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From Convergence to Divergence: Reforming Australian Local Government
Author(s) -
Aulich Chris
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
australian journal of public administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1467-8500
pISSN - 0313-6647
DOI - 10.1111/1467-8500.00101
Subject(s) - local government , divergence (linguistics) , state (computer science) , convergence (economics) , government (linguistics) , democracy , political science , public administration , economics , economic growth , politics , law , philosophy , linguistics , algorithm , computer science
The article maps local government reform in the six Australian states over the last decade. It identifies an earlier phase of reform that focused primarily on redefining the roles and relationships within local government, especially between state and local governments, principally through the reform of the state local government Acts. As state reform agendas have shifted more to focus on managerial improvement, significant differences between local government reforms between states have emerged, in focus, process and outcomes. These differences are such that the role of local government itself has been refocused in several states away from the traditional local democracy values that have for so long underpinned this third sphere of government.