [Optionally:] SO HELP ME GOD! ... (NOTE— The name of
747-474: A republic are the subject of significant contemporary debate. The most recent referendum occurred on 14 October 2023, in which a proposed amendment to establish an Indigenous Voice to Parliament was rejected. Political movements to federate the Australian colonies grew to prominence in the mid 19th century. Multiple motivations existed for increased political co-operation between the colonies; including
830-832: A right of appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council from the High Court remained. Several colonial chief justices and other conservative and financial interests had called for amendments to be made in London, with the British government also objecting to the proposed bill. Businessmen feared that an Australian court would be unduly influenced by local interests, whilst the UK wished to ensure that no local judgments would cause embarrassment internationally or within
913-403: A shift from 'services to property' towards 'services to people'. Community expectations of local government in Australia have risen in the 21st century partly as a result of wider participation in decision-making and transparent management practices. Recent years have seen some State governments devolving additional powers onto LGAs. In Queensland and Western Australia LGAs have been granted
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#1732781139630996-499: A state government and the reverse. Section 116 forbids the Commonwealth to establish a national religion, to impose any religious observance or prohibit the free exercise of any religion, or to impose a religious test for office. Chapter VI: New States allows for the establishment or admission of new states, and allows Parliament to provide for representation of the territories. It also provides that state boundaries must require
1079-583: A week later they would vote again joining Kunming as a sister city. Crows are considered a symbol of the city of Wagga Wagga, appearing in the council's logo, coat of arms, and throughout local business logos and public artworks. This is due to the debated interpretation of 'Wagga Wagga' being derived from a Wiradjuri term meaning 'place of many crows'. The floral emblem for the city is the Silver Banksia . Local government in Australia [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Local government
1162-638: Is a written constitution , that establishes the country as a federation under a constitutional monarchy governed with a parliamentary system . Its eight chapters sets down the structure and powers of the three constituent parts of the federal level of government: the Parliament , the Executive Government and the Judicature . The Constitution was drafted between 1891 and 1898 at a series of conventions conducted by representatives of
1245-480: Is composed of nine councillors elected proportionally as a single ward . All councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor is elected by the councillors at the first meeting of the council. The most recent election was held on 4 December 2021 , and the makeup of the council is as follows: The current Council, elected in 2021, is: A referendum was held on 8 September 2012 and an absolute majority of voters resolved in favour to reduce
1328-470: Is mentioned in the annotated Australian constitution, as a department of the State Governments, and they are mentioned in the constitutions of each of the six states. Under the Constitution, the federal government cannot provide funding directly to local governments; a 1974 referendum sought to amend the Constitution to authorise the federal government to directly fund local governments, but it
1411-447: Is part of a local government area. Unincorporated areas are often in remote locations, cover vast areas, or have very small populations. Queensland and Tasmania are entirely partitioned into LGAs and have no unincorporated areas. The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has no municipalities. The ACT government is responsible for both state-level and local-level matters. In some countries, such an arrangement would be referred to as
1494-504: Is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state/territory it belongs to. The functions and practices of local councils are mostly centered around managing public services and land uses at the community level, and are similar throughout Australia, but can vary to some degree between jurisdictions. State departments oversee the activities of local councils and may intervene in their affairs when needed, subject to relevant legislation. For more details in each state and territory, see
1577-640: Is the City of Brisbane , the most populous LGA in the country, which administers a significant part of the Brisbane metropolitan area . In most cases, when a city's population statistics are used, it is the statistical division population rather than the local government area. The following table provides a summary of local government areas by states and territories by local government area types as of December 2023: The Australian Classification of Local Governments (ACLG) categorises local governing authorities using
1660-583: Is the third level of government in Australia , administered with limited autonomy under the states and territories , and in turn beneath the federal government . Local government is not mentioned in the Constitution of Australia , and two referendums in 1974 and 1988 to alter the Constitution relating to local government were unsuccessful. Every state/territory government recognises local government in its own respective constitution . Unlike
