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Second R2R audit to include 1 in 8 councils

Audit

ALGA understands that the Australian National Audit Office intends to scrutinise the second phase of the Roads to Recovery program (R2R2) with 1 in 8 councils to be included in the audit. The first audit, completed earlier this year, saw the Audit Office examine the financial records and inspect projects of some 90 councils across the country to assess compliance with program requirements set by the Federal Department of Transport and Regional Services. ALGA is encouraging all councils to attend next month's National Local Roads and Transport Congress, where one session will cover R2R2 project management. The Executive Director of AusLink, Leslie Riggs, will run the session. It will provide elected members and professional officers with advice to ensure the smooth management of projects. Ms Riggs will draw on the considerable body of experience the department has acquired in administering the program to encourage best practice among all councils in meeting their reporting requirements and funding conditions while keeping it free from unnecessary red tape. She will also draw on lessons learned from the first Audit Office review and provide a briefing about how local road funding fits in with AusLink principles. See the Roads Congress website for further details and registration.

Commonwealth confirms councils under "financial pressure"

Stones stacked on one another

Local government in Australia is confronting "significant financial pressure" as service demands rise faster than revenue, according to the latest edition of the Local Government National Report published by the Australian Government this week. It says the unbalanced growth of revenues and expenditures experienced by councils - the 'structural gap' - was not unique to Australia as similar financial stress had been observed in the USA, UK and Germany. The report said there had been considerable change in local government directed at improving delivery of goods and services and conduct of regulatory functions. "Much has been achieved in making Australian local government more efficient and effective. Managerial practice has improved sharply, institutional changes have made councils much more client-focused than in the past, structural reforms have been absorbed and efficiency-enhancing outsourcing policies and practices have been implemented". It says the challenge for Australian local government is to "formulate strategies to reduce the 'structural gap' through sound financial management, increased efficiency gains and raising revenue, particularly own-source revenue where possible". The National Report is published by the Department of Transport and Regional Services.

Report provides snapshot of local government

Report

Australia has 6,500 councillors, of whom 28% are women and more than 13% Indigenous, according to figures published this week in the latest edition of the Local Government National Report. The average number of councillors per council is 9.6 and the average population per councillor is just over 3,000. The report reveals that local government's share of taxation revenue continues to decline, with the federal government collecting 81.5% of total taxation revenue, states 15.7% and local government 2.98%. The report also shows that the proportion of local government revenue derived from federal financial assistance grants continues to be significant. It has, however, declined from around 8% in 1998-99 to around 7% in 2003-04. The proportion of revenue from all federal funding sources, including the Roads to Recovery program and other specific purpose payments, was around 9% in 2003-04. The report shows that councils are making good use of Regional Partnerships with just over 30% of successful applicants coming form local government in 2004-05. Some 139 councils shared grants of $54m.
From the President

My heartfelt congratulations go to the 33 Australians with local government service who received awards in the Queen's birthday honours list. The tally consists of two Public Service Medals (PSMs), four Members of the Order of Australia (AMs) and no less than 27 Medals of the Order of Australia (OAMs). Terrence Hampson, of Queensland, received an AM for services to local government and his efforts to preserve the natural habitat of Fraser Island. In NSW, Richard Jane was awarded an AM for services to local government and veterinary sciences. Linton Reynolds got an AM for services to the Western Australian Local Government Association and the City of Armadale. Michael Lekias also received an AM for services to local government, the Greek community and to medicine. Barry Ryan received an OAM for services to the Gloucester Shire and the Shires Association of NSW. And in Queensland, the CEO of Thuringowa, Lyn Russell, received a PSM for outstanding service to her community. I'm delighted to see so many people receiving honours either partly or wholly for their work in local government. It is a very visible demonstration of the hard work and sacrifice that so many Australians make when they choose to serve their communities through the institution of local government.

