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Local government roundtable with Minister Lloyd

ALGA President Cr Paul Bell and the State and Territory Presidents and CEOs met with the Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads, Jim Lloyd, at Parliament House yesterday.

Cr Bell said the talks were "very productive" and issues discussed ranged from the Budget announcements, including the Roads to Recovery, AusLink Strategic and Black Spots programs; provision of municipal services to Indigenous communities; the PricewaterhouseCoopers report on local government funding; to the implementation and operation of the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) on Cost Shifting.

Minister Lloyd said that local government State and Territory Associations had presented a detailed case on the issue of financial sustainability and the need to review the way Financial Assistance Grants (FAGs) are assessed to take into account a range of growth indicators, rather than just the CPI and population movements.

"Local government through ALGA and the State and Territory Associations are strong advocates for local communities and I was very pleased to have this opportunity through the Roundtable of getting together to listen to their views," Minister Lloyd said.

"The partnership between the Australian Government and local government has never been stronger, as evidenced in the Federal Budget announcements which provided $1.7b in general purpose and local road grants, in addition to the Roads to Recovery program."

"I believe the case for local government financing, in terms of the Financial Assistance Grants and the case for a direct proportion of at least 1% of federal taxation revenue, has been raised in the spirit of advancing the Australian Government partnership with local government and I undertook to raise the matter further with my colleagues.

"The challenge is now for State Governments to play their part and rather than tearing down local governments and starving them of funding, the states need to use their GST funds to fulfil their responsibilities to local communities."

ALGA President Cr Paul Bell said he looked forward to working further with Minister Lloyd and with the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) to progress the issues raised.

Labor canvasses constitutional reform

ALGA President Cr Paul Bell met with the Shadow Minister for Federal/State Relations Bob McMullan on Wednesday to discuss local government input into the formation of an Advisory Group to provide recommendations on reforming Australian federalism.

Cr Bell discussed the terms of reference with Mr McMullan which include advice on and the role of local government; reform of the scope and nature of Specific Purpose Payments (SPPs) arrangements; changes to the Council of Australian Governments (COAG); and the case for a Constitutional Convention to consider proposals for reform.

Cr Bell said he welcomed statements made by Mr McMullan in relation to constitutional recognition and full participation by local government in COAG and was looking forward to hearing more detail.

ALGA will provide a submission to the Advisory Group which will provide an interim report on SPP arrangements to the Leader of the Opposition by 22 June 2007 and a further, more detailed report on the full terms of reference by 28 September. The advisory group comprises Geoff Anderson, Meredith Edwards, Michael Keating and George Williams.

Also on Wednesday, the Shadow Minister for Local Government, Senator Kate Lundy, addressed the ALGA Board on Labor's priorities for local government. Cr Bell said that local government was pleased with Senator Lundy's support for constitutional recognition and other issues discussed included fair funding, community infrastructure, climate change and urban policy.

"Federal Labor is commited to localism in the delivery of services," Senator Lundy said. "We want to genuinely empower communities to have a greater say in how their needs can best be met. Labor wants to ensure that local government has an effective voice at the federal level."

Maroochy Shire Council and DPI&F work together to support local economy

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Maroochy Shire Council is leading the way in working with peri-urban landholders to improve production, economic viability and increase knowledge and awareness about how to better protect the environment.

The first step was the signing of the ground-breaking MOU in November between Mayor Joe Natoli and Queensland Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries' (DPI&F) Sue Ryan to formalise collaboration between the two organisations to support primary production businesses in the Maroochy hinterland.

 

[Photo: Farmers Paul Aparo and Janet Lipp with the DPI&F's Sue Ryan and Maroochy Shire Council Mayor Joe Natoli.]

The catalyst for the MOU was Maroochy Council's innovative Rural Enterprise Project (MREP) which aims to provide access to information and support to hinterland businesses of all kinds.

Maroochy shire is under unprecedented pressure from population growth. The inevitable threat to traditional farming and green landscapes in the hinterland are of concern to both Council and the DPI&F.

