LOGAN City Council is right to take a stand on how state school car parks should be funded.
Over the past decade or so, successive state govern- ments - no matter their political persuasion - have tend- ed to use Queensland councils as a dumping ground for responsibilities that often go well beyond the tradition- al council remit of roads, rates and rubbish.
It has reached a point now where councils across the state - many of which cry poor at any chance they get - are left trying to fund a much more diverse range of works and programs than ever before.
The issue of car parking at and near state schools and who should fund such improvements has long been a hot topic for discussion between local councillors and state MPs.
Readers need not look any further than the Green- bank State School parking debacle, which sat unresolved for many years, to gain an insight into the impact the back and forth over funding can create.
In announcing council’s decision, roads committee chairman Cr Don Petersen said, “the government should be responsible for providing adequate upgrades to their own facilities - it shouldn’t be council’s responsibility”.
Cr Petersen is spot on. In previous cases, the debate has often centered around who is responsible for parking or bus set down areas beyond the school gates. The state government usually argues the council is, because most schools are on local roads.
That is a cop-out. It is true a lot of the time the state government will seek to partner with council in sharing the cost for any upgrades, but education is a state gov-ernment responsibility and the need for most upgrades can be directly traced back to the state government facility.
As such, part of providing a safe learning environment should include ensuring adequate parking and appropriate bus pick-up and drop-off zones are provid- ed for students.
It is not about empowering councils - they have no ability to stop local schools expanding and taking on more students - it is about the state government realising the impact of education infrastructure does not always stop at the school gate.
