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Deputy PM attending National General Assembly Regional Forum

Vaile and Bell

The President of the Australian Local Government Association, Cr Paul Bell, said he was delighted to announce that the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport and Regional Services, Mark Vaile, would attend the Regional Cooperation Development Forum in his capacity as Minister for Transport and Regional Services. Cr Bell met Mr Vaile last week at Parliament House where Mr Vaile's attendance was discussed among other issues related to his portfolio such as drought relief, infrastructure and transport.

Minister Vaile joins an impressive list of speakers including the President of Local Government New Zealand, Basil Morrison, as the keynote speaker and the Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Simon Crean. Also addressing the Forum will be Head of Australian Economics and Industry Intelligence, Jeff Oughton, from the National Australia Bank. He will give an overview of the economy; the growth industry sectors and international influences, the impact on house pricing and interest rates, as well as unemployment predictions. In particular, he will outline how these will influence regional development, local economies and communities.

"This year's program is shaping up to be another great forum, discussing the very issues that are at the heart of councils - how we remain vibrant communities and economically viable into the future", Cr Bell said. Standard registration of the National General Assembly closes today - save $100 by registering now.

The Australian Local Government Women's Association has announced that Senator Judith Troeth will be guest speaker at their Networking Breakfast on Wednesday 29th November at the National Convention Centre. Senator Troeth chaired the Inquiry into Women's Representation on Regional and Rural Bodies of Influence. Bookings: http://www.algwa.net.au/events.php

Rate rebates being considered

Prime Minister John Howard has urged the states to provide rate relief to drought-affected shires.

"I think it's fundamentally wrong that in a number of states you've got a situation where people are getting very small proportions of their allocations of water, and yet they're still being charged full bore for it," he said.

"And I think that's a bit rough and I think one of the things the states can do is to provide relief. And they could also, the other states could do what Victoria has done, and that is rebate municipal and council rates by 50 per cent. I mean that's a modest contribution the states can make. They can afford it, and they ought to do it."

ALGA President Councillor Paul Bell backed Mr Howard's comments and said that local government would continue to pressure the states over this issue.

Queensland said it was considering offering rebates on rates. Acting Premier Anna Bligh said the state government would assess how much it'd cost.

Ms Bligh who attended yesterday's water summit in Canberra has told ABC radio the state has to be realistic about how quickly the assessment could be done.

The Executive Director of the Qld Local Government Association, Greg Hallam, said the state government's consideration of a rebate scheme was welcome and historic.

The President of the Shires Association of NSW, Cr Col Sullivan, said that many rural councils had deferred rate collections or imposed minimal rate increases to assist drought stricken farmers, and in the process were losing the ability to provide adequate services and infrastructure for their communities.

"We've called on the State Government to fund a 50% rate subsidy to assist these councils," he said.

Assistance for small businesses in drought-affected areas

The Commonwealth and the states have agreed on a range of measures to tackle a severe water shortage in Australia's most important river system. A working group will report by the middle of next month on a contingency plan to secure urban water supplies from the Murray Darling Basin. A number of water saving proposals to be funded by the National Water Initiative will be accelerated, and drought assistance has been extended to small businesses, which depend on primary production for most of their income.

The Prime Minister, John Howard, met with the leaders of NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland on Tuesday morning. He said they'd reached agreement that permanent water trading would start next year. Mr Howard said they'd also decided that a group of public servants convened by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet will look at ways to ensure that towns and cities don't run out of water: The group would report by the 15th December on contingency planning to secure urban and water supplies during 2007/08.

"We are very committed to a collaborative approach, Mr Howard said. "We can't act independently. We are Australians on this issue and in our approaches and our policies we must be prepared to obliterate state borders."

"We will have to have contingency plans to ensure not only the survival of our irrigators but also that towns and communities are provided with water and protected against the worst consequences."

The new aid - the third federal drought package in as many weeks - will give an estimated 5,000 small businesses the same relief payments available to the drought-stricken farmers whose trade they rely on.

Prime Minister John Howard said the package would extend Exceptional Circumstances (EC) payments available to businesses which derive at least 70 per cent of their income from primary industry. Businesses must also have no more than 20 staff to qualify for help. Those eligible for help will include contract harvesters, fencing contractors, suppliers of seed, feed and fertiliser, livestock transporters, shearing contractors and farm machinery and equipment retailers.