Rural enterprises must maintain and improve their economic viability if the hinterland is to retain its character and charm in the face of urban spread.

Most of the farms in the area are small production units, many of which support mixed crops and animal husbandry. It was at one such farm that the MOU was signed.

There are three key issues which the two organisations are addressing:

  • Increasing knowledge amongst hinterland producers about what information and advice is available
  • Where to access it
  • How to make it relevant and understandable

The MREP is pursuing the development of a Rural Information Service for the hinterland, which would provide access to one-stop information from all organisations with an interest in the rural economy, the DPI&F included.

More immediately the 2 organisations have collaborated on Enterprising Farms, which is being published in June. It is a 'hip-pocket' guide aimed at new and existing primary producers. It will provide them with basic guidance about running a farm business, such as business planning, how to find who to talk to at the DPI&F, the relevance of the Maroochy Planning Scheme and contacts for industry groups, advisory organisations and other sources of information.

Copies of Enterprising Farms (from June) and further information is available about the collaborative work and about the MREP in general, on www.businessmaroochy.com/mrep or call the MREP Manager at Maroochy Shire Council on (07) 5475 8501.
From the President

This week I chaired a Strategic Planning Session where the ALGA Board thrashed out local government's key national priorities as part of formulating its Strategic Plan for the next three and a half years.

It was an interesting exercise to consider what the political, social and environmental landscape will look like in 2010 and to do some crystal ball gazing. Whatever complexion Australia's federal, state and local governments take on, it seems clear to us that it is the issues that will drive public policy-making.

Our shared vision is to ensure that local government is an integral partner in the government framework of Australia - efficient, democratic, fairly funded, fairly treated and formally recognised in the Australian Constitution. The 'Three Fs' - in case it sounds familiar!

It does not take too much guess-work to predict that climate change will continue to be at the forefront of public consciousness with local communities playing an important role in adaptation and mitigation, that ALGA's campaign for constitutional recognition will have to be translated into broader support and a clearer focus on what this will mean for our communities, and that there are likely to be reforms of Commonwealth-State-Local Government financial arrangements.

What is exciting about formulating a new Strategic Plan is that we are not dealing with a pre-determined outcome. The future is shaped by the decisions we make today and which directions local government chooses to embark on. This means we all have a huge responsibility to work together with cohesiveness and wisdom and ensure that we make decisions that will lead us closer to our vision.

The eight core priority areas identified by the ALGA Board are: local government finances, including reform of the local government finances and a fair share of Commonwealth taxation; roads, transport and infrastructure; sustainability and the environment, including climate change; regional development; social policy and human services; linking local government; intergovernmental cooperation; and finally, strengthening democratic processes. We are currently focused on working through strategies to achieve the outcomes we want in these priority areas.

ALGA, as the national voice of local government, is instrumental in working with State and Territory Associations to ensure that local government's objectives are articulated, promoted and ultimately realized. In broad terms, ALGA and the State and Territory Association are working hard for the benefit of communities across Australia to strengthen local government and protect its interests; promote efficient, responsible and transparent processes; and encourage greater participation by all Australians in local government.

While this might sound a little general or even 'airy-fairy', ALGA's membership of 13 Ministerial Councils and full participation in the Council of Australian Governments translates into powerful representation and advocacy to achieve significant outcomes such as funding for roads through Roads to Recovery and Black Spot Programs, health and aged care funding, environmental projects, Indigenous housing, and programs to support a broad range of community services and facilities. This is backed up by policy and research work, a credible and persuasive public profile and by on-the-ground results and milestones achieved by local councils in terms of high standards of service delivery, compliance and public accountability.

Local government has indeed a good story to tell - let's ensure that we continue to put the needs of our communities at the forefront of our thinking and planning, knowing that the future we shape will become the present in which our children and grand-children live, work and hopefully prosper. It is a challenging thought.