Cr Paul Bell AM
ALGA President

Bell praises Lake as legal career beckons

ALGA Vice President and President of the Municipal Association of Victoria, Cr Geoff Lake, will step down from these two posts on August 25 to pursue a legal career with a commercial law firm in Melbourne. ALGA President, Cr Paul Bell, praised Cr Lake's contribution to local government at the state and national level, saying he had been a passionate and talented advocate for the sector. Cr Lake has had a meteoric career in local government. He was first elected to the Monash City Council in Melbourne in 2000 when aged just 20. At 22, he became the state's youngest mayor. At 24, he was elected as the MAV President, defeating seven other candidates. He was elected as one of the two ALGA Vice Presidents in December that year. Cr Lake will retain his role as a councillor at Monash.

Councils trim staff

Commonwealth and state bureaucracies continue to grow while local government's workforce contracts, according to new figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics yesterday. It said the total number of federal public servants increased 0.7% in the March quarter, to reach 255,700. Over the full year, Commonwealth public servant numbers were up almost 3%. State bureaucracies grew 0.6% in the March quarter to 1.2m. Over the full year, state public servant numbers were up 3.1%. But local government employees fell 0.9% to 164,100. Over the past 12 months, local government employees were down 0.1%. This reverses a period of growth that has seen numbers recover from a low of 140,000 in 2000 to reach 165,000 last year.

Quote of the week

Compared with local government, states raise almost twice as much in taxes on property.
    - Local Government National Report, released this week

2006 National Local Roads and Transport Congress
State of the Regions report 2005-06
Turnbull questions water restrictions

The parliamentary secretary with responsibility for water, Malcolm Turnbull, has suggested urban water restrictions employed by state and local government are more about protecting cashflow than conserving a scarce resource. In a speech last week, Mr Turnbull said water restrictions "may" be designed to conserve water in the short term, but in the long-term "the principal contribution is to preserve the profitability and cashflow, strong cashflows of water utilities, and enable the postponement of investment …". "We have to ask ourselves whether we should be demanding of our politicians, principally state politicians and in some places, local government politicians, that they supply our cities with the water they need, just as readily as they provide our cities with the electricity they need."

Comment sought on Cairns corridor

A draft study of transport options and issues for the Brisbane to Cairns corridor was released for public comment this week by the Australian and Queensland governments. The study will help with investment decisions for the Bruce Highway and North Coast Railway beyond 2009. The study is the first of 24 corridor strategies being developed for the AusLink National Transport Network, the national transport plan for the principal road and rail system linking capital cities and major population centres. The strategies are due to be completed by mid-2007. Comment is invited by July 7.

Recreational fishing grants

Round 3 of the Recreational Fishing Community Grants Program will support local initiatives that enhance recreational fishing and tourism through on-ground activities, education and awareness as well as protecting coastal environments. Funding of up to $100,000 is available and applicants are required to contribute at least half the total cost of the project in cash and/or in-kind support. To be eligible, groups must be legal entities or sponsored by legal entities such as local government or incorporated community groups. Local government is also eligible. Round 3 of the program closes on July 28. Further details available online or by calling 02 6272 3848.

Indigenous, housing councils meet

ALGA will participate at today's meeting of the Ministerial Council for Aboriginal Affairs and Torres Strait Islander Affairs (MCATSIA) and the Housing Ministers' Conference. The ministerial councils are both meeting in Parramatta and will take the opportunity of conducting a joint sitting. ALGA's representative at MCATSIA is Cr Bill Mitchell (WA) and Cr Ann Bennison (QLD) at the Housing Conference. The joint meeting will discuss the implementation of an Indigenous housing investment and reform strategy. While there is general agreement on the need for revised action and investment strategies, discussion is likely to focus on the most appropriate investment options available and the actual quantum and allocation mechanisms associated with any agreed investment arrangement.

International news  
Town planning write large

Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoë is presenting controversial plans to reshape the French capital, unveiling a blueprint which could result in what has been described as "an architectural, economic and social revolution". The move is a response to demographic and social concerns. Paris has lost one tenth of its jobs in the past 15 years and its population of 2m is shrinking by more than 1% a year. The Socialist mayor faces stiff opposition. The Communist Party believes that Paris should build upwards, allowing large clusters of skyscrapers on its periphery while the Greens want the city to spread outwards, breaking down the barriers between Paris and its sometimes troubled suburbs.