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Mobile phone towers - Coonan calls for community consultation

Mobile phone tower against sunset

Industry needs to work more closely with local councils on the siting of mobile phone towers, the Minister for Communications, Information Technology, and the Arts, Senator Coonan, said this week.

Senator Coonan highlighted the important role local councils play in representing the community on this important issue in a speech to the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association in Sydney on Wednesday.

"It is important for community interests to be taken into account, while at the same time meeting the broader national need for modern and efficient telecommunications networks," she said.

"This means balancing the needs of nearly 19 million mobile phone users in Australia with concerns residents may have about living near a base station.

"One particular issue, which I see as the next real challenge for government is the relationship carriers have with local councils particularly when dealing with Low Impact Facilities.

"While I certainly acknowledge the work that has been undertaken by industry thus far, I believe industry may be able to do more to help break down these barriers. I acknowledge the efforts of the newly formed Communications Alliance as well as the Mobile Carriers Forum for developing the Deployment of Mobile Phone Infrastructure Code of Practice."

The associated document 'Guidelines for Local Government' aimed to better facilitate council involvement in the deployment of telecommunications infrastructure, by identifying when and how councils can get involved in code processes.

Senator Coonan said that Telstra's transition from CDMA to a new third generation network had been met with some trepidation in rural areas.

"I understand these concerns. But I also understand Telstra's desire to deliver next generation mobile services to regional communities including wireless broadband.

"I welcome Telstra's investment in a 3G mobile network and I recognise Telstra's efforts to ensure the rollout of the new network is smooth and the transition between networks a successful one."

"Telstra has given a commitment that it will continue to operate the existing CDMA network until this new network provides equivalent or better coverage."

Connecting to broadband

The federal Government has earmarked up to $600 million for rural broadband projects as part of its Broadband Connect agenda.

Also part of the wider, billion-dollar Connect Australia program, the funding would be used to support a number of large scale infrastructure projects and bolster investment by private groups and state and territory governments. The funding was announced yesterday by federal Communications Minister Helen Coonan and Nationals leader, Trade Minister Mark Vaile.

Broadband connect guidelines were published along with the announcement, with funding applications being accepted until the end of November.

Proposals for Broadband Connect funding could also be eligible for funding under the Mobile Connect program or Clever Networks health and education communications initiative.

The new broadband connect funding is part of the second phase of the program. The first phase offered subsidies to internet service providers that connected customers in areas poorly served by broadband services.

Expressions of interest for the new second phase were lodged earlier this year, with 69 responses received.

Senator Coonan said that several respondents were interested in developing proposals for major national or regional infrastructure projects.

"Some also proposed a consortium approach to bring together major transmission capacity projects (such as interstate links and local access solutions) that could be integrated into comprehensive national or regional projects," she said.

Details of Program Guidelines for the Clever Networks program and Broadband Connect are online.

Quotes from Parliamentary debate on motion recognising local government

Debate on a pen


"Local government is an integral part of the governance task in Australia."
Jim Lloyd, MP, Minister for Local Government

"We need to go that step further than symbolism and have a practical impact, which enshrining local government in the Constitution would do."
Anthony Albanese, MP

"It is a pity that the referendum that was carried out some years ago did not constitutionally recognize local government…I would encourage the Australian Local Government Association to revisit that issue."
Tony Windsor, MP

"In 2000, local government lost a real opportunity to get a share of the GST income…I have always been a believer because I think local government generally is a very efficient user of government monies."
Patrick Secker MP

"I would support the calls from the Australian Local Government Association to restore financial assistance grants to one per cent of Commonwealth tax revenue."
Chris Bowen MP

"I find that staying in touch and consulting with local government on a range of issues in the Pearce electorate…is a very worthwhile activity and a great opportunity to find out about the aspirations of local communities."
Judi Moylan MP

"While the resolution before the chamber does mirror what is in the report's (Ms Burke was a member of the Hawker inquiry into cost-shifting) recommendations, it does not go far enough. It certainly does not recognize the complete value that local government adds to our community…Local government is the shag on the rock overlooked by everybody."
Anna Burke MP

