Shaping and Selling a ‘New Australian Localism’ Graham Sansom

Starting points How to address the crisis of confidence in government, alienation and populist fixes? People are focusing inward on their individual/family lives and appear increasingly pessimistic about their personal futures Overall, attention to broader economic/social/environmental issues facing society as a whole has declined The neoliberal agenda seems stronger than ever: government as an instrument of private wealth – and hence growing inequality So what can be done at the local level to improve wellbeing, recapture a sense of optimism, and restore social capital?

A ‘new Australian localism’ Conference will explore interlocking themes around place, community, engagement, devolution, collaboration, innovation … Trust in central governments is declining, especially Federal World-wide interest in local and regional responses to ‘wicked issues’ LG is the only sphere that is continuously place-based, multi- functional and directly accountable to local communities Opportunities: Place-based leadership Innovation potential (500+ sites) Collaborative planning and service delivery Local and regional partnerships Using and sharing LG’s considerable resources Governance NOT Government; Leadership NOT Control; Solutions NOT Problems

Place-based leadership (Hambleton) Counterweight to globalisation Concerted action by a range of local players to secure the futures and values of places and communities Collaborative mechanisms – Local Strategic/Enterprise Partnerships in UK Necessary leadership can emanate from any of the three realms: councils must facilitate, not control

Inconvenient home truths Local Government is ideally positioned to shape the ‘new localism’ to address the challenges we face BUT: Whilst LG may be ‘closest to’ the people, is it really seen as being ‘of’ the people? LG is only marginally more trusted than federal and state governments ‘All politics is local’ – so local space is congested and contested political territory, especially in relation to the states (remember MPs are ‘local’ too) LG has by and large failed to shape and sell a convincing story about its broader role and potential – being good at service delivery is not enough

Federal perspectives How it looks now State Is LG’s ‘dream run’ of federal engagement coming to an end? LG’s low profile cf business, ACOSS, think tanks Challenge: federal budget deficit + State re-centralisation (legislative control, ‘big projects’, rate-capping etc) Opportunity: feds want to be ‘local’ too but can’t ‘occupy’ the space like the States Feds need partners and have invested heavily in LG (but also the States and community-based organisations) eg City Deals Commonwealth State Local

What must local government do? Evolve or risk fading into insignificance (It’s Darwin, Stupid!) Articulate the ‘new Australian localism’ based on its broader role and potential (economic, social, environmental) Demonstrate that it can do more with its own resources Connect local, regional and national concerns eg City Deals Build and lead strategic local and regional partnerships with key players (important role of mayors) Create space for – and facilitate – community self-help and enterprise: reinforce and extend its community base Worry less about the States and partner more with the Feds (invest in a relationship, don’t just ask for money) Stay on message as a sector Become the indispensible ‘government of communities and places’