1743-462: The High Court of Australia . The document may only be amended by referendum , through the procedure set out in section 128 . This requires a double majority : a nationwide majority as well as a majority of voters in a majority of states. Only eight of the 45 proposed amendments put to a referendum have passed. Proposals to amend the document to recognise Indigenous Australians and to become
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#17327811396301826-564: The Australian Capital Territory . Canberra was built within it and declared the national capital in 1913. Section 126 permits the governor-general to appoint deputies. Section 127 provided that "aboriginal natives" were not to be included in headcounts for electoral purposes. That section was removed by referendum in 1967. Chapter VIII: Alteration of the Constitution is a single section providing for amendments. It prescribes that alterations may only occur through
1909-590: The British Empire . Additionally, the restriction went against plans to create a new court of appeal for the whole empire. Following the amendment, restrictions on Privy Council appeals for some constitutional cases remained, with any further restrictions on appeals imposed by the Australian Parliament required to be "reserved for Her Majesty's Pleasure", meaning subject to approval by the UK government. After this and some other minor changes,
1992-544: The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act became law after receiving royal assent on 9 July 1900. This act, also known as the covering act, also authorised the Queen to proclaim the actual act of federation , which was done by Queen Victoria on 17 September 1900, to take effect on 1 January 1901. Prior to this Western Australia then agreed to join the Commonwealth to ensure it would be an "original state" alongside
2075-768: The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act from the Public Record Office in London was lent to Australia for the purposes of the Australian Bicentenary . The Australian Government requested permission to keep the copy, and the British Parliament agreed by passing the Australian Constitution (Public Record Copy) Act 1990 . The copy was given to the National Archives of Australia . A curiosity of
2158-664: The Local Government Act does not mandate adopting a designation, some local government areas are legally known simply as "council", such as Port Macquarie-Hastings Council , Inner West Council and Federation Council . Some rural areas in South Australia are known as "district council", and all the LGAs in Tasmania that were previously municipalities have been renamed "council". Almost all local councils have
2241-565: The Outback Communities Authority . Victoria has a number of unincorporated areas which are not part of any LGA: Western Australia has two unincorporated areas: Constitution of Australia [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Constitution of Australia (also known as the Commonwealth Constitution ) is the fundamental law that governs the political structure of Australia . It
2324-646: The Parliament of the United Kingdom . It came into effect on 1 January 1901 at which point the six colonies became states within the new Commonwealth of Australia. The Constitution is the primary, but not exclusive, source of Australian constitutional law , alongside constitutional conventions , state constitutions , the Statute of Westminster 1931 , the Australia Acts 1986 , prerogative instruments and judicial interpretations of these laws by
2407-735: The Pastoral Unincorporated Area in South Australia . Local governments are subdivisions of the six federated states as well as the Northern Territory . The Australian Capital Territory has no separate local government, and municipal functions in Canberra and the surrounding regions (normally performed by local governments in other states) are performed by the ACT territorial government. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), however, considers
2490-805: The Top End region, the Northern Territory Rates Act Area and Darwin Waterfront Precinct within Darwin , Nhulunbuy on the Gove Peninsula , Alyangula on Groote Eylandt , and Yulara in Central Australia . In South Australia , 63% of the state's area is unincorporated. Residents in this area – less than 0.2% of the state's population – receive municipal services provided by a state agency,
2573-478: The premier of New South Wales Henry Parkes ; the first held in 1890 at Melbourne, and another at Sydney in 1891. These conferences were attended by most colonial leaders. By the 1891 conference the federalist cause gained momentum. Discussion turned to what the proper system of federal government ought to be. A draft constitution was drawn up at the conference under the guidance of Sir Samuel Griffith , but these meetings lacked popular support. An additional problem
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2656-462: The "covering clauses". The second covering clause is interpretive, specifying that throughout the Act references to "the Queen" are references to "Her Majesty's heirs and successors in the sovereignty of the United Kingdom". Considering the emergence of a separate Australian monarchy, on one view the plain reading of this section suggests that it ensures that whoever is the monarch of the UK is automatically
2739-492: The 1898 draft was presented to the electors of each colony. After one failed attempt, an amended draft was submitted to the electors of each colony except Western Australia . After ratification by the five colonies, the bill was presented to the British Imperial Parliament with an address requesting Queen Victoria to enact the bill. Prior to the bill's enactment, a final change was made to ensure that
