Local Government Areas (RMS; English Local Government Area; LGA ) - in Australia, the name of the administrative-territorial units of the 2nd level, controlled by local authorities . The term is widely used by the Australian Bureau of Statistics .
Legally, the status of local governments is not enshrined in either the Constitution of the Australian Union or most state constitutional laws. However, the responsibility for their establishment and oversight rests with the governments of the Australian states, which sometimes fund their activities (occasionally the federal government does this). In recent years, the role of local governments has increased dramatically, and state governments have delegated some of their authority to them. For example, the Queensland local government authorities are empowered to adopt their own (local) laws (in the past, they had a system of by-laws ).
Local government areas are of several types, each of which has its own name. Moreover, different states use a different set of names. At the end of 2009, the following types are known ( PMCs occurring more than 30 times in bold ):
- Mostly urban RMS
- urban area ( English City (C)) - a large city with suburbs;
- Small urban area ( English Town (T) / Town Council ) - a small city with suburbs;
- municipality ( English Municipality (M) / Municipal Council) - suburbs inside large cities or less often small towns in the wilderness;
- rural-urban territory ( English Rural City (RC)) - formed in 1994 by combining the city ("urban territory") and the surrounding county (usually of the same name);
- borough ( born Borough (B)) - there is only one left.
- Mostly rural RMS
- county ( Shire (S) / Shire Council (SC) ) - the most common rural AE in five of Australia's seven states / territories;
- Area ( English Area (A) / Council (DC));
- (local) region ( Eng. Region (R) / Regional Councils (RegC)) - more urbanized areas, usually closer to the coast, should not be confused with larger informal regions ;
- District ( Eng. District Council ) - an analogue of the county in South Australia;
- island area ( English Island Councils (IC) - only one;
- community area ( English Community Government Council (CGC), literally. "Community Governance Council") - only one;
- native RMS:
- Aboriginal Shire - in Queensland,
- Aboriginal Council (AC) - in South Australia.
Other than this, there are some other types of PMC classification in Australia.
Many local governments in the states of New South Wales and South Australia no longer have the legal status of counties or municipalities: they are simply known as the “Area”, and their councils are called the “Councils”. Currently, Australia has 567 local government districts and 14 unincluded territories [1] .
Responsibility for creating and defining local government boundaries lies with state and territory governments. In all Australian states and Northern Territories, the combined territories have official status.
| RMS | Nyu | Vict | Queen | JA | Tasm | BEHIND | ST | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| urban area | 38 | 33 | 7 | twenty | 6 | 22 | 2 | 128 |
| small urban area ( town ) | one | 2 | eleven | 2 | 16 | |||
| municipality | 9 | one | one | eleven | ||||
| rural area (RC) | 6 | one | 7 | |||||
| borough | one | one | ||||||
| county (S) | 47 | 39 | 24 | 109 | 10 | 229 | ||
| county ( en: Shire Council , SC) | 28 | 28 | ||||||
| area | 27 | 5 | 24 | 56 | ||||
| region | 3 (RC) | 30 (R) | 4 (RC) | 37 | ||||
| county (DC) | 35 | 35 | ||||||
| island area (IC) | one | one | ||||||
| community area (CGC) | one | one | ||||||
| native county | 12 | 12 | ||||||
| Aboriginal area (AC) | 5 | 5 | ||||||
| Total | 152 | 79 | 75 | 73 | thirty | 142 | 16 | 567 |
| Unincluded Territories | 2 | 6 | one | 5 | fourteen |
Content
- 1 Victoria
- 2 Western Australia
- 3 Queensland
- 4 New South Wales
- 5 Northern Territory
- 6 Tasmania
- 7 South Australia
- 8 Notes
Victoria
The territory of the Australian state of Victoria is divided into 79 areas of local government [2] . There are several types of such areas:
- city ( English city ; mainly urban population);
- county ( English shire ; mainly rural population);
- rural city ( English rural city ; mixed urban / rural population);
- borough ( born borough ; the only borough in Australia is located throughout the state) [3] .
In addition to local government areas, the state also has several unincorporated areas .
