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Planning changes welcomed

Local councils are likely to win back some planning powers as part of a Victorian State Government bid to slash red tape and ease tensions over development.

ALGA President Cr Paul Bell said the Planning Minister's response to the Carbines report recommendations aimed at streamlining the planning process - Cutting red tape in planning - was 'a major step in the right direction.'

'Victoria is leading the way in best practice," he said. "ALGA welcomes the trend away from draconian measures by some states to take away planning powers from local government."

As part of the mooted changes, the Victorian Government is proposing to remove planning permits for residential works including fences, single-storey home extensions, and tree pruning. The report recommends that 7000 works be exempt from planning permits and a further 6000 works be fast-tracked.

Planning Minister Rob Hulls said the removal of the first stage of 4000 minor works this week from the planning system will reduce the number of planning applications before councils and reduce the burden on councils, homeowners and residents.

President of the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) Cr Dick Gross said these exemptions would free up stretched council resources to focus on strategic planning work.

"We particularly welcome the news the Minister will prepare a statement regarding local policy. This has been an ongoing tension for councils who invest significant time and money to develop local policies with communities and obtain ministerial sign-off only to see it given insufficient weight by applicants and the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

"The MAV would like to see this continuous improvement model now used to progress the commitment by the Minister to update planning fees and look at the Planning and Environment Act."

Historic aged care agreement for Tasmania

The first agreement of its kind in Australia, the Tripartite Partnership Agreement for Population Ageing in Tasmania, was signed this week by Premier Paul Lennon, the federal Minister for Ageing, Senator Santo Santoro, and the President of the Local Government Association of Tasmania, Councillor Mike Gaffney. The agreement includes a commitment to joint action for better coordination and access to information, improved planning of aged-care services and accommodation. Tasmania is the second oldest state but the fastest ageing and the Commonwealth Government provides more than $200 million each year for aged and community care services to support older Tasmanians.

Senator Santoro praised the efforts of the Local Government Association of Tasmania and the State Government for their role in achieving what is a milestone in cooperation between the three tiers of government . He said the agreement would ensure that planning met the needs of Tasmania's ageing population and provide better services for older Tasmanians.

Councillor Mike Gaffney, President of the Local Government Association of Tasmania, said councils around Australia faced significant challenges in providing age friendly environments.

"This is particularly the case when we're working within existing community infrastructure and available services," he said. "This agreement recognises that, to meet these challenges successfully, there must be authentic cooperation between the three spheres of government, positive working relationships with business and industry and, importantly, effective consultation with our communities."

Broadband for the bush

The announcement by the Federal Government that it plans to sell part of its remaining 51.8% Telstra stake for an anticipated $8b in October and transfer the remainder into the Future Fund for a later sale, has raised concerns about the timing of the rollout of high-speed broadband and services for regional Australia.

ALGA President Cr Paul Bell said that ALGA was committed to securing as wide a coverage of broadband access as possible across Australia, particularly in rural and regional areas. He said that ALGA had put its views to the Federal Government and had initiated discussions with Telstra on the issue.

ALGA's State of the Regions report (November, 2005) emphasised the increasing importance of internet-based communications infrastructure as a driver of economic growth, particularly for rural and provincial regions. It stated that access to quality communications infrastructure would unlock export potential and provide the tools through the internet to integrate production, marketing and innovation efforts into domestic and world supply chains. According to the report, "Access to quality internet-based services is just as important to the farmer as it is for advanced research and development organizations."

The Shadow Minister for Primary Industries, Resources, Forestry and Tourism, Martin Ferguson, speaking this week at the Sustainable Economic Growth for Regional Australia (SEGRA) conference in Launceston, cited the State of the Regions report as a major impetus for the development of Labor's Broadband Plan in May. Labor's proposal was to deliver high speed broadband to 98% of Australians through a joint venture with the telecommunications sector, and for the 2% of the population in remote areas to have access via alternative technologies like microwave and satellite.

The Prime Minister, John Howard, said service guarantees where in place. "We've put aside $3 billion for broadband and for other services and they were all dealt with at the time the sale legislation went through the Parliament," he said at a press conference in Hobart last week. The Federal Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Helen Coonan, in a speech last week to the Australian Financial Review National Infrastructure Summit, advised that the Australian Government had spent $1b to date - and a further $3.1b proposed – on the rollout of advanced communications services around Australia, and the per-customer subsidy model had already delivered 'considerable results for regional communities.'

Senator Coonan last night called for public submissions to the $113m Clever Networks program designed to get the best use out of broadband internet in remote areas. At the annual dinner of the Service Providers' Industry Association, she said technology could be used to bridge the vast distances of rural and regional Australia. This could be by using broadband to help school children in their studies, help hospital staff in their work or to spread word of bushfire warnings. The first round of grants is due to close on November 28.