"Let me say at this point in time, for practical reasons: I do not support the opposition amendment proposing that we have another referendum on constitutional recognition of local government."
Wilson Tuckey MP

"I think that Australia would benefit greatly by having stronger regional bodies and a stronger role for local government."
Jill Hall MP

"It has been the longstanding platform of the Australian Labor Party that there ought to be a referendum to give constitutional recognition of local government."
Senator Kim Carr, Shadow Local Government Minister

"I am one who believes that local government performs a magnificent role in the governance of Australia … I give credit to the President of the ALGA, who is also the President of the LGAQ, Councillor Paul Bell, a great man and a very distinguished statesman almost. I have said to him that if he wants to have constitutional recognition there has to be agreement by all of the states first."
Senator Ian Macdonald

"When we get all parties together supporting a referendum initiative, local government will get recognition."
Senator Bob Brown, Greens Leader

"What local government wants is a seat at the table and, whether that is federal or state, that is what this is all about … So often, decisions are made that impact on local government but they are not at the table discussing them."
Senator Lyn Allison, Democrats Leader

"The Democrats have long held a view that we should be strengthening local government, building up to regional government, and, quite frankly, looking for opportunities to abolish states altogether."
Senator Andrew Bartlett

(Source: Hansard September 6-13, 2006)

Major water funding projects announcement by PM

Crop irrigation

The Prime Minister John Howard has announced 11 projects designed to improve water management across Australia through better information and science.

These 11 projects involve Australian Government funding of $21 million to support total investments of $34 million.

The centrepiece of the announcement is an investment of $27 million to improve understanding of Australia's tropical northern rivers and coastal environments. These rivers are located from the tip of Cape York Peninsula in Queensland to Cape Leveque in Western Australia.

Further Australian Government funding of $4 million will be provided for two groundwater projects delivering on the Australian Government's election commitment to bolster confidence in the sustainable use of groundwater resources through strategic groundwater assessments. Some $1.75 million of this will be used to carry out strategic assessment and management of groundwater systems. As a result priority groundwater areas will be identified, more resources will be provided, and action taken to improve management and monitoring of our groundwater systems.

Other projects announced today include improving in-field verification of irrigation meter accuracy, exploring water entitlements resulting from new water products, best practice water planning practices, water recycling via managed aquifer recharge, mapping surface water and groundwater connectivity across Australia and urban water reform, including the development of Water Sensitive Australian Cities. More details are available from: www.pm.gov.au

Funding boost needed for aged care in rural and remote areas

Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA), has called on the Australian Government to boost funding and support for aged and community care services in rural and remote Australia. The boost is needed to ensure that all older Australians and their families living there have access to the same quality and range of services as other Australians.

Greg Mundy, CEO of ACSA said that: "As well as care these services provide the economic lifeblood of rural areas due to their employment and purchasing role in the rural economies."

ACSA has endorsed a report released this week at its National Conference Rural and Remote workshop. The Report quantifies the economic importance of the aged and health sector to the overall economic, employment and population viability of many rural towns and regions.

The report - The Economic importance of non-hospital health and aged-related community care services to regional communities - examines the economic contribution made by non-hospital health and aged-related community care services to three regional economies:

  • mid north coast region of NSW (Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Clarence and Hastings)
  • outer Adelaide region (Barossa, Kangaroo Island, Mt Lofty Ranges, and Fleurieu)
  • Kimberley region of WA.

It shows that improving access to local health and community care services potentially yields strong benefits, by enabling people to remain, be cared for, and work in their own community and by boosting local employment and economic activity. For a copy of the report visit www.hesta.com.au

From the President

Infrastructure and the need to invest properly in our future is an issue that is gaining momentum for local governments around Australia.

Infrastructure is not just about roads, drains or sewerage pipes.

It is about investing in utilities, improving public transport, rail and freight infrastructure, extending telecommunications networks, and upgrading local community facilities.

