Pauline Hanson's One Nation, Queensland 1998 State Election
Preamble
1. One Nation recognises the important role played by local governments in the administration of local communities
2. One Nation recognises that local governments are autonomous but not sovereign, and acknowledges the important link between local government and other spheres of government
Grievances
3. Local government's first responsibility is to its constituents. If either the state government or constituents perceive that local government actions are irresponsible:
4. One Nation will establish a local government ombudsman to address constituent grievances.
Funding
5. One Nation will act to ensure that local government is provided with adequate funding by Commonwealth and state governments, and that a guaranteed percentage of Commonwealth taxation is allocated to local government.
6. Road funding is to take into account population, area of authority and existing road length. Population size as a sole basis for road funding discriminates against rural Queenslanders.
Boundaries
7. Boundaries have been an area of concern for many local governments as well as residents since the merger of local authorities began.
8. One Nation will appoint a Boundaries Commissioner who will report to the Minister..
9. The EARC criteria will be used as the basis for assessing boundary issues.
10. Parliament will be responsible for final determination of internal and external boundary changes.
Rating
13. One Nation recognises that serious rating anomalies exist in many local government areas.
14. One Nation will take whatever action is needed to ensure that all ratepayers are treated reasonably, and that no ratepayer bears an unfair burden. One Nation's objective is that there is consistency and fairness in the classification and rating of rural residential land.
15. Land used for rural production will be valued only as rural land for rating purposes, and will not take into account any development potential.
16. One Nation will encourage rate relief schemes for heritage declared sites and buildings where further development is not allowed, and for privately owned areas of environmental significance to encourage preservation of such areas
Devolution of Powers to Local Government
17. One Nation will remove onerous and unreasonable powers from local government to free up these entities for the good rule and government of their communities. This will allow local governments to return to their core roles and responsibilities.
Reporting and Planning
18. One Nation supports the retention of corporate and operational planning, annual reporting and accrual accounting, and will encourage more autonomy in the annual auditing process
Qualification of Officers
19. One Nation will reintroduce the qualification requirements for Local Government Chief Executive Officers