2822-435: The 2021 Census, 40.0% of residents stated their ancestry as Australian . Excluding not stated responses, 60.9% of residents in the City of Wagga Wagga nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity , which was higher than the national average of 47.1%. 85.3% of households only speak English at home, higher than the national average of 72%. Reformed Reformed Reformed Reformed Wagga Wagga City Council ( WWCC )
2905-507: The Australian Constitution. Some notable conventions include the existence of the prime minister as head of a Cabinet composed of senior ministers. Another is that the governor-general in exercising executive powers must in almost all circumstances act on the advice of the prime minister. Despite not being present explicitly in the Constitution, they are understood by the High Court to be incorporated by implication within
2988-441: The Australian people. Others contend this question is ultimately not a legal one, with the binding force of the Constitution the grundnorm ( ' basic norm ' ) or starting premise of the Australian legal system. Following the 2017–18 Australian parliamentary eligibility crisis , there was discussion of whether to retain or replace the current constitution. Former prime minister Bob Hawke advocated for getting "rid of
3071-479: The City of Wagga Wagga on 17 April 1946. The municipality enlarged substantially on 1 January 1981 when the adjoining Shire of Kyeamba and Shire of Mitchell were amalgamated into the City. The City of Wagga Wagga has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: At the 2021 census , there were 69,047 people in the City of Wagga Wagga local government area, of these 48.6% were male and 51.4% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 6.6% of
3154-573: The Commonwealth. Chapter IV: Finance and Trade deals with commercial matters within the federation. Section 81 prescribes all Commonwealth revenue to a Consolidated Revenue Fund , and section 90 gives the Commonwealth exclusive power over custom and excise duties. Section 92 is notable for prescribing "absolutely free" trade and commerce between the states. Section 96 allows the Commonwealth to make grants on terms determined by Parliament. Section 101 sets up an Inter-State Commission , now defunct. Chapter V: The States contains provisions dealing with
3237-536: The High Court (most notably in the landmark Boilermakers' case ) as giving rise of the separation of powers doctrine in Australia, most strongly between judicial and the other two powers. Chapter I: The Parliament sets up the legislative branch of government. It consists of the monarch , the Senate , and the House of Representatives . It provides for the number of representatives to attend each body, and provides that
3320-516: The High Court of Australia. The Parliament is authorised to create federal courts, and to vest the exercise of federal judicial power within the courts of the states. Section 74 (now defunct) provides for the circumstances in which an appeal may be made to the Queen in Council , section 75 provides for the High Court's jurisdiction, and section 80 guarantees trial by jury for indictable offences against
3403-494: The King or Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for the time being is to be substituted from time to time. ) Since 1901, other oaths or affirmations of office are made by prime ministers, ministers and parliamentary secretaries upon appointment to their office. The wording of these oaths are not set by statute and are set by the government of the day. Constitutional conventions are an important part of
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3486-548: The UK to appoint state governors , make laws that applied to the states and an appeal to the UK Judicial Committee of the Privy Council still existed for certain court cases. These remaining constitutional links to the United Kingdom were removed in 1986 with the passage of the Australia Act , leaving Australia fully independent of the British Parliament and legal system. In 1988, the original copy of
3569-515: The UK, it is theoretically possible for the separate people to be monarch of the UK and Australia via either of the countries passing diverging succession legislation. As such, to ensure that both positions are held by the same person, any succession laws must be changed in each Commonwealth realm, as was done most recently following the Perth Agreement . The Constitution Act contains a preamble. It does not discuss Western Australia due to
3652-465: The advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: The Constitution is divided into eight chapters, collectively containing 128 sections. The first three chapters state the respective powers of the legislature, executive, and judiciary. This split into three chapters has been interpreted by
3735-534: The blessing of Almighty God, have agreed to unite in one indissoluble Federal Commonwealth under the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and under the Constitution hereby established: And whereas it is expedient to provide for the admission into the Commonwealth of other Australasian Colonies and possessions of the Queen: Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with
3818-466: The consent of a state before alteration by referendum. Chapter VII: Miscellaneous contains provisions on varied topics. Section 125 establishes Melbourne as the nation's temporary capital, while providing for the eventual capital to be established within New South Wales but no less than one hundred miles (160 km) from Sydney . In 1911, New South Wales ceded to the Commonwealth what is now