The emerging and expanding concept of 'stranded towns' without adequate water to support local communities and businesses, let alone to support broader community services or activities, has given increasing urgency to addressing this critical issue.

Apart from life-sustaining water infrastructure, the precarious financial situation facing local councils means there is not much left, if anything, to invest in upgrading ageing facilities and public buildings like libraries, swimming pools, child care, and range of other community resources.

Local government maintains assets worth more than $170 billion. A great deal of this infrastructure dates from the post-war period and was built in the '50s and 60's with the help of state and federal funds. These assets are in pressing need of replacement, repair and renewal.

A failure to invest in our future, is not just detrimental to the health and safety and general well-being of our communities, it is wiping millions of dollars off the value of council assets.

Telecommunications infrastructure is a high-order priority in rural and regional communities where delays in providing access to broadband is affecting business linkages and access to export markets which is impacting on local economies.

The Australian Local Government Minister, Jim Lloyd, has made the point that local government needs to ensure that proper asset management systems are in place, have a medium-to-long term budgetary focus, and adequately plan for infrastructure renewal and replacement.

It is important that local government continues to work hard to ensure that our expenditure is strategic and that we look at ways of lowering the cost of providing core services. However, many councils are still finding there is little, if any, fat left over for infrastructure investment.

A coordinated response from federal, state, territory and local governments is needed. With state elections coming up in Victoria and New South Wales and a federal election next year, ALGA is ramping up awareness of the need to adequately fund infrastructure.

The PricewaterhouseCoopers study into local government funding commissioned by ALGA is expected to strengthen our campaign to increase untied financial assistance grants which have declined from 1.2% of total taxation revenue 12 years ago to 0.6% last year. An annual funding injection of a billion dollars is needed to bring local government back to the 1994 levels.

This will assist in lobbying all parties in the election campaigns. We stand ready to play our part to ensure that all communities have has access to adequate infrastructure to secure their future viability.

Cr Paul Bell AM
ALGA President

NGA2996
National General Assembly

The Leader of the Opposition, Kim Beazley, will close this year's National General Assembly, while Senator Kim Carr, Shadow Minister for Housing, Urban Development, Local Government and Territories will also address Assembly delegates. Special giests will be the Minister for the Ageing Senator Santoro and Local Government Minister Jim Lloyd. ALGA President, Cr Paul Bell, said, "We are delighted to have the support of representatives from our federal parliamentarians - it demonstrates the spirit of cooperation that exists between local and federal governments". This year's keynote presentation will be given by Grahame Morris, the head of PricewaterhouseCoopers Office of Federal Government Services and heading ALGA's local government financing study. He will be joined by Barry Easther, Mayor of West Tamar Council - put under the media spotlight after the rockfall disaster at the Beaconsfield gold mine on Anzac Day - Robyn Moore, multi-skilled communicator, and the Founder and Chairman of Clean Up Australia, Ian Kiernan. Program and registration details are now available on the recently refurbished National General Assembly website.

Protecting shorebirds

WWF-Australia with funding from the Australian Government's Natural Heritage Trust is pleased to announce the launch of the Shorebird Conservation Toolkit to help protect and enhance shorebird habitat across Australia.

The toolkit builds on the success of the national Shorebird Conservation Project (2001-2005), drawing from over 31 on-ground and community-driven shorebird conservation projects.

The toolkit is a comprehensive resource that will enable users to:

  • understand and appreciate shorebirds, their habitat and conservation needs
  • locate important shorebird sites in Australia and access population estimates
  • develop site survey and monitoring programs
  • identify/assess site management needs, and implement/evaluate management actions
  • write grant applications, site communication plans and media releases
  • access existing resources
  • identify and advocate international/national conservation options
  • access organisations with knowledge/expertise in practical shorebird and wetland conservation.

The toolkit is available on-line at www.shorebirds.org.au and on CD.

Productivity Commission Study

An issues paper on the Productivity Commission study on Performance Benchmarking of Australian Business Regulation.