The measures will cost about $210 million over two years.
From the President

It is no secret that one of the major challenges facing local communities in regional areas is the provision of high-quality medical services.

Good health is intrinsically linked to the vitality and robustness of regional communities and regional economies.

Compared with people in urban areas, people who live in the bush have up to 20% higher mortality rates with double the deaths from road vehicle accidents and suicide. There are also lower survival rates from diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer.

While much has been done by State, Territory and Federal Governments, much more remains to be accomplished. To this end, the Australian Local Government Association has worked and will continue to work with like-minded organizations to develop policy proposals to address the problem of regional and rural doctor shortages.

Prior to the last federal election, the Australian Local Government Association collaborated with the Rural Doctors Association of Australia and others to produce a policy document 'Good Health to Rural Communities.'

This 10-point policy document was successful in bringing healthcare challenges to the attention of policy-makers and one of the major recommendations taken up by the Federal Government was the Rural Medical Infrastructure Fund (RMIF).

The fund, which was established on 1 July 2005 and continues until 30 June 2008, provides $15m funding over three years for small rural councils to acquire facilities, for example medical practices or housing, in order to attract doctors to rural towns. The fund is delivered by the Department of Transport and Regional Services (DOTARS) through the Regional Partnerships Program.

The fund addresses the problem many communities have experienced where the cost of purchasing and managing suitable premises and facilities deters GPs from establishing private practices. Under the program, clinics can be funded in communities of less than 10,000 people in Inner Regional, Outer Regional, Remote and Very Remote areas under the remoteness criteria of the Australian Bureau of Statistics Australian Geographical Classification System.

The 'walk-in walk-out' approach to general practice adopted under the RMIF means that a medical centre is owned and operated by the local government rather than the general practitioner. It also makes the option of practicing in rural areas more attractive by removing the financial risk and provides continuity of the medical centre beyond the tenure of an individual doctor.

I am particularly pleased that in response to feedback from local government and rural doctors, the Australian Minister for Transport and Regional Services recently announced a series of enhancements to the RMIH eligibility criteria. These allow local Divisions of General Practice to apply for funding, either alone or in partnership with councils, Indigenous Community Councils and other community organisations. Importantly, the RMIF funding cap for projects has been increased from $200,000 to $400,000. Medical facilities for allied health professional services, such as dentists, optometrists, audiologists, physiotherapists and Indigenous health workers are also included in the new guidelines. Residential housing for doctors under exceptional circumstances will also be considered.

The changes are designed to increase the number of eligible participants, particularly in remote and Indigenous communities.

Area Consultative Committees, which have a considerable amount of local knowledge and experience with other applications under Regional Partnerships, can assist local governments to develop applications.

The Shire of Boyup Brook in WA was the first local government to secure funding under the RMIF. Last December, the Shire was awarded $115,500 towards the cost of renovating and equipping an existing community-owned clinic in the township. Over the past year, successful grant applications have been put forward by the Shires of Boddington, Darkan, Wyalkatchem, Wongan Hill in WA, East Gippsland Shire Council in Victoria, Tennant Creek Town Council in the NT and Warrumbungle and Gwydir Shire Councils in NSW.

This is an excellent scheme and local government needs to back it all the way. I urge rural, remote and regional councils to investigate setting up or expanding health facilities under the RMIF, especially now that the program has been enhanced to expand eligibility.

The first contact for further information is the local ACC: www.acc.gov.au. The guide for applicants and a fact sheet is available from the DOTARS web site or by calling 1800 026222.

There is no doubt that more needs to be done, particularly in the areas of communications, high quality broadband services and tele-health as well as emergency medicine, patient transfers, maternity services and building an adequate rural medical workforce.

To this end, ALGA is committed to developing a new 2007 edition of 'Good Health to Rural Communities' in partnership with the Rural Doctors Association, the National Farmers' Federation, the Health Consumers of Rural and Remote Australia and the Country Women's Association of Australia.

Local government is at the vanguard of nourishing, revitalising and sustaining healthy communities. The RMIF scheme and the health partnerships forged with other organisations are encouraging developments which underpin progress towards ensuring that the 30% of Australians who live in the bush get access to convenient and timely access to appropriate healthcare.