Cr Paul Bell AM
ALGA President

Councils urged to support Palliative Care National Community Education Initiative

The National Palliative Care Initiative was launched by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing, Senator Brett Mason, this week.

The initiative is aimed at raising the awareness of palliative care in local communities and has four key priority areas: support for patients, families and carers in the community; increased access to palliative care medicines in the community; education, training and support for the workforce; and research and quality improvement for palliative care services.

ALGA has agreed to become a communication partner with Palliative Care Australia to assist in the National Community Education Initiative and Palliative Care Australia is seeking the assistance of councils across Australia in promoting within their local community the very important messages about how to cope with terminal illness and the benefits of sound palliative care as part of the National Initiative.

Palliative Care is very much a community concern and Palliative Care Australia is seeking to provide the information from this campaign to as many Australians as possible.

The theme for the campaign is 'Make a Difference… to someone living with terminal illness', and there is a range of new publications in an information package, known as the Event Resource Kit.

Palliative Care Australia is sending one of these kits to every local and city council in Australia in a bid to have the message shared around in local communities. The kits contain some posters and brochures, plus two balloons and with speaking notes and templates for use as media releases.

For further information please visit www.pallcare.org.au

No need for states: PM

The Prime Minister John Howard says if Australia was to draft a fresh constitution, there'd be no states.

But Mr Howard, who has to deal with Labor leaders in every state and territory, says he's not about to launch a campaign for this to happen.

He's told ABC Radio he's not interested in accumulating power in Canberra, just because he's the prime minister. But he says when travelling around the country he finds people don't care who delivers a service just as long as it's delivered.

He said that produced frustrations in relation to such issues as disability services.

Mr Howard said an agreement between the states and former Labor prime minister Paul Keating specified that the states would look after accommodation while the commonwealth would deal with employment services and income support payments.

"Over the years the states really haven't done their job and it gets mixed up in the public's mind," he said.

"They don't know which level of government is responsible. They get frustrated understandably.

"That is why they say 'well why do we have to have all these levels of government?'"

Mr Howard said the states always unfairly accused the commonwealth of pushing them around. "When it comes to pushing people around, the state governments are past masters," he said. "Look at what they are doing with local councils. They are not pushing them around, they are trying to push them out of existence." - (AAP)

Call for council elections to be postponed

The Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) has called for next year's council elections to be delayed. The state's 157 councils are due to head to the polls in March next year. LGAQ President Cr Paul Bell said more time was needed to allow an independent commission to complete its review into council boundary changes and amalgamations.

The deadline for submissions to the reform commission is today. The commission is expected to deliver its report to the government in August, with legislation put to parliament in September.

Mr Bell said Premier Peter Beattie had "united the bush and the city" in anger over the possible forced mergers. "It's about time the premier stopped listening to property developers and international businessmen and paid attention to what is being said by the community, its councils and their employees," he said.

The Queensland government's $12 million pledge to protect employees affected by forced council mergers is a short-term solution, according to LGAQ executive director Greg Hallam who said the money had only been allocated for two years and workers would be left "on the scrap heap" after the funding ran out.

"It's only a guarantee for two years so it gets them across a political problem, but it doesn't deal with the long term viability of those towns or anything beyond the short to medium term employment for those people," Mr Hallam said.

Rates, services could be affected

The LGAQ has claimed that rates and services could be affected if the Queensland government does not fairly compensate councils for any takeover of water assets.

Premier Peter Beattie yesterday said he had received a preliminary report into the management and control of water assets in Queensland's drought-ravaged south-east.

Mr Beattie said no decision had yet been made on how the government would take control of water assets, but said the government was not obliged to offer councils any compensation.

"Legally we don't have to give anybody anything," Mr Beattie said.

"We don't have to compensate people. But all I'm saying is we'll be fair, but it's got to be a workable model."

The Queensland Water Commission report, which is expected to recommend a government body take control of the region's bulk water supplies, will be finalised by the end of the month.

Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) chief executive Greg Hallam said the state government should compensate councils if it went ahead with any takeover.