ALGA is holding discussions with the Commission on whether council by-laws will be included in the study and is liaising with state associations on this issue. Submissions need to be made before 30 September.

The report will consider the burden of regulation on business, compliance cost, measuring indirect costs and duplication of effort for business operating across state boundaries. Development assessment will be given attention. The study will also include a stocktake of legislation to consider the number of laws and regulations and their incremental impact on business.

New citizenship test

A proposed new citizenship test is not designed to target the Muslim community, Prime Minister John Howard insists.

The government has released a discussion paper proposing to strengthen laws to make immigrants wait longer to be eligible for citizenship.

Immigrants also would have to take a test to prove they understand Australian history, national symbols, culture and the democratic system, as well as English, before being granted citizenship.

Mr Howard today said the changes should be in place before the next election, and he expected bipartisan support for them.

ALGA is discussing the implementation of the test with the Department of Immigration in relation to the important role undertaken by councils in conducting citizenship ceremonies. About 103,500 people were granted Australian citizenship in 2005-06, an 11 per cent increase on the previous year.

The government is taking submissions on the discussion paper until November 17. It is available on the www.immi.gov.au website.

Award For Excellence in Communication

Mosman Council was recently announced joint winner of the 2006 R H Dougherty Award for excellence in communication for councils with populations less than 30,000. The Dougherty Awards, sponsored by the NSW Local Government and Shires Associations, aim to recognise and encourage greater understanding and accountability by councils to their local communities.

Mosman Council won the award with an innovative way of managing the provision of planning advice to the community. Council's customers had been handled for at least ten years by a rostered system of "duty planners" available each day between 8.30am and 10.30am. Feedback from external customers shows a high level of satisfaction with the new service. Most often remarked upon are: Consistent advice; willingness to explain planning controls clearly; prompt response time to phone enquiries and certainty of advice given.

National Work and Family Awards

The 2007 ACCI/BCA National Work and Family Awards are now open. Small, medium and large organisations are encouraged to enter. To find out how your organisation can be part of the Awards see the attached flyer, or visit the website.
Native Title appeal likely

The West Australian Government is giving every indication that it will appeal against a successful native title claim over Perth.

Aboriginal leaders and their supporters say the Federal Court judgment will have no impact on the lives of Perth residents, because native title has been extinguished over most of the area. In fact the claim excluded much of the land and waters in and around the western capital.

But the Prime Minister has expressed concern about the decision, and West Australian Liberal MPs are questioning the judge's finding that the Noongar people have managed to maintain a sense of community since the onset of white settlement.

Home renovation activity rises

The Housing Industry Association (HIA) says major renovation activity in Australia increased in value by 4 per cent in the June quarter to $851 million.

More than 10,000 households took on a project, with an average value of $84,000.Ground floor extensions were the most popular.

The HIA says the pick-up in renovation activity will be welcomed by many building material makers and suppliers.

Australian Bureau of Statistics quarterly figures showed a fall of more than 2 per cent in new home construction.

HIA economist Harley Dale says many people cannot afford to purchase new homes."So instead they're looking at significantly extending or upgrading their existing home and that's what the renovations monitor shows continued to occur in the June quarter," he said.

"The renovations market tends to prove a little more resilient to interest rate rises than does the new home market.

"When we see a situation where housing conditions are softening they tend to soften to a lesser extent for renovations."

But Mr Dale says people are spending less on home repairs due to the May interest rate increase.

"On average people are tending to spend a little bit less on a major renovation than they were," he said."That's probably something that will continue in the short-term given the uncertain times that we're in at present."

Forgotten town receives apology from PM

John Howard has made history as the first prime minister to visit the small northern Riverina town of Temora in south-western NSW.

But it was cause of some embarrassment - both for him and all two dozen of his predecessors as prime minister, that it had taken so long for any of them to make it.

