Professor Brian Dollery of the UNE Centre for Local Government has secured a research grant for $25,000 from the South Australian Local Government Association (SALGA) Local Government Research and Development Scheme (LGR&DS) which funds applied research into Australian local government.

Brian’s research project will investigate the impact of a regime of rate pegging on South Australian councils by econometrically simulating a program along the lines of the current New South Wales rate-capping program.

‘Rate-pegging is being considered by both the Victorian and South Australian state governments despite its deleterious impact on NSW local government, especially in terms of its local infrastructure backlog’, he said.

‘Together with Dr. Joseph Drew, we will attempt to estimate empirically the likely effects of rate-capping on South Australian  councils in terms of its financial impact’, he added.

‘This kind of applied empirical research can be used to inform public policymaking and help policymakers avoid costly errors’, Professor Dollery observed.

Outcomes from this project will be shared via the Centre for Local Government webpage as it progresses.