Cr Paul Bell AM
ALGA President

Senator urges mayoral control of a Qld upper house

In a speech to the North Queensland Local Government Association Conference at Cardwell last Thursday, Queensland Liberal Senator Ian Macdonald argued that Queensland needed a house of review, and this should be made up of mayors from all over the state.

"Having a second chamber of Parliament comprised of mayors drawn from all over the state - intimately attuned and connected to Queenslanders, would provide benefits that would be tangible, particularly for northerners - at no cost - either in money or governance terms."

Senator Macdonald said the benefits would include real and independent scrutiny of all Queensland Government decisions without political grouping or point-scoring. "And having mayors from all over the state as part of the legislature, for a fixed 4-year term would bring stability and continuity to governance processes and would mean that the needs and aspirations of the north would be better recognised."

He said that the public "might also say when they saw an upper chamber with lots of sensible people in it; perhaps they would turn around and say to that chamber 'Thank Goodness you're here!'" Queensland is the only state in Australia with a unicameral legislature.

Whoops! Blunder on local government in 'The Australian'

In an otherwise thoughtful article on the future of our federation, 'The Australian' has made a major blunder revealing considerable ignorance about the role of local government. In 'Part 12 Politics and Ideas' of its recent magazine series - 2026: A Vision for the Nation's Future - a senior journalist claimed:

"Recent attempts to elevate local government into the Council of Australian Governments have failed for the simple reason its functions will be either corporatised or absorbed into state governments by 2026."

In fact, local government, through ALGA, has been a full member of COAG since its inception. The article failed to mention that the major change over the past few years has been the strengthening of federal-local government relations, with Canberra increasingly viewing local government as an alternative partner to the states to deliver important services to local communities.

TAFE futures findings released

Dr Peter Kell has released his findings on the investigation into the TAFE system. The independent inquiry was based on national submissions, public hearings and private consultations. The TAFE Futures Inquiry was established by the Australian Education Union to determine how TAFE can best operate in the future to ensure it is meeting the skills and education needs of its students, employers and local communities. The report and key findings are available on the TAFE Futures website.
Rates action welcomed by WALGA

Local communities in mining regions should expect greater continuity in planning and provision of council facilities under a plan being pushed by the WA Government.

Under the plan, resource companies will lose the exemption from paying local government rates as State Mining Agreements are renewed.

WA Local Government Association President Cr Bill Mitchell applauded the efforts of Resources Minister John Bowler in securing agreement by Rio Tinto to participate in the Local Government ratings study.

Cr Mitchell said the achievement by the WA Government in securing commitment from Rio Tinto brought to six the number of mining companies that have agreed to participate in the process aimed at phasing out rating emption clauses.

"The positive impact on local communities of having mining companies pay their fair share of Local Government rates should not be underestimated," Cr Mitchell said.

"Local government is primarily responsible for providing services and facilities at a local level and without the contribution of the major industries, the burden of rates falls to the community comprising residents and smaller businesses.

"It is not fair for the situation to continue and I applaud Minister Bowler in pushing ahead with the State Government commitment to remove these clauses from future agreements.

"I also believe it is appropriate to applaud the resource companies, such as BHP and Rio Tinto, for recognising their community responsibilities and agreeing to participate.

"The actual financial benefit from phasing in the rating reforms will be directly realised by local communities with resource industries," Cr Mitchell said.

"The message this initiative sends to Councils is that the State Government recognises the need for Local Governments to have a fairer distribution of revenue.

"Continuity in revenue to Local Government will enable Councils to plan and implement services and facilities with greater confidence and with the opportunity to have a longer term outlook."

Labor plan to reform federalism

Labor has a plan to reform federalism, linking states' funding to performance targets.

Funding for education, health, water reform and carbon-emission reductions would be tied to improved policy outcomes, in a plan announced by Opposition Leader Kim Beazley.

"The cost-shifting and duplication costs Australians billions of dollars," Mr Beazley told News Ltd.

"At the moment, some jobs are done twice - by different levels of government - creating overlap, red tape and confusion.

"Billions of dollars that could be spent delivering better health outcomes or pushing out the frontiers of medical research.

"My modern federalism will fund state and territories for achieving outcomes, not just running bureaucracies.

"A share of commonwealth funding to the states and territories will be determined on the basis of those reviews."

Mr Beazley did not detail, however, what that share of funding would be. He said that performance in relation to the plans would be reviewed by a Reform Council.