So much so that Mr Howard felt obliged to say sorry on their collective behalf. "I apologise on behalf of myself and my 24 predecessors as Prime Minister of Australia that it's taken so long for one of us to get here," he said.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister described it as a tongue-in-cheek apology given after the town's mayor, Nigel Ashley Judd, brought the oversight to the PM's attention.

Road safety engineering risk

ARRB is currently involved in a variety of research projects that relate to road safety engineering risk. The results of this Austroads funded research will be of interest to local government. A project newsletter, titled the Road Safety Risk Reporter is now available, and covers the issue of road design elements that have an influence on road safety risk.

ALGWA National Conference

Women leaders in the public sector and in politics are among speakers at the third annual Going Public conference, designed to highlight issues that confront working women. Speakers include Ministers Julie Bishop and Sharman Stone, Senator Natasha Stott-Despoja, and Brisbane City Council CEO Jude Munro. The conference will be held on October 4 to 6, 2006 at the Hilton On the Park in Melbourne and is proudly hosted by the City Of Yarra. Going Public will focus on leadership and learning, and feature valuable presentations, case studies, workshops and forums. It will provide participants from the public sector and politics with an extraordinary opportunity for professional development, meeting and networking. Private sector participation is also welcomed. The Federal Minister for Education, Science and Training, and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on Women's Issues, Julie Bishop, said: "I think that women have an unprecedented opportunity to influence change such as never before, but women must be given a voice. They must be given a voice in the home, in the neighbourhood, in the community, in the parliaments of Australia. We need women to take up the national issues in the national debates."

Jude Munro, who is responsible for the smooth running of the largest local government area in Australia in terms of population, will reveal her secrets to successful leadership, including how she deals with the pressures of work/life balance. Other local government speakers include: Local Government Association of South Australia Executive Director Wendy Campana; Local Government Association of the Northern Territory President Kerry Moir, City of Thuringowa North Queensland's Chief Executive Officer, Lyn Russell and the Local Government Women's Association National President, Kaele Way, who will speak on the topic of strength and leadership in the third sphere of government.

On October 4, the Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads, Jim Lloyd, will speak at a cocktail reception celebrating the 55th year of the Australian Local Government Women's Association where the winner of the Australian Local Government Women's Association Victoria 2006 Study Award will be announced. Registrations are still being accepted. Go to www.publicsectorevents.com.au or contact Pamela Adams on 02 9223 9366 for more information

$1m for by-elections in Qld

Tens of thousands of Queenslanders will head back to the polls next month for council by-elections at a cost of almost $1 million, due to laws that are unique in Australia.

Under Queensland local government laws, any councillor who runs as a candidate at a state election must resign their post. In other states and at the federal level, councillors can step aside and return to the seat if unsuccessful.

The laws have led to 11 by-elections in councils across Queensland, most of which are being held on October 28. Each of the by-elections are expected to cost local ratepayers at least $60,000.

ALGA President Paul Bell says that Local Government Minister Andrew Fraser should make scrapping the laws one of his first priorities.

By-elections are also planned for Logan, Toowoomba, Maroochy, Hervey Bay, Injinoo, Cook, Lockhart River, Bowen and Brisbane.

Quote of the week

"I am old enough to know that a red carpet is just a rug"
    - Former US vice-president and environmental filmmaker Al Gore, when asked what it was like to be a star rather than a politician.

International news  
Pay as you throw

A UK report recommends that members of the public should be charged a 'pay-as-you-throw' fee for their rubbish collection, with wasteful households receiving a bill to match the size of their over-full bins.

The report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and the Green Alliance was published this week, ahead of the Local Government White Paper and the new Waste Strategy.

The report says that Britain has one of the worst recycling rates in Europe, along with Greece and Portugal, and suggests that monitoring household rubbish with microchip-fitted bins might be the answer to the country's waste woes.

According to the IPPR England is only just going to meet the 2005 household waste recycling target of 25% originally set in 2000.

Germany, on the other hand, has achieved rates of around 65% for collection of recyclable materials in areas where local authorities charge around 18p per kilo of waste.

State of the Regions report 2005-06