From the President
 Cost shifting by state and federal governments has - over the past decade or so - become endemic, costing councils and our communities between $500m and $1.1bn each and every year. Hope is at hand. On Wednesday, representatives from the three spheres of government will meet in Canberra to consider - and hopefully sign - the draft IGA on cost shifting. While last minute amendments have wormed their way out of the woodwork, I am now confident that these have been resolved in the same spirit of cooperation that has characterised the IGA negotiations over the past few months. The question is now: will this IGA solve our cost shifting problems, once and for all? The answer is probably "not in itself". But it will open the way for bilateral or even trilateral agreements on specific service and function provision between state, federal and local government. Properly negotiated bilateral agreements prepared within the framework set by the IGA do have the potential to make a real difference to every council in the country. Importantly, the IGA will put in place principles under which the bilateral agreements will be made. In general terms, these principles call for negotiation with - and fair treatment of - local government. This will be an historic agreement that has the potential to effectively counter cost shifting and lift a significant burden off councils and communities. Of course, the IGA addresses only one part of the problem we confront. Most importantly, we need fair funding arrangements that will enable us to get on with the job of meeting the needs of 21st century communities and underpin our financial sustainability. But, by addressing cost shifting, we can at least plug the holes in our budget bucket so that new funding at one end isn't syphoned off at the other.
Cr Paul Bell AM
ALGA President
R2R: $12m for WA special projects
The Australian Government will provide $12.6m over the next four years to councils in Western Australia for special projects under the Roads to Recovery program. Federal Local Government and Roads Minister, Jim Lloyd, said $8.4m would be made available for bridgeworks to be undertaken with Main Roads Western Australia and the rest - $4.2m - would be provided to councils responsible for roads accessing Indigenous communities. The special projects will see the repair or upgrading of 13 bridges in nine council areas in the state's south-west. The largest project will be a $1.6m project on a bridge over the Canning River in Gosnells City Council in metropolitan Perth.
First east coast airport security exercise
Mudgee Airport in NSW was this week the scene of a joint security training exercise - Operation Eagle's Nest - the first of its kind in a regional airport on Australia's east coast. Federal Transport Minister Warrren Truss said the exercise - funded through the Commonwealth's $48m Securing our regional skies program - tested joint response capabilities for an incident at a regional airport. The Mid-Western Regional Council fully supported the exercise and played a direct role in the co-ordination of the event, and in the exercise itself. Some 130 people travelled to Mudgee for the exercise, including police, airport and airline operators. It featured three separate security scenarios, including aircraft hostage situations and the handling of suspicious unattended baggage. The first regional airport security exercise took place in Kalgoorlie last year.
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Carr shares airport concerns
Labor's shadow minister for local government and urban development, Senator Kim Carr, this week pledged a "cooperative approach" to resolve local and state government concerns about urban planning and development problems around federally controlled airports. Speaking in Queensland on Monday, Senator Carr backed council concerns over the failure of the Commonwealth to require airport operators to work with local government to address planning, social and economic issues. His party was committed to a "genuinely cooperative approach to urban planning and development that would mean that our major airports would contribute constructively to local, regional and state economies". State premiers, with ALGA support, raised concerns at the February meeting of the Council of Australian Governments. COAG referred the matter to the next meeting of Australian transport ministers in June, where ALGA will press home local government's case for fair dealings between airport operators and councils.
Airport development ombudsman
A private members bill has been introduced to Federal Parliament seeking to establish an airport development and aviation noise ombudsman, able to examine a range of complaints including those concerning inappropriate development at federally controlled airport sites. The bill was tabled last week by the Federal Member for Hindmarsh (ALP, SA), Steve Georganas. Under existing federal arrangements, councillors and local state MPs were "quite powerless as the pen used to tick off a draft master plan lies in the hands of the federal minister". He said Adelaide airport - like other airports under federal control - was "an island floating above and separated from local and state government laws" despite the fact that "each and every person" living within its vicinity was affected by it on a daily or even an hourly basis. ALGA has welcomed the private member's bill, though it has little chance of gaining government support.
Latest National Agenda now online
The latest edition of the National Agenda for Local Government - a document detailing all policy resolutions arising from successive National General Assemblies of Local Government - has been published on the ALGA website. This edition of National Agenda includes all resolutions from the 2005 National General Assembly, held in Canberra in November. The National Agenda sets out the views of delegates on major national issues affecting councils and the communities they serve. These have been progressively developed and refined at the eleven National General Assemblies of Local Government held since 1994, and attended each year by more than 700 delegates from across Australia.
Council Careers to counter skill shortages
The Local Government Association of Tasmania (LGAT) has launched an information kit and website designed to promote careers and job opportunities in local government. The initiative - Council Careers - is part of a broader strategy to address a shortage of skilled professionals. LGAT President, Cr Lynn Mason, said there was a nationwide shortage of skilled local government professionals, particularly in the fields of town planning, environmental health, engineering and building surveying - and the problem was becoming critical in Tasmania. Council Careers contains detailed information on the structure of local government, the types of jobs available, career pathways, qualifications required and training opportunities. LGAT says it is the most comprehensive and informative kit of its kind in Australian local government. Meanwhile, the Australian Government has established a national industry skills committee to advise training ministers about workforce planning, future training priorities and other issue facing the training sector. It will provide advice to the Ministerial Council on Vocational and Technical Education.
Two new ministers
Following recent elections in South Australia and Tasmania, Australia has two new local government ministers. The Tasmanian Premier, Paul Lennon, has taken the role of minister for local government and community development. In SA, the role has gone to former parliamentary secretary, Jennifer Rankine, who becomes minister for state/local government relations.
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