The Australian Governments 'White Paper on Reform of the Federation' and the Future of Australian Local Government

The Abbott Government announced its White Paper review of the Australian Federation on June 28, 2014. Set against this backdrop, discussions of the future of Australian local government may provoke an assumption that its role will be cruelled. However, reflection suggests that such an assumption is misplaced. In particular, when the complexities of regionalism in Australia are considered, the potential role of local government begs revisiting.We argue that local government ought to adopt a forthright position in the current debate, particularly with respect to financial reform.