Western Australia
The territory of the Australian state of Western Australia is divided into 142 areas of local government (including the territory of Christmas Island and Cocos Islands ). The status of districts and the powers of their bodies are regulated by the Law on Local Self-Government, adopted in 1995 [4] .
Three types of local government districts are distinguished:
- city ( City ): city status is granted only to the district within the metropolitan area ( English metropolitan area ) with a population of over 30 thousand people, of which more than half live in urban areas, as well as the district that is not part of the metropolitan area in which is home to over 20 thousand people (of which more than half live in urban areas);
- town ( English Town ): the status of town is granted only if more than half of the inhabitants in the district live in urban areas;
- county ( Shire ): county status is granted to all other counties that do not qualify for city or town.
Queensland
The territory of the Australian state of Queensland is divided into 73 areas of local government, including Aboriginal councils, which since January 2007 have the status of full councils of counties ( English Shire Council ). The status of districts and the powers of their bodies are regulated by the Law on Local Self-Government, adopted in 1993 [5] .
There are four types of local government districts:
- region ( English region );
- city ( English city );
- town ( English town );
- county ( English shire ).
New South Wales
The territory of the Australian state of New South Wales is legally divided into two types of local government areas:
- city ( English city );
- areas ( English area ).
There is not much difference between the city and the districts. According to the Law on Local Self-Government, adopted in 1993 , a city is simply a district that has received the status of a city by decision of the governor [6] . Many areas of New South Wales retained the designations that were used before the state reform of local government and no longer have legislative status. Among them:
- municipalities ( English Municipalities ; mainly intracity suburban areas and small rural settlements);
- counties ( English Shires ; mainly rural or external suburban areas).
Some areas created after the adoption of the Law on Local Self-Government in 1993 adopted the designation of the regions ( English Region ), which are usually large rural areas, in the territory of which rural cities are predominantly located. Many local government councils currently use any designation, for example, some of them are simply labeled “Council of a certain locality”. The state also includes the Non-Municipal Region of the Far West ( Eng. Unincorporated Far West Region ), which is not part of any local government area, and Lord Howe Island , which also does not have a municipal status, but is considered a self-governing territory under the control of the Island Government of the Lord -How ( Lord Howe Island Board ).
Northern Territory
As of July 1, 2008, two types of local government districts were distinguished in the Northern Territory :
- Municipalities
- counties ( English Shire ) [7] .
In total, in July 2008, there were 17 local government districts in the Northern Territory, of which 5 were municipalities and 11 were counties. The main criteria for separation are population density and urbanization.
Until July 1, a different classification was valid:
- Municipalities
- Community Government Council ;
- non-aligned associations ( Eng. Incorporated Association );
- Special Purpose Towns .
Before the reform of local self-government in the Northern Territory, there were 61 local self-government districts, including 6 municipalities, 51 government councils of the community, 3 non-aligned associations and 1 special-purpose city.
Tasmania
The territory of the state of Tasmania is divided into 29 areas of local government. The main types of these areas are:
- city ( English City );
- Municipalities
South Australia
The Australian state of South Australia is divided into 69 local governments. There are several types of such areas:
- city ( English City );
- rural cities ( English Rural City );
- municipalities / municipal councils
- district councils;
- regional councils;
- Aboriginal Council .
Almost 60% of the state is managed by the Outback Areas Community Development Trust .
Notes
- ↑ About ALGA . Australian Local Government Association. Date of treatment November 30, 2009. Archived April 11, 2003.
- ↑ Welcome to the Guide to Local Government (inaccessible link) . Local Government Victoria. Date of treatment November 30, 2009. Archived April 11, 2012.
- ↑ Find Your Local Council (inaccessible link) . Local Government Victoria. Date of treatment November 30, 2009. Archived April 11, 2012.
- ↑ Local Government Act 1995 . Western Australian Consolidated Acts. Date of treatment December 1, 2009.
- ↑ Local Government Act 1993 . Queensland Consolidated Acts. Date of treatment December 1, 2009.
- ↑ Local Government Act 1995 . New South Wales Consolidated Acts. Date of treatment December 1, 2009.
- ↑ Local Government Act . Northern Territory Consolidated Acts. Date of treatment December 1, 2009.