Two Acts passed in Parliament – the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act 2007 and the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Corporation Act 2007 – could take away a huge chunk of the powers of local councils.
These Acts allow for the setting up of a federal-level solid waste management corporation that could remove the powers of the local councils to oversee solid waste disposal including collection and disposal of rubbish, grass-cutting and even the cleanliness of public areas such as public toilets, markets and local council roads. The federal body could even take over the management and operations of all disposal sites managed by local councils, including the task of identifying new sanitary disposal sites, transfer stations, and the management and technical oversight of incinerators. Not much left for the local councils to do then. Even recycling activity by NGOs could be affected by the new Acts.