![]() | This article is rated Start-class on Wikipedia's
content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects: | |||||||||||||||||||
|
I think this article should be merged with Local Government Area. There is some repetition already and I don't see the point of two articles. There should be a sub-section with this one dealing with the statistical concept.-- Arktos talk 19:49, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
I would also turn the Local Government Areas articles in each state into general local government articles. What purpose does a list like Local Government Areas of Queensland serve over Category:Local Government Areas of Queensland or even Template:Local Government Areas of Queensland.. Why not just have a Local Government in Queensland article, include the template and add the category and use the introductory content from the list as a start. Perhaps this needs discussing at WP:AUSTPLACES who maintain the lists, to get a wider range of views. Cheers. -- Mattinbgn/ talk 01:01, 28 March 2007 (UTC)
I think that each state and territory needs a section. The section on Tasmania for example could mention that local government is mentioned in the constitution (Tas), but is expanded on the Local Government Act 1993 (I think). The sections would also explain what local government means in each state. In Tasmania, libraries are run by the state government, not the councils (for example). I can't be fucked doing anything about it though so ... AFA 23:20, 26 March 2007 (UTC)
The states (and territories) run the majority of the government in Australia and devolve some of this power down to local government, local councils. Because this devolution of power happens on a state by state basis, in different states, the local councils have different powers. Though generally they provide water, sewerage and look after local roads, with the states looking after health, education, police and so on.
Tasmania, like the other states, has a constitution. Unlike the Australian constitution the Tasmanian one is simply an act of parliament, as such to change it requires no more then a majority in the parliament, not a referendum. This constitution (among other things) establishes local government in Part "IVA - Local Government" (Tasmanian Constitution). However, this part while establishing the fact that councils will exist, leaves open how they are operated and what their powers are. Both the system and power of the councils being provided by the "Parliament ... from time to time" (Tasmanian Constitution). It is the "Local Government Act 1993" (referred hereafter to as either the 'LGA' or 'the act') that currently provides for the creation of the various councils, the role of the councillors, what power the councils have and so on.
The act requires that the various councils "provide for the health, safety and welfare of the community", "represent and promote the interests of the community", and "provide for the peace, order and good government of the municipal area". Generally the act permits councils to "do anything necessary or convenient to perform its functions either within or outside its municipal area". Specifically, the act provides for the various councils to have the following powers (among others): to charge land rates, "service rates", special rates and to levy fines (in relation to by-laws); and, to make by-laws in respect to anything the council has power to do.
It has been suggested on both the talkpages Talk:Local government areas of Australia and Talk:Local government in Australia back in ancient history that these two articles should be merged, but nothing appears to have happened to it.
I wish to propose merging them:
— Felix the Cassowary 23:05, 9 March 2011 (UTC)
Given some recent edits to this table, I have to ask what is the purpose of this table anyway. In particular the use of the term "council" here as some kind of LGA is concerning me. Local government areas are just that: an area, a boundary on a map. We give them a range of names: boroughs/municipalities/towns/cities/shires/districts/regions etc. In most cases the differences in these names naming don't signify anything much - just differences between the states and often differences over time within states (some of the names date back to the 1800s). About the only difference is that names like boroughs/municipalities/towns/cities generally indicate the presence of a large urban area, where terms like shire are sometimes reserved for more rural areas, but there are almost certainly counter-examples of both. Something that was a thriving mining town in the 1800s might be nothing but cattle grazing today and over time a number of rural areas have been subdivided as suburban housing, and often the names of the LGA do not change to reflect the land use change. But I don't believe that the names town/shire etc matter much in terms of their roles and responsibilities, so I am not sure why we are particularly trying to make such distinctions in this table. It may be that in some states there are distinctions in the roles and responsibilities depending on the name, but if so, that's a state issue that can be explained within the relevant article Local Government in WhateverState.
The use of the term council in this table seems to me to be meaningless. Every LGA has some kind of governing body (usually elected). Again, the names for this vary, but council is the most common one , but there may also be some appointed administrators and other arrangements. But my point is this - areas/boundaries are lines on the map, councils/etc are those who run them. It makes no sense to have rows in this table talking about councils, district councils, regional councils etc.