"Obviously we would be concerned if there was any asset stripping," he said.

"It certainly will significantly impact on councils and communities on rate levels and services."

Rain fails to avert water crisis

Prime Minister John Howard has asked Victorian Premier Steve Bracks to a meeting in Canberra next week to thrash out their differences over the national water plan. Victoria is the only state yet to sign up to the 10 billion dollar plan to revive the Murray-Darling Basin.

NSW, South Australia, Queensland and the ACT have supported the 10-year national water plan, which is aimed at ending over-allocations of water for irrigation in Australia's prime agricultural region.

Heavy rain over parts of Victoria and NSW last week have done little to help save the Murray river with authorities warning much more is required to impact on water storage levels.

Mr Howard warned last month that farmers in the region would have their irrigation cut off from July 1 if heavy rain did not fall within six weeks.

Residents in southeast Australia face tougher water restrictions from next month as storage levels hit new laws.

The NSW government said it would force towns and cities in the Murray-Darling Basin to adopt stage four water restrictions from July 1.

The ACT's water authority will also go to stage four by July and could move earlier.

The Victorian government will take Melbourne's restrictions to the same level in August unless winter rains make that unnecessary.

Elsewhere, Sydney and Adelaide remain on level three restrictions, while residents of south-east Queensland, including Brisbane, are coping with level five under that state's system.

Federal Water Resources Minister Malcolm Turnbull said through a spokeswoman that recent rains had not altered the expectation of zero allocations at the beginning of the irrigation season.

The prospect of zero allocations raised fears of higher food prices and economic damage to rural communities.

The Murray Regional Organisation of Councils (MROC) representing 11 local government authorities in the area said most would be willing to comply and may do so earlier than July.

"The real danger is that if there is not enough water for some of our major industries, then people could start losing their jobs," MROC executive officer Ray Stubbs said.

Orange City Council, in central-west NSW, recently voted to re-direct 450 million litres of drinking water from drought-stricken municipality in attempts to keep open the Cadia goldmine - the area's largest employer.

The Murray-Darling Basin Commission said that while the falls assisted with wetting parts of the catchment there was little response in the way of increased stream flows.

The commission said the water release from the Dartmouth Reservoir would be maintained at minimum levels. And while the water storage level in the Hume Dam increased from 170 to 180 gigalitres, it was still at just six per cent of capacity.

Commission chief executive Wendy Craik said while the falls were good news, especially for farmers, much more was required. She said one metre of rain was probably needed in the catchment to make a real impact on water storage levels.

"This has been very welcome but it really is mostly just wetting up the catchments," she said. "There may be some direct effect on the river in reduced evaporation but we won't be able to tell that for a couple of days. We need lots more."

Crime and Prevention Awards

The annual Australian Crime and Violence Prevention Awards are sponsored by the heads of Australian governments and members of the Australasian Police Ministers' Council as a joint Australian Government, state and territory initiative. They include monetary awards totalling up to $130,000.

The awards are designed to reward good practice in the prevention or reduction of violence and other types of crime in Australia, to encourage public initiatives and to assist governments in identifying and developing practical projects which will reduce violence and other types of crime in the community. Projects may address specific groups such as rural and remote communities, women, children, youth or the family, or specific problems such as alcohol-related violence. An award may also be available for initiatives of great merit or for outstanding projects which have recently ceased operation. Police-led projects will receive a special police medal.

Closing date for entries has been extended to Monday 4 June 2007.

Further inquiries to acvpa@aic.gov.au or to the state representatives listed at www.aic.gov.au/acvpa

Boost for family violence prevention

Indigenous communities in the remote regions of the Tennant Creek Local Government Area will soon have increased access to legal and support services.

Attorney-General Philip Ruddock has announced the appointment of the Central Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Unit as the new service provider in the Tennant Creek Local Government Area. These services will provide legal and support services to Indigenous Australians who are victims of family violence or who are at immediate risk of such violence.