National recycling hotline

A national recycling hotline and website covering all 672 local government areas across the country was launched by the Australian Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Senator Ian Campbell, and Planet Ark Founder Jon Dee.

The service will give householders and businesses complete information about what and where they can recycle in their local areas. In addition to basic recyclables like newspapers and aluminium cans, the site also tells people where they can recycle other things such as computers, oil, car tyres, fridges, mobile phones, car batteries, printer cartridges, phone books and paint cans. It also tells people how to give away things for free.

"This is the most detailed, comprehensive and user-friendly service yet developed for recycling in Australia," Senator Campbell said at the launch in Perth to mark National Recycling Week. "It is a genuine one-stop service so everyone can do the right thing by the environment.

"Australia has excellent recycling rates for some products - it is 74 per cent for newspapers, the best in the world - but for others there is need for improvement. Research by Roy Morgan shows that 48 per cent of Australians are confused about what they can and cannot recycle. The hotline and website are designed to clear up that confusion."

The hotline is 1300 733 712

National Recycling Week runs until Sunday November 12.

Norfolk Islanders begin case against commonwealth

Norfolk Islanders this week began a High Court battle to protect their community's existing level of self-government.

Earlier this year, Chief Minister Geoff Gardner and island resident Geoff Bennett started court proceedings against the federal government to determine the constitutional status of its citizens.

They hope their action will uphold the democratic rights of Norfolk Islanders and protect their current levels of self-government.

The federal government has warned that the status quo is unsustainable and has been canvassing new models for government, including modified self-government or a local government model.

Recreational fishing community grants

Round 4 of the Australian Government's Recreational Fishing Grants are now open, and will close on Thursday 25 January 2007. Councils are able to apply for these grants of up to $100,000 to undertake projects that enhance recreational fishing opportunities. This can include infrastructure upgrades, restocking waterways, monitoring and data collection, awareness raising, or track upgrades, in either freshwater or saltwater environments. Applicants will require matched funding, generally on a dollar for dollar basis, with in-kind contributions accepted.

Gold Coast City Council approves desalination project

Gold Coast City Council has formally approved a project to build a large desalination plant that could eventually help supplement public water supplies across south-east Queensland.

With growing numbers of Australian local governments investigating the potential use of small to large-scale desalination technologies to top up drought-stricken public water supplies, Gold Coast City Council is now expected to start signing construction contracts for its desalination plant within the next few weeks.

Initial works on the site for the desalination plant commenced during the middle of this year.

The desalination project, could cost more than $1 billion - the bulk of which would be financed by the Queensland Government.

The council has given approval for the construction of a desalination plant with the capacity to produce 125 megalitres of water per day.

Melbourne bin trial set to combat bin fires

Melbourne city bins will be fitted with special ashtrays in a new trial to prevent up to 500 bin fires in the CBD each year.

The Melbourne City Council will fit 35 public bins with butt litter inserts designed to separate cigarette butts from flammable waste.

The three-month, $25,000 trial will begin this week in selected locations around the inner city.

Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) commander Peter Egan said crews responded to about 12 bin fires in the city each week, costing the council $110,000 a year to repair.

"We're getting about somewhere between 400 and 500 rubbish bin fires a year in the city of Melbourne and most of them are in the CBD area at the moment," he said.

Lord Mayor John So said if the council didn't address the issue now, it would face a rising number of public bin fires in future.

"This is an incredible waste of MFB resources, not to mention the risk to public safety and the costs involved in replacing the bins," he said.

Mission Australia's national survey of young Australians 2006

This year, Mission Australia conducted its fifth National Survey of Young Australians aged between 11-24 years. The survey was distributed extensively to all secondary schools, other educational institutions and libraries, youth organisations and services and with the support of a range of Mission Australia's corporate partners.

Over 14,700 young Australians participated in the survey. Responses came from all parts of the country, including a significant number from young people who live outside our capital cities. Close to 800 Indigenous young people also participated.

The survey findings provide a wealth of important information about the lives of young Australians - what they value, the issues that concern them, where they turn for advice and support and their community involvement. The report of the survey findings includes summaries at the national level and each state/territory. There is also a section which compares responses from Indigenous and non Indigenous young people. Responses are broken down by age and gender and where possible comparisons are made with data from earlier surveys.