Can I suggest we could just simplify the table by reporting the number of LGAs in each state. Or else decide what criteria should be considered in differentiating between LGAs, eg. has an urban area with greater than X population, which can be objectively decided, rather than basing it on the somewhat random names given to LGAs. Kerry ( talk) 21:41, 17 January 2016 (UTC)
![]() | This article is rated Start-class on Wikipedia's
content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects: | |||||||||||||||||||
|
I think this article should be merged with Local Government Area. There is some repetition already and I don't see the point of two articles. There should be a sub-section with this one dealing with the statistical concept.-- Arktos talk 19:49, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
I would also turn the Local Government Areas articles in each state into general local government articles. What purpose does a list like Local Government Areas of Queensland serve over Category:Local Government Areas of Queensland or even Template:Local Government Areas of Queensland.. Why not just have a Local Government in Queensland article, include the template and add the category and use the introductory content from the list as a start. Perhaps this needs discussing at WP:AUSTPLACES who maintain the lists, to get a wider range of views. Cheers. -- Mattinbgn/ talk 01:01, 28 March 2007 (UTC)
I think that each state and territory needs a section. The section on Tasmania for example could mention that local government is mentioned in the constitution (Tas), but is expanded on the Local Government Act 1993 (I think). The sections would also explain what local government means in each state. In Tasmania, libraries are run by the state government, not the councils (for example). I can't be fucked doing anything about it though so ... AFA 23:20, 26 March 2007 (UTC)
The states (and territories) run the majority of the government in Australia and devolve some of this power down to local government, local councils. Because this devolution of power happens on a state by state basis, in different states, the local councils have different powers. Though generally they provide water, sewerage and look after local roads, with the states looking after health, education, police and so on.
Tasmania, like the other states, has a constitution. Unlike the Australian constitution the Tasmanian one is simply an act of parliament, as such to change it requires no more then a majority in the parliament, not a referendum. This constitution (among other things) establishes local government in Part "IVA - Local Government" (Tasmanian Constitution). However, this part while establishing the fact that councils will exist, leaves open how they are operated and what their powers are. Both the system and power of the councils being provided by the "Parliament ... from time to time" (Tasmanian Constitution). It is the "Local Government Act 1993" (referred hereafter to as either the 'LGA' or 'the act') that currently provides for the creation of the various councils, the role of the councillors, what power the councils have and so on.
The act requires that the various councils "provide for the health, safety and welfare of the community", "represent and promote the interests of the community", and "provide for the peace, order and good government of the municipal area". Generally the act permits councils to "do anything necessary or convenient to perform its functions either within or outside its municipal area". Specifically, the act provides for the various councils to have the following powers (among others): to charge land rates, "service rates", special rates and to levy fines (in relation to by-laws); and, to make by-laws in respect to anything the council has power to do.
It has been suggested on both the talkpages Talk:Local government areas of Australia and Talk:Local government in Australia back in ancient history that these two articles should be merged, but nothing appears to have happened to it.
I wish to propose merging them:
— Felix the Cassowary 23:05, 9 March 2011 (UTC)
Given some recent edits to this table, I have to ask what is the purpose of this table anyway. In particular the use of the term "council" here as some kind of LGA is concerning me. Local government areas are just that: an area, a boundary on a map. We give them a range of names: boroughs/municipalities/towns/cities/shires/districts/regions etc. In most cases the differences in these names naming don't signify anything much - just differences between the states and often differences over time within states (some of the names date back to the 1800s). About the only difference is that names like boroughs/municipalities/towns/cities generally indicate the presence of a large urban area, where terms like shire are sometimes reserved for more rural areas, but there are almost certainly counter-examples of both. Something that was a thriving mining town in the 1800s might be nothing but cattle grazing today and over time a number of rural areas have been subdivided as suburban housing, and often the names of the LGA do not change to reflect the land use change. But I don't believe that the names town/shire etc matter much in terms of their roles and responsibilities, so I am not sure why we are particularly trying to make such distinctions in this table. It may be that in some states there are distinctions in the roles and responsibilities depending on the name, but if so, that's a state issue that can be explained within the relevant article Local Government in WhateverState.
The use of the term council in this table seems to me to be meaningless. Every LGA has some kind of governing body (usually elected). Again, the names for this vary, but council is the most common one , but there may also be some appointed administrators and other arrangements. But my point is this - areas/boundaries are lines on the map, councils/etc are those who run them. It makes no sense to have rows in this table talking about councils, district councils, regional councils etc.
Can I suggest we could just simplify the table by reporting the number of LGAs in each state. Or else decide what criteria should be considered in differentiating between LGAs, eg. has an urban area with greater than X population, which can be objectively decided, rather than basing it on the somewhat random names given to LGAs. Kerry ( talk) 21:41, 17 January 2016 (UTC)