Earlier this month, Telstra announced it would abandon a proposed high-speed broadband upgrade. Telstra was planning to spend $4b on a fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) broadband network. Telstra chief executive Sol Trujillo later said the company was still open to rolling out fibre for a new high-speed broadband network.
From the President

Local government is entering a new era which has the potential to deliver an unprecedented degree of recognition and support from state and federal governments which will deliver benefits for all.

The growing recognition of the role that local government plays within our federal system of governance can be defined by two significant developments. Firstly, the strengthened partnerships forged with the Federal Government, particularly Roads to Recovery and increasingly in the areas of health, the environment and aged care. Secondly, milestones reached on the road towards our goal of constitutional recognition of local government.

Support for local government and of the benefits it contributes to the broader Australian community is reflected in the strong degree of bipartisan support enjoyed by local government over recent years.

This approach was displayed by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, Finance and Administration and its report into cost-shifting and local government financing tabled in November 2003. ALGA is particularly grateful to committee chair, David Hawker MP, and deputy chair, Anna Burke MP, for the cooperation and vision of the committee.

A milestone towards greater formal recognition for local government through constitutional change, was the intergovernmental agreement - or IGA - on cost shifting signed by ALGA, state and federal ministers in April.

The value of the IGA will lie in how future arrangements are handled in bilateral agreements between state associations and state governments. While the IGA won't right past wrongs, it should prevent future cost shifting through properly negotiated agreements.

And we need to remember that the impact of cost shifting on local government has been estimated to be between $500 million and $1.1 billion each and every year.

ALGA is optimistic that this strong sense of goodwill will extend to the parliamentary motion which will be shortly introduced into both Houses of Parliament. The motion, negotiated between ALGA and the Federal Government, will acknowledge the growing federal-local government relationship, recognize local government's role within the Australian federation, and promote greater federal-local government cooperation.

ALGA is urging all parties to support the motion. Parliamentary recognition of local government is symbolic. It is also a meaningful step towards ALGA's view that the three spheres should be equal and valued partners within the Australian federation.

Cr Paul Bell AM
ALGA President

Australia's first Solar City trial

The City of Salisbury is part of the successful consortium chosen to develop the first Solar City trial, promised as part of the Energy White Paper two years The Adelaide Solar City consortium is led by Origin Energy and also includes BP Solar, the ANZ Bank, Big Switch, and the Mawson Lakes Development. The consortium will receive $15m of Federal Government funding for the Solar City, which is expected to save $5m of energy and at least 30,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year. The announcement was made in Adelaide this week by the Prime Minister, John Howard.

New president for MAV

The Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) has elected a new president - Cr Dick Gross of Port Phillip City Council. Cr Gross, a lawyer, was first elected to local government in 1996, is a three-times mayor and has been an MAV Board member since 2005. Cr Gross said his priorities in the coming months would include embracing internal reforms that are more inclusive of rural matters; focusing on regional collaboration and economies of scale to reduce council costs across a range of areas; and progressing sector-wide change and reforms that include increased transparency and accountability.

Minister Lloyd defends R2R

The Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads, Jim Lloyd, has refuted claims made by the Clerk of the Senate, Harry Evans, that the Federal Government's Roads to Recovery program lacked accountability.

Mr Lloyd said all money has been spent on fixing up local roads across Australia in accordance with relevant legislation and Australian National Audit Office's report tabled on March 1 this year did not find any had been misappropriated to other purposes.

"The report confirmed that there was no influence from Canberra in the selection of projects. Projects are chosen by councils at the local level, having regard to priorities on the ground. The process is completely open and transparent."

Mr Lloyd said the Roads to Recovery program was introduced in 2000 to ensure councils are able fix local roads neglected by State Governments to improve safety for motorists. Over 15,000 projects had been completed on a local level and $1.2b delivered by the Australian Government. He said the Australian Government would continue to work closely with local government to ensure that the Roads to Recovery program continues the work of facilitating sustainable economic growth and support for Australia's communities.

ALGA President Cr Paul Bell, in a recent speech to the Western Australian Local Government Association, congratulated Mr Lloyd for strengthening the Federal Government's partnership with local government. "The $300m boost to the Roads to Recovery program is both much-needed and much-welcome," he said. "And we need to remember that this comes on top of an additional $100m for the AusLink strategic regional program announced by the Australian Government at the General Assembly in November."

Updated weed information

Councils now have access to an online weed identification tool to assist with weed management. The tool allows officers to search a database for weeds relevant to your local area and provides resources such as clear photos, distinguishing features and descriptions and on line reference material providing further information for each weed. It is easily searchable and well worth a look.

