ABOUT LOCAL GOVT TAS

Tasmanian Councils

Currently, Tasmania has 29 councils, including 6 city councils. Each council is responsible for governing a municipal (council) area and has between 7 and 12 councillors, including the mayor and deputy mayor.

The Tasmanian Local Government Act 1993 is challenged in its relevance by the passage of time and provisions that have long past their use-by-date. 

It is important to note that the first website anywhere was created in August 1991 by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN, a European nuclear research agency

Berners-Lee's WorldWideWeb browser was made publicly available that month. The World Wide Web began to enter everyday use in 1993–4, when websites for the general public started to become available. By the end of 1994, the total number of websites was still minute.

Internationally 'democratic governance' is evolving to embrace 'digital technologies' and there are a great many developments on the horizon whereby 'the represented' are demanding that they have a voice in the deliberations that determine how they are 'represented'.

Local governance is ever likely to be 'the space' where such paradigm shifts will be evidenced first –and most directly!

What councils do

Councils are responsible for providing a range of community services and infrastructure. These include

  • roads and bridges
  • parks and sportsgrounds
  • animal control
  • waste and recycling
  • planning, building and environmental services
  • local events

Every council provides different types of infrastructure and services because of differences in things like their communities’ needs and expectations, land area, population, location, number of properties and industry mix (refer to the demographic snapshot below).

The powers and functions of Tasmanian councils are set out in the Local Government Act 1993 (the Act). The Act states that councils are to

  • provide for the health, safety and welfare of the community
  • represent and promote the interests of the community
  • provide for the peace, order and good government of the municipal area.

In performing these functions, councils are to consult, involve and be accountable to their residents and ratepayers. In doing so, councils can ensure they are acting in the best interests of the communities they serve.

Find out more about

  • local government legislation

Your Council For  information about your council;

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