3901-534: The constitution we've got", and replacing the Constitution with a system that does not include states. Constitution Day is observed on 9 July, the date Queen Victoria assented to the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act in 1900. The date is not a public holiday. Constitution Day was first held on 9 July 2000 to mark the centenary of the Constitution in the lead up to the Centenary of Federation . Further events have not been widely held since 2001. The day
3984-406: The document's history is that the act remains in force as a statute of the UK, despite Australia's subsequent independence. Under traditional legal theory, the Constitution is binding by virtue of the UK parliament's paramount authority over Australian law; however, various members of the High Court and some academics have expressed the view that the Constitution now derives its legal authority from
4067-453: The entire ACT as an " unincorporated " local government area, even though it is technically a state-level administrative region . Although all essentially identical in functions and jurisdictions, Australian local governments have a variety of different titles. The term "local government area" (LGA) is used by the ABS to collectively refer to all local government administrative zones regardless of
4150-597: The event of inconsistency between the laws. Section 52 contains a brief list of topics that only the Commonwealth may legislate upon. Some relevant powers of the governor-general are provided here: to summon, prorogue or dissolve the Parliament, and to give or refuse royal assent to federal bills. Other matters dealt within the chapter include eligibility issues for voting or standing in elections; and miscellaneous matters regarding parliamentary procedures and allowances. Chapter II: The Executive Government sets down
4233-504: The first half of the 20th century was the provision of physical infrastructure such as roads, bridges and sewerage. From the 1970s the emphasis changed to community facilities such as libraries and parks, maintenance of local roads, town planning and development approvals, and local services such as waste disposal. Child care, tourism and urban renewal were also beginning to be part of local governments' role. These are financed by collection of local land taxes known as "rates", and grants from
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#17327811396304316-448: The first time. Significant reforms took place in the 1980s and 1990s in which state governments used metrics and efficiency analysis developed within the private sector in the local government arena. Each state conducted an inquiry into the benefits of council amalgamations during the 1990s. In the early 1990s, Victoria saw the number of local councils reduced from 210 to 78. South Australia, Tasmania and Queensland saw some reductions in
4399-415: The following: The Australian Capital Territory is not divided into local government areas, so it is regarded as a single "unincorporated" local government area during censusing . Unlike many other countries, Australia has only one level of local government immediately beneath state and territorial governments. Aside from very sparsely populated areas and a few other special cases, almost all of Australia
4482-501: The government (though they generally receive government funding). They do not have the power to change laws or policies, and their role is limited to advising government. They are effectively residents' associations . New South Wales has three unincorporated areas: In the Northern Territory , 1.47% of the total area and 3.0% of the population are in unincorporated areas. These include the Cox-Daly and Marrakai-Douglas Daly areas in
4565-400: The governor-general to act on the advice of ministers and the existence of cabinet and the prime minister. This was intentional on the part of the framers of the constitution, however the High Court has found these principles arise as a matter of implication. Chapter III: The Judicature sets up the judicial branch. Commonwealth judicial power is vested in a federal supreme court to be called
4648-537: The late date which it agreed to join Federation. The preamble names all states except Western Australia, mentions God and recognises that the Australian people have agreed to unite under the Constitution. It ends with the standard enacting clause of the United Kingdom , acknowledging the Queen and the UK houses of Parliament as the legal authority of the act. WHEREAS the people of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, and Tasmania, humbly relying on
4731-546: The local legislation, as with Victoria 's alpine resorts ; or directly administered by state/territory governments, such as the entirety of the Australian Capital Territory . The administrative area covered by local government councils in Australia ranges from as small as 1.5 km (0.58 sq mi) for the Shire of Peppermint Grove in the Perth metropolitan region , to as big as 624,339 km (241,059 sq mi) for
4814-553: The mayor is elected by the board of fellow councillors . The powers of mayors vary as well; for example, mayors in Queensland have broad executive functions, whereas mayors in New South Wales are essentially ceremonial figureheads who can only exercise power at the discretion of the council. Most of the capital city LGAs administer only the central business districts and nearby central suburbs . A notable exception
4897-407: The monarch of Australia as well. However, other academics have suggested that this clause merely ensures that references to "the Queen" are not restricted to whoever was the monarch at the time of the enactment (i.e. Queen Victoria) and extends the meaning of the phrase to whoever is the currently lawful monarch under Australian succession law. As these laws are not automatically the same as those of