Four other services were announced earlier this year in Broken Hill LGA, New South Wales, Port Lincoln LGA , South Australia, and South West of Western Australia, including Albany, Mt Barker, Katanning, Kojonup, Gnowangerup, Tambellup and Jerramungup, and Broome LGA in Western Australia.

Where you live may influence what you weigh: study

Where you live may well influence what you weigh, a new study has found.

Funded by VicHealth, the three-year research project by the University of Melbourne shows that the more fast food outlets and the fewer walking tracks a suburb has, the more unhealthy its residents are likely to be.

The Victorian Lifestyle and Neighbourhoods Environment Study looked at food purchasing, alcohol consumption and exercise habits of almost 5000 people across Melbourne. The study found that where people lived could influence what they ate, how much they exercised and their weight, researcher Anne Kavanagh said. Associate Professor Kavanagh said living in a richer or poorer neighbourhood was more important than a person's actual income.

People who lived in low socio-economic status areas were less likely to exercise, had a higher body mass index (BMI), were less likely to purchase healthy groceries, were less likely to eat fruit, purchased fast food at least once a week and were more likely to drink alcohol, she said.

"Even though fruit and vegetables in lower socio-economic areas were cheaper, their cost took up a greater proportion of people's incomes," Prof Kavanagh said.

"Up to a quarter of people in these areas said they had trouble carrying groceries, and were more likely to run out of money to buy food, which could be influencing their shopping habits."

The researchers also found that lower socio-economic suburbs had twice as many fast food outlets than high socio-economic areas and fewer kilometres of walking tracks.

"Living in low socio-economic status areas is harmful for both high income and low income households," Prof Kavanagh said.

She said the results of the study had already attracted interest from the City of Knox, in Melbourne's north-eastern suburbs.

She said data from the study revealed walking rates among women with children were low in that area, and the local council now intended to survey mothers to determine how they were getting out and about, and what stood in the way of their walking - ( AAP)

State of the Regions report 2006-07
Productivity Commission Study

ALGA calls on councils to make submissions to this very important Productivity Commission (PC)inquiry into local government own-source revenue raising.

The PC has released an issues paper as part of its study which can be downloaded from the PC website

The issues paper is the first formal part of the study process and follows preliminary discussions between the Commission and key stakeholders, including the Australian Local Government Association. The paper sets out the process that the PC will follow in conducting the study into local government own-source revenue, outlines a range of factors that the Commission will consider as part of the study and poses a series of questions. Submissions to the study can be framed around the questions and issues raised, or address other issues not covered.

The issues paper covers four broad areas:

  • Revenue
  • State and territory government regulatory constraints
  • Impacts on individuals, organisations and businesses
  • Factors influencing expenditure and revenue raising

The Commission intends traveling to and conducting roundtable discussions with organisations, government agencies, academic experts and interested individuals, as well as reviewing literature and data on the subject of local government revenue.

Submissions to the study will be accepted throughout the course of the study, but should be lodged by no later than 6 July 2007 in order to be considered for the draft report.

A draft report will be released for discussion in October 2007. This will be the subject of additional consultation, including further roundtable discussions, and be finalised for presentation to the Australian Government by 4 April 2008.

Local Roads and Transport Congress

The Congress is drawing closer and the opportunity for early bird registrations that save $110 per registration ends at the end of May.

This year's Congress is being held in Newcastle from 8 to 10 July.

The theme of this year's Congress is Vote 1 – roads and transport. Delivering on the local government strategy is even more relevant in the light of the recent Budget road funding announcements.

As 2007 is a federal election year it is important that local government is strongly represented at this event to show the Federal Government the importance to councils of its funding.

This particular Congress will investigate each of the five strategies and provide opportunities for delegates to contribute to the discussion on how to achieve local government's objectives.

In addition to speakers from both the Government and the Opposition, Tim Shanahon - Chief Executive of Western Australian Chamber of Minerals and Energy (CME) will be giving a keynote address.

