Roads, Rates and Rubbish (local government concerns)
“Roads, rates and rubbish” (also “rates, roads and rubbish”) are commonly said to be the three top concerns of local government. The saying is mostly restricted to Australia and New Zealand and has been cited in print since at least 1982.
The “three Rs” have been credited to Australian politician Janice Crosio, who was the mayor of Fairfield from 1974 to 1975 and 1977 to 1980.
Wikipedia: Janice Crosio
Janice Ann Crosio, AM, MBE (born 3 January 1939), Australian politician, was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives.
Early life
Crosio was born in Sydney, New South Wales and educated at Strathfield Girls High School. In 1957, she married Ivo Crosio and they have one son and twin daughters. She was an alderman of Fairfield City Council in suburban Sydney from 1971 to 1980 and Mayor from 1974 to 1975 and 1977 to 1980.
Google News Archive
19 October 1982, Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald, “Rates, roads, rubbish and lots more,” Local Government, pg. 17, col. 1:
When most people think of their local council they think of the three Rs—rates, roads and rubbish.
Google News Archive
11 October 1986, Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald, “To office on the other three Rs” by Kate Simpkins, pg. 2s, col. 3:
JANICE Crosio, Minister for Local Government and Water Resources, lit a cigarette and for a fleeting moment looked uncomfortable.
The inevitable question—on feminism—had cropped up. For a woman who has notched up three firsts in NSW politics—Fairfield’s first woman mayor (as mayor, her catchphrase was “roads, rates and rubbish”), the first woman ALP Member in the State Legislative Assembly in 31 years, and the State’s first woman Cabinet Minister—the mantle of pioneer seemed to rest uneasily.
Google Books
Local Government Finance
By Geoffrey Brennan
Canberra: Centre for Research on Federal Financial Relations, Australian National University
1987
Pg. 1:
While local government is now slowly expanding in new directions, it is still the offspring of a reluctantly accepted local obligation to cope with “roads, rates and rubbish”.
OCLC WorldCat record
Local government at work.
Author: Audio Visual Resources (Firm)
Publisher: Camberwell, Vic. : Audio Visual Resources, 1987.
Edition/Format: Visual material : Slide : English
Database: WorldCat
Summary:
Local government is much more than “rates, roads and rubbish”. Councils today provide a wide range of services to their residents and the move is towards greater community involvement in community activities. This programme looks at the City of Doncaster and Templestowe, a large municipality in outer Melbourne.
OCLC WorldCat record
Roads, Rates and Rubbish are Environmental Issues: The Environmental Policy Role of Local Government
Author: Valerie A Brown
Edition/Format: Article Article : English
Publication: Urban Policy and Research, v10 n2 (199206): 41-44
Database: CrossRef
OCLC WorldCat record
More than rates, roads and rubbish : a history of local government in action in Thuringowa Shire 1879-1985
Author: Lyn Henderson
Publisher: 1992.
Dissertation: Thesis (Ph. D.)—James Cook University of North Queensland, 1992.
Edition/Format: Thesis/dissertation : Thesis/dissertation : Manuscript Archival Material : English
OCLC WorldCat record
Roads, rates and rubbish : reducing corruption risks in local government : managing risk
Author: New South Wales. Independent Commission Against Corruption.
Publisher: Sydney : Independent Commission Against Corruption, 2001.
Edition/Format: Book : State or province government publication : English
OCLC WorldCat record
Moving beyond ‘rates, roads and rubbish’: How do local governments make choices about healthy public policy to prevent obesity?
Author: Steven Allender Affiliation: Department of Public Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address); Erin Gleeson; Brad Crammond; Gary Sacks; Mark Lawrence; All authors
Edition/Format: Article Article : English
Publication: Australia and New Zealand Health Policy, v6 n1 (2009 Aug 23): p20
Database: Biomed Central
Twitter
City of Salisbury SA
@CityOfSalisbury
‘Roads, rates & rubbish’! That’s what Councils do. Right? - Check out our new film about where your rates go: http://bit.ly/1a6lnED
6:42 PM - 5 Nov 2013
Twitter
SMARTA Rubbish
@SMARTA_Rubbish
@PigsFlyBackward @GCWatcher “Rubbish, roads & rates are part of the pain to be addressed as local councils prepare their budgets” #PAYG Tips
6:20 PM - 17 May 2014