Free copies of the report can be obtained by emailing Anne Hampshire - hampshirea@missionaustralia.com.au. It can also be downloaded from the Mission Australia website.

Seachange/Treechange: regional and outer urban transitions

A free seminar program presented by Mission Australia, the Smith Family and the Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW will be held on Thursday 16th November from 5pm-7.30pm at Macquarie Bank Building, Level 22, 20 Bond Street, Sydney. Speakers include Alan Stokes, Executive Officer, National Sea Change Taskforce, and Karen Healy, Associate Professor of the School of Social Work and Applied Human Sciences, the University of Queensland. RSVP vuongt@missionaustralia.com.au or telephone 02 9219 2022.

Scams and rip-offs

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has a new look SCAMwatch website. ACCC Chairman Mr Graeme Samuel said the website was designed to educate and assist consumers about scams and the steps they could take to protect themselves. The website lists 39 different types of scams, ranging to pyramid schemes to office supply scams, along with the warning signs to look out for. SCAMwatch features stories from Australians who have been targeted by scams. Many scams originate overseas or take place over the internet which makes it very difficult to track down and prosecute offenders. Mr Samuel said that prevention was the best option.

New council jobs web portal for NSW

The Local Government and Shires Association (LGSA) of NSW together with MyCareer.com.au have announced the creation of an online job site tailored for local government jobseekers. The LGSA says the website would make it easier to find council jobs, and would attract skilled workers to the sector. 50,000 people are directly employed by local government in NSW and local government is facing a skills shortage in some areas. Jobs will be accessible through the LGSA website in early December.

National Guidelines for health and wellbeing

The summary report of the recently completed National Speakers series conducted by the Australian Government Office of Ageing recommended that national guidelines be developed to help urban planners to design for health and wellbeing. In September PIA is co-convening a scoping workshop with the Australian Government, the National Heart Foundation and the Australian Local Government Association to discuss how these guidelines can progress. If you are interested in further information please contact Liz de Chastel via email at policy@planning.org.au.

Preparing for the ageing population

Two Australian councils are participating in an international project to develop a practical guide to ensure urban communities are prepared to cater for the ageing population. An initiative of the World Health Organisation, the guide will be able to be used by communities across the globe to mould future community development practices and policies. The City of Melbourne and Western Australia's City of Melville are the Australian local governments participating in the project. Participating communities across the globe are organising focus groups of local senior citizens to discuss what makes a community "age-friendly". A report containing the guide is expected to be released in March 2007 by the World Health Organisation and councils participating in the project. The report is to be published on the City of Melville's website. For more information on the project visit the News section of Council's website.

Learning communities

www.yarrarangeslearning.net.au is a new website developed as part of the Shire of Yarra Ranges Learning Communities Strategy. This website will be an important resource for linking all people in Yarra Ranges to lifelong learning that also includes informal community learning opportunities such as volunteering and short courses.

On this website you can find stories of people's learning journeys with inspiring and practical advise to assist you, news and latest information on local learning programs, activities and events, be able to join the Yarra Ranges Learning Alliance and participate in a whole of shire learning activity called the Community Question.

A colourful poster of a living and learning community in Yarra Ranges has been produced to celebrate the new website and inspire people to get involved in lifelong learning and is available from Shire Community Link Centres and Mt Evleyn Community Link.

Quote of the week

"A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him I may think aloud"
    - Ralph Waldo Emerson

International news  
UK roundabout

A city council in England has pledged to remove new road signs put up at a major roundabout that have left drivers going round in circles.

Each section of the large roundabout on the A444 in Coventry is controlled by newly installed traffic lights that have No Left Turn signs preventing motorists exiting onto entry roads.

But the signs are repeated at the correct exits, which means that drivers either have to break the law and ignore the signs or stay stuck on the roundabout.

A spokesman for Coventry City Council said the signs had been installed together with traffic lights as part of a road safety scheme that is not yet complete.

One local motorist, driving instructor Danny Noonan, told the 'Coventry Evening Telegraph' that the signs could cause an accident.

He said: "All the roads going off the roundabout have a No Left Turn sign, so once you start to go round the roundabout you in effect have to break the law to come off it. Some of my learner drivers try and go round again, until I tell them where to come off. It's like the eternal roundabout."

State of the Regions report 2005-06
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