CME is the leading advocacy group for the resources sector in WA representing companies that contribute over 90 percent of the states mining production and exploration expenditure. From 1989 till 2000, Mr Shanahan was the Executive Director of the Western Australian Municipal Association.

These roles mean that Tim has a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of the local government perspective and how important the issues of transport are to the social, cultural and economic success of a community as well as the needs of industry, especially mining.

The law graduate from UWA is also a Trustee of the Committee for the Economical Development of Australia (CEDA), WA Advisory Committee Member, a Member of the Australia Day Council for Western Australia and a National Board Member of the Beacon foundation.

In January 2001, he was awarded the Public Service Medal for outstanding service to local government and in April 2003, he was awarded a centenary medal for service to local government in Western Australia.

Register and pay online at www.alga.asn.au/roadcongress. Early bird registrations made by 1 June save $110 per registration.

The Way Forward for women

The National Framework for Women in Local Government review – The Way Forward - has been presented to the Minister for Education, Science and Training and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues, Julie Bishop by the National President of the Australian Local Government Women's Association, Kaele Way.

The Review of the 2001 National Framework for Women in Local Government was undertaken by the Australian Local Government Women's Association (ALGWA) to identify issues affecting the low participation rate of women in Local Government both in the elected and employed areas.

Ms Way said that since the consultation was undertaken in 2001, some advances have been achieved in strengthening the role of women in Local Government but more needs to be done.

"The review of the national framework for women in Local Government found a vital need for better governance in the sector and that codes of conduct need to be implemented and monitored," she said.

ALGWA is urging local councils to bring about essential changes to culture and governance that will promote and underpin increased participation by women. This can happen voluntarily through stronger mandatory provisions in legislation enforced by State Government.

The findings of this review will be forwarded to all councils throughout Australia and the ALGWA will establish a National Steering Committee to implement the findings of its research and recommendations.

ALGWA will launch the national framework in all states.

Tasmania 30 May
Northern Territory 6 June
New South Wales 4 June
Victoria 13 June
Western Australia 14 June
South Australia 15 June
Queensland 22 June

The framework will be available on the national website at www.algwa.net.au.

Mobile phone industry to plant a tree for every handset recycled in June

MobileMuster, the official recycling program of the mobile phone industry, in partnership with Landcare Australia, officially launched its "Old Phones, New Trees" campaign, which will see the planting of a native tree for every mobile phone handed in for recycling between now and the end of June 2007.

MobileMuster and Landcare Australia aim to plant and maintain up to 100,000 1 native trees which is estimated to offset the equivalent of 15,000 tonnes of carbon emissions2 or take 5,000 cars off the road. In the past year MobileMuster has seen encouraging results with collections and awareness increasing. But there is still a long way to go.

Rose Read, Manager of Australian Mobile Telecommunication Association's (AMTA) recycling program, MobileMuster, said '"Old Phones, New Trees" was designed to tackle the estimated 15.5 million stockpile of old and unused mobile phones lying around at home in cupboards and drawers.

"It is vital that these mobiles are recycled and don't end up in landfill where small amounts of potentially hazardous substances such as lead or cadmium could be released into the environment.

MobileMuster has 1,900 drop-off points across Australia including mobile phone retailers Telstra, Optus, Vodafone, 3 Mobile, Virgin Mobile, Crazy Johns, FoneZone, Allphones as well as 160 councils and participating Sydney Credit Union and ANZ branches.

To locate your nearest MobileMuster drop-off point or for further information visit www.mobilemuster.com.au or contact 1300 730 070.

Database to help fight climate change and water loss

The use of sustainable products and services is likely to increase thanks to the launch of a free online database.

Council staff will be able to use the database, which is located on the Sustainable Choice program website, to find and purchase bulk sustainable products and services.

“This database will be a one stop shop for councils to source sustainable products and services –from recycled paper to building materials and road markers to green energy,” President of the Local Government Association of NSW, Cr Genia McCaffery said.

"Councils want to make sure that where possible their activities and operations are environmentally sustainable, and this database will allow them to easily find and purchase relevant products and services."