Last week for Motions for NGA

A reminder that motions close next Friday, September 8, for our National General Assembly - Pushing the Agenda on 27-30 of November in Canberra. Councils have submitted motions to date on fair funding and environmental issues such as clean fuel, weeds and Solar Cities. This is an excellent opportunity for local communities to have their say and contribute to the ALGA forward agenda, building on the themes of Fair funding, Fair treatment, and Formal recognition, in the lead up to next year's federal election campaign.

ALGA launches ageing publication

This week ALGA released its occasional paper series - Ageing-in-place: Implications for local government. This series offers academics and practitioners a forum for considering the latest ideas in ageing research relevant to local government and local communities. Through this initiative, ALGA hopes to breakdown the obstacles that inhibit the flow of knowledge between academia and practice and encourage the development of networks within Australia. The papers presented in this first edition add considerable informed analysis to the social and economic implications of an ageing population for local government. The project is an initiative of the Australian Local Government Population Ageing Action Plan, which aims to build the capacity of local government to respond to ageing communities.

New guidelines for regional partnerships

The revised guidelines for the Regional Partnerships program are now available. The federal Minister for Transport and Regional Services, Warren Truss, said the guidelines had been strengthened and additional information included to help communities develop projects. The assessment criteria had also been clarified and more detail was available on the type of information needed for a project to have the best chance of success. The changes build on previous tweaking of the program - strengthening the role of the Area Consultative Committees in developing projects in their communications, simplifying the application process and better information on the types of projects that will be approved.

Climate change in Australia

The Planning and Urban Development Program at UNSW mailed a questionnaire to all councils in Australia in early August, 2006. The questionnaire covered climate change, other environmental issues and Councils' use of computers and the internet. The survey is important because it allows governments to track changing issues both nationally and locally which encourages response to the right problems and pressures. However, responses to the survey are slow at this stage so UNSW asks that you try and complete and return the questionnaire as soon as possible. If you haven't seen the questionnaire, please contact either Bob Zehner or John Blair at the Faculty of the Built Environment, email: bobz@fbe.unsw.edu.au or johnb@fbe.unsw.edu.au

WA Community arts fund

Funding is available to local government and Western Australian eligible arts and cultural organisations to partner with the WA State Government to develop arts and cultural infrastructure projects.

The Community Cultural and Arts Facilities Fund (CCAFF) will provide $4.75m over four years to regional and metropolitan groups for projects such as theatres, gallery and exhibition spaces, Indigenous arts centres, community-run museums and a range of arts and cultural spaces. The Fund aims to increase participation in, and access to, arts and culture. The 2006 CCAFF round closes on September 29. Guidelines and application details are available from the Department of Culture and the Arts.

Mayor for the day

The 'Today' program's weatherman Steve Jacobs stepped into Coffs Harbour's mayoral robes and a fire-fighter's uniform when he swapped jobs for the day with Cr Keith Rhoades. This unusual job-swap is the result of the mayor's entry being chosen as the winner of the 'Today' program's 'Be Steve For A Day' competition. Cr Rhoades said the arrangement was 'a bit of fun' and gave the city of Coffs Harbour 'the sort of national TV exposure you simply can't buy.' Weatherman Jacobs joked his first act as mayor would be to order a statue of himself.

EMS for golf courses

The Australian golf industry has embarked on an ambitious program to have all Australian golf courses, including those managed by councils, accredited under their new Environmental Management System (EMS). The EMS aims to increase the ability of the industry to respond to environmental pressures and to be more active in the sustainable management of land, biodiversity and water resources. The EMS program will result in the publication of a state of the environment report for the industry. Participating golf club managers will receive resources and manuals, 24 hour support, newsletters and updates. In addition, a series of workshops will be held in October to assist clubs to establish their EMS. For more information call Terry Muir - terry@ebsnet.com.au - on 0412 294 514.

Quote of the week

Every year, back comes Spring, with nasty little birds yapping their fool heads off and the ground all mucked up with plants.
    - Dorothy Parker - US author, humorist, poet, and wit (1893 - 1967)

Echoes of the past
The Rainmaker

In 1902 a controversial meteorologist named Clement L Wragg tried to end a months-long drought with a proposal to the council to fire long-barrelled Stiger Vortex guns at clouds over the Charleville area. The local council, ready to try anything, approved the project and public donations helped finance construction of 13 of the rain-making guns. After an encouraging start with a few drops of rain followed by a light-shower, two of the guns blew up. The experiment was abandoned amid disappointment and derision for Mr Wragg, who not long afterwards moved to New Zealand. The year ended happily for the drought-stricken farmers of the Charleville region, however, when soaking rains fell a few weeks after Mr Wragg left, ending the crisis. The vortex experiment is remembered in Charleville with a memorial displaying two of the guns in a park just off the Mitchell Highway.
- AAP

State of the Regions report 2005-06