By Tony Moore
Australia's second-largest local government – the Gold Coast – has dramatically left the Council of Mayors, the body used by local governments to lobby state and federal governments.
With the Gold Coast City Council set to hand down a 2.9 per cent rate rise in its $1.1 billion budget on Friday, it has revealed it will not pay $235,000 to be a member of the Council of Mayors.
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate says he has left the South East Queensland Council of Mayors because it is too expensive and lacks influence.Credit: Harrison Saragossi
Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate said the Gold Coast City Council was pulling out of the Council of Mayors and would do its own lobbying for the Gold Coast.
"I imagine there will be a change of federal government come September 14 and the city is best placed to do its lobbying and its advocacy directly," Cr Tate said.
Local government is seeking formal recognition in the Australian constitution - allowing it to receive wider funding from the federal government - at a referendum on election day.
Cr Tate said the Gold Coast was under financial pressure and changes had to be made.
"The Council of Mayors has been a great body to represent the city in the past," he said.
"But a lot of their projects have already got underway and the city needs to turn its attention to new things."
Cr Tate said the $235,000 would be "banked" and he and his mayoral office would work harder to lobby state and federal governments.
"The Council of Mayors' priorities are not necessarily the Gold Coast's priorities at this moment in time," he said.
"We have to negotiate directly at the moment because our needs are kind of unique at the moment; the extension of the light rail, the Commonwealth Games and beach protection."
The first stage of the Gold Coast's Rapid Transit project will launch in mid-2014.
We have to negotiate directly at the moment because our needs are kind of unique
"And it is hoped that work continues on the second and subsequent stages and we will need to be able to lobby to achieve that," Cr Tate said.
The Council of Mayors executive director Peter Olah said he received a letter from Gold Coast City Council on Wednesday advising him it was pulling out.
Mr Olah said the Gold Coast had been considering the move for several months.
He said the Gold Coast's financial considerations were behind the decision.
"Certainly what has been cited to us two months ago and in the letter this week was that they have had to make hard financial calls and this is one of them," he said.
Councils pay different amounts to be a member of the Council of Mayors, with each paying a $10,000 base "flagfall", then an additional sum based on their population.
The Gold Coast City Council would have paid $235,000 this year to be a member.
The largest council member, Brisbane City Council, pays almost half of the Council of Mayors' operating funds.
Mr Olah said the lobby group focused on issues that "hit across council boundaries."
"And there are plenty of those that I can point you to; roads, bridges, motorways, public transport issues," he said.
"And the advocacy we can put forward is hard-hitting in a way that an individual council may not be able to."
Last year Gold Coast City Council handed down a 2.5 per cent average residential rate rise in its budget.