4980-567: The names of LGAs, and today the stylised titles of " town ", " borough ", " municipality ", " district ", " region ", "community government", " Aboriginal council/shire" and "island" are used in addition. The word "municipality" occurs in some states with differing meanings: in New South Wales it is typically used for older urban areas, and the word is used for some rural towns in South Australia . Larger towns and small metropolitan exurban centres in Queensland and Western Australia simply use
5063-655: The number of councillors from eleven to nine. The change came into effect at the September 2016 elections. In December 2009, Wagga Wagga City Council announced that it had appointed Phil Pinyon as the general manager of the Wagga Wagga City Council replacing Lyn Russell, who suddenly announced her resignation in October 2009, after completing 18 months of her five-year contract. In April 2020, The Wagga council voted to cut ties with China's Kunming city;
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#17327811396305146-649: The number of local governments while Western Australia and New South Wales rejected compulsory mergers. New South Wales eventually forced the merging of some councils. The main purpose of amalgamating councils was for greater efficiency and to improve operations, but forced amalgamation of councils is sometimes seen as a dilution of representative democracy . An increase in the range of services offered by councils, but only minor cost savings of less than 10% have been noted by academics as outcomes after mergers. The council mergers have resulted in widespread job losses and lingering resentment from some whose roles have experienced
5229-517: The other five colonies. At Federation, six British colonies became a single federated nation. Some British Imperial laws remained in force, together with those of the Australian colonies although, according to Robert Menzies , "the real and administrative legislative independence of Australia" was never challenged after federation. The power of the British Imperial Parliament to legislate with effect in Australian federal law
5312-560: The part of local governments. There is no mention of local government in the Constitution of Australia , though it is mentioned several times in the Annotated Constitution of Australia. "Municipal institutions and local government" appears in Annotation 447, and "Power of the Parliament of a Colony" appears under "Residuary Legislative Powers" on pages 935 and 936. The first official local government in Australia
5395-423: The population, close to twice the national average of 3.2%. The median age of people in the City of Wagga Wagga was 35 years, which was lower than the national median of 38 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 20.3% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 15.2% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 44.8% were married and 11.3% were either divorced or separated. At
5478-818: The population, the population density and the proportion of the population that is classified as being urban for the council. The classification, at the two-digit level, is: All local governments are approximately equal in their theoretical powers, although LGAs that encompass large cities such as Brisbane and the Gold Coast command more resources due to their larger population base. Unlike local governments in many other countries, services such as police, fire protection and schools are provided by respective state or territory governments rather than by local councils. However, local governments still maintain some responsibility for fire service functions within Queensland and Western Australia. The councils' chief responsibility in
5561-414: The power to independently enact their own local subsidiary legislation , in contrast to the previous system of by-laws . Councils also have organised their own representative structures such as Local Government Associations and Regional Organisations of Councils . Doctrines of New Public Management have shaped state government legislation towards increased freedoms aiming to allow greater flexibility on
5644-604: The powers of the executive government. Executive power is vested in the monarch and exercisable by the governor-general , who appoints the Federal Executive Council and is to act with its advice. The governor-general is empowered to appoint and dismiss ministers, and is the Commander-in-Chief of the Australian armed forces. However, the Constitution does not set out explicitly the constitutional conventions of responsible government that require
5727-538: The purpose of raising money to build roads in rural and outer-urban regions. Council representatives attended conventions before Federation , however local government was unquestionably regarded as outside the Constitutional realm. In the 1970s, the Whitlam government expanded the level of funding to local governments in Australia beyond grants for road construction. General purpose grants become available for
5810-461: The representatives attending both must be chosen directly by the electorate. Each electorate of the House of Representatives is apportioned equally by population, whereas senators are allocated unevenly between "original states", the territories, and future states (of which none presently exist). The House of Representatives is required to have twice as many members as the senate. Chapter I also defines
5893-492: The role of the monarch in relation to the Parliament, although the monarch's own powers over legislation are now regarded as defunct. The chapter notably also provides for the powers of the Commonwealth parliament. The Parliament is not granted plenary power by the Constitution. Section 51 contains a list of topics Commonwealth Parliament is permitted to legislate upon (known as the heads of power ). States may also legislate upon these topics, but Commonwealth law prevails in