The database, which was developed by the Local Government and Shires Associations of NSW in conjunction with Sustainable Choice, was launched at the Sustainable Choice Expo in Bathurst this morning.

All suppliers are invited to register on the database. For more information on the program or to view the database, go to www.lgsa-plus.net.au/sustainablechoice.

Dodgy restaurants and takeaways to be named and shamed

NSW food outlets which have been successfully prosecuted for breaching safety standards will be named and shamed on a new website.

Consumers will now be able to find out if their local restaurant or takeaway has been convicted over a pest problem or a dirty kitchen, in a move long sought by the public.

NSW Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald says the NSW Food Authority has the right, under the Food Act, to publish notification on any outlet which has been convicted of an offence under the act.

"The good news is that the authority will start doing that with new prosecutions within the next two months," he said. "The majority of food outlets in NSW are doing the right thing and they are to be applauded.

"Those few rogue traders who think they can rip people off or who put the health of customers at risk deserve to be named."

Similar systems already operate in the United States and Britain while in Sydney, Woollahra and Blacktown Councils have taken steps to publicly identify outlets in breach of food safety standards.

Information on breaches of food safety standards will be available on the NSW Food Authority website. Way Forward for Women in Local Government.

Development Assessment Forum

ALGA, together with officers from LGAQ, MAV, LGSA joined other Development Assessment Forum (DAF) members recently in Brisbane to discuss several on-going projects that are all designed to contribute to streamlining and improving the development assessment processes and legislative planning systems in Australia.

The Forum members received a practical demonstration of the benefits that may arise as a consequence of the National eDA work and discussed the need to finalise an ongoing management system for maintaining and rolling out the eDA schema. The National eDA project received endorsement by Council of Australian Governments (COAG) at its meeting of the 13 April, when it noted that jurisdictions agree that all new tender specifications for electronic development assessment software purchased by Commonwealth, State, Territory and local government will incorporate a National Communication Protocol (Schema) for transferring development application information electronically from 1 July 2007.

DAF also noted progress that has been made in the areas of benchmarking Australian planning systems and documenting track based assessment procedures. Both pieces of work seeking to expand on the information contained in the Leading Practice Model for development assessment in Australia.

A key outcome arising from the meeting was the unanimous support to modernise the DAF website and update the information available for government, industry and individual users. The new site went live on 24 May 2007.

The Development Assessment Forum is an independent body established in 1998 to promote best practice improvements to development assessment procedures in each jurisdiction of Australia. DAF aims to lead, reform and harmonise development assessment systems across Australia.

For more information about DAF and the DAF Leading Practice Model for Development Assessment, please see www.daf.gov.au

Planning Officials Group (POG) meet

ALGA participated in last week's POG meeting. The meeting, chaired by Neil Savery (ACT) and consisting of senior representatives of all Australian State and Territory Planning agencies discussed several matters, two of which are of particular interest to local government.

The first being a COAG directive for the Local Government and Planning Ministers' Council to develop a set of national planning principles by the end of 2007 aimed towards reducing energy and water use demand from landuse planning and infrastructure design. This work being closely aligned with the COAG National Climate Change Adaptation Framework. The second key piece of work involves planning, building and representatives from the Energy Ministerial Council that are seeking to better understand and delineate planning and building controls within a framework designed to appropriately address climate change and broader sustainability in the built environment.

Whilst both projects are at relatively early stages of development, it is imperative that significant progress is achieved before the end of 2007. ALGA is committed to ensuring that local government has an opportunity to actively participate and contribute in this policy work.

Introduction to land use planning

Australian Urban Land Use Planning introduces and compares the Australian state and territorial planning systems, with a detailed guide to planning in NSW. There are also chapters on local planning approaches to environmental sustainability and housing choice and affordability.

It is written for students, teachers, policy makers, and practitioners wanting an overview of the different statutory provisions across Australia or a detailed reference to NSW.

