There are lots of claims spreading on social media that local government in Australia is unconstitutional because it is not mentioned in the Commonwealth Constitution and referendums to include mention of it were defeated. It is also claimed that local government has no power to impose council rates.
This video addresses these claims. It explains the history of local government and how it fits into Australia's constitutional structure, drawing on the Constitutional Conventions and commentary in Quick & Garran. It discusses the taxing powers of the States and their power to permit local government bodies to levy rates on land.
The video sets out the proposed constitutional amendments in 1974, 1988 and 2013 that dealt with local government and shows that none of them had anything to do with abolishing local government or making it 'unconstitutional'.
The video also refers to court cases which have dismissed these arguments that local government is unconstitutional and described them as being 'entirely lacking in merit'.
Finally, it points out that such claims are spread through disinformation factories as a means of foreign interference, designed to undermine the democratic system by corroding trust in it. It asks viewers to stop, think and verify before passing such claims to others.