5976-408: The same administrative functions and similar political structures, regardless of their naming, and retain a particular designation ("shire", "borough", "town", "city") for historical reasons only. They will typically have an elected council and usually a mayor or shire president responsible for chairing meetings of the council. In some councils, the mayor is a directly elected figure, but in most cases
6059-518: The six self-governing British colonies in Australia: New South Wales , Victoria , Queensland , Western Australia , South Australia and Tasmania . This final draft was then approved by each state in a series of referendums from 1898 to 1900. The agreed constitution was transmitted to London where, after some minor modifications, it was enacted as section 9 of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 , an act of
6142-493: The state and Commonwealth governments. They are caricatured as being concerned only with the "three Rs": Rates, Roads and Rubbish. However, the roles of local government areas in Australia have recently expanded as higher levels of government have devolved activities to the third tier. Examples include the provision of community health services, regional airports and pollution control as well as community safety and accessible transport. The changes in services has been described as
6225-430: The states and their role in the federal system. Sections 106–108 preserve the powers of the states, section 109 provides that Commonwealth legislation prevails over that of a state to the extent of any inconsistency. Section 111 provides for surrender of state territory to the Commonwealth, section 114 forbids states to raise military forces without Commonwealth permission, and also forbids the Commonwealth to tax property of
6308-621: The term "town", while in Victoria they are designated as "rural city". Historically, the word "borough" was common for small towns and suburban centers in Victoria, but nowadays only the Borough of Queenscliffe remains as the one and only borough in the entire country. New South Wales and Queensland have also introduced a new term "region" for outback LGAs formed by the amalgamation of smaller shires and rural cities. In New South Wales, where
6391-756: The two-tier local government system in Canada or the United States , there is only one tier of local government in each Australian state/territory, with no distinction between counties and cities . The Australian local government is generally run by a council , and its territory of public administration is referred to generically by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as the local government area or LGA , each of which encompasses multiple suburbs or localities (roughly equivalent to neighborhoods) often of different postcodes ; however, stylised terms such as "city", " borough ", " region " and " shire " also have
6474-501: The varying designations, whilst the local governing legislature itself is generally known as a council . In general, an urban / suburban LGA is called a " city ", as in the City of Melbourne , City of Canada Bay and City of Bunbury ; while an exurban / rural LGA covering a larger agricultural / natural area is usually called a " shire ", as in Shire of Mornington Peninsula , Shire of Banana and Lachlan Shire . Sometimes designations other than "city" or "shire" are used in
6557-539: Was defeated. A 1988 referendum sought to explicitly insert mention of local government in the federal constitution but this was comprehensively defeated. A further referendum was proposed in 2013 , but was cancelled due to the change in the election date . Federal government interaction with local councils happens regularly through the provision of federal grants to help fund local government managed projects. Local government in Australia has very limited legislative powers and no judicial powers , and executive -wise
6640-530: Was restricted by the UK's passage in 1931 of the Statute of Westminster , adopted into Australian law by the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 . The adoption act acceded Australia to the Statute of Westminster retroactively, with the date set to 3 September 1939, when Australia along with the rest of the British Empire entered World War II. The Statute did not however remove the ability for
6723-488: Was revived in 2007 and is jointly organised by the National Archives and the Department of Immigration and Citizenship . The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 (Imp) was granted royal assent on 9 July 1900. It consists of nine sections. Section 9 contains the Constitution itself. Since the Constitution itself is divided into sections, sections 1 to 8 of the Act have come to be known for convenience as
6806-432: Was that this draft constitution sidestepped some critical issues like tariff policy. The 1891 draft was submitted to colonial parliaments; however, it lapsed in New South Wales. After that event other colonies were unwilling to proceed. In 1895, the six premiers of the Australian colonies agreed to establish a new convention by popular vote. The convention met over the course of a year from 1897 to 1898. The meetings produced
6889-566: Was the Perth Town Trust , established in 1838, only three years after British settlement. The Adelaide Corporation followed, created by the province of South Australia in October 1840. The City of Melbourne and the Sydney Corporation followed, both in 1842. All of these early forms failed; it was not until the 1860s and 1870s that the various colonies established widespread stable forms of local government, mainly for
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