Local government in Queensland
Local government in the Australian state of Queensland describes the institutions and processes by which towns and districts can manage their own affairs to the extent permitted by the Local Government Act 1993–2007. Queensland is divided into 77 local government areas which may be called Cities, Towns, Shires or Regions. Each area has a council which is responsible for providing a range of public services and utilities, and derives its income from both rates and charges on resident ratepayers, and grants and subsidies from the State and Commonwealth governments.
As bodies which obtain their legitimacy from an Act of the Queensland Parliament, local councils are subordinate rather than sovereign entities and can be created, amalgamated, abolished or dismissed by the State at will. In modern practice, however, decisions on such matters are made in response to recommendations by independent Reform Commissions, such as the Electoral and Administrative Reform Commission (1990–1993) and the Local Government Reform Commission (2007). Recent reforms, which took effect on 15 March 2008, resulted in over 70% of Queensland's local government areas being amalgamated into larger entities and generated a considerable degree of controversy, even attracting national interest in the context of a federal election campaign.
As a result of Queensland's amalgamations, at the 2011 census, Australia's four largest-by-population local government areas were all in Queensland:
The first example of local government in the Queensland area came into being before the separation of Queensland from New South Wales. The Municipalities Act 1858 allowed for the creation of a municipality upon the petition of not less than 50 householders within a defined area. If no counter-petition with more signatures was received, the Governor was able to declare a municipality in the region. Two types of municipalities were possible under the Act: boroughs, which had a minimum population of 1,000, a maximum area of 9 sq mi (23.3 km2) and no two parts being more than 6 miles (9.66 km) apart; and municipal districts, with a minimum population of 500 and a maximum area of 50 sq mi (129.5 km2). Once a municipality had been proclaimed, ratepayers could elect a council to represent them.
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