Australian Urban Land Use Planning: Introducing Statutory Planning Practice in New South Wales is published by Sydney University Press and available through many co-op bookshops and at www.sup.usyd.edu.au (for around $29.95).

Mayor to introduce scooter-friendly scheme in Sydney

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore plans to introduce a scheme to encourage commuters to take scooters to the city.

Council traffic planners will examine ways to encourage greater use of motor-cycles and scooters as an alternative to cars.

Planners are also looking at dedicating free footpath parking to scooters, News Limited reports. The Lord Mayor, who was in New York for a mayoral climate summit last week, told delegates about Sydney's efforts to increase the volume of bicycle traffic.

"We're encouraging Sydneysiders to get out of their cars and start cycling," she said.

The latest City of Sydney proposal follows the release of a cycling strategy and preparations for a similar plan to promote walking.

Funding to preserve community heritage

The National Library is calling for applications for the 2007 Community Heritage Grants.

The grants of up to $15 000 are available to community groups around the country to help preserve and manage locally held nationally significant cultural heritage collections of documents and objects for future generations.

Activities supported include significance assessments, preservation surveys, purchase of archival storage, digitisation, conservation treatments and environmental control.

Collection management workshops for staff and volunteers from community organisations to improve their skills when working with heritage collections are also encouraged.

Representatives from historical societies, museums, public libraries, archives, and Indigenous and migrant community groups are encouraged to apply. Applications close on Friday 8 June 2007.

Over the past 14 years a combined total of over $2 million in funding has been provided to 506 projects. The 2007 Community Heritage Grants Program is funded by the Australian Government through the National Library of Australia; the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts; the National Archives of Australia; the National Film and Sound Archive; and the National Museum of Australia.

Information, guidelines and application forms are available at www.nla.gov.au/chg/

ACCC-Telstra stoush continues

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has attacked Telstra over a series of ads claiming the organisation is stopping Australians from getting high speed broadband.

ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel says the telco should reveal precisely what it's proposing.

Mr Samuel says the G9 group led by Optus will soon publicly release its broadband plan and Telstra should do the same instead of trying to whip up public anxiety about self-manufactured obstacles.

Tourism delivering benefits

Recently released Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures show 3.1 million international tourists visited Australia in the past six months, an increase of 4.7 per cent.

In March 2007 alone, international tourist numbers totalled 524,200, an increase of 10.1 per cent on the same time last year.

Tourists also spent an extra $1.8 billion in Australia in 2006.

Tourism and Transport Forum Australia (TTF) managing director Christopher Brown said the latest figures were timely given the federal budget commitment of $193 million over the next four years for the industry strategy, known as the Tourism White Paper.

Tourism Minister Fran Bailey said one of the main focuses in the coming years would be to woo back the ailing Japanese market, which fell 9.2 per cent in the last six months.

Quote of the week

"Everyone's excited, it's a bit of a buzz around the place - the Baz buzz we call it."
Bowen Shire Mayor Mike Brunker on the North Queensland country town's transformation into the Hollywood set for the Baz Luhrmann film Australia.

International news  

By 2016 all new homes built in the United Kingdom will be zero emission on heating and cooling. The UK governments' 'Code for Sustainable Homes' legislates binding regulations for energy reduction with staggered targets: 25 per cent more efficient by 2010, 44 per cent by 2013, and 100 per cent, or zero emissions by 2016.

Now passed into law, the code sets minimum standards for both energy and water efficiency. In addition, the UK government has agreed that any home achieving Level 6 sustainability rating will be exempt from stamp duty.

Companies from the UK and abroad are already building homes compliant with the 2016 code, some with cost increases of only 2 per cent more than similar traditionally built homes. Stuart Milne runs the largest housing company in Scotland, and is offering for sale a zero emissions home available off-plan. He has released a house autonomously warmed and cooled with the assistance of a substance called Energain. Installed on the interior walls and ceilings of the home, coated panels absorb and release heat depending on the temperature, reducing any need for energy intensive air conditioning or heating.