ALGA News archive 2006
- AusLink Strategic Regional Program
- The Australian Government has announced further successful councils to receive AusLink Strategic Regional Funding.
- ALGA puts local government agenda to Federal Opposition
- The President of the Australian Local Government Association Cr Paul Bell took an early opportunity last week to discuss local government's 3 Fs agenda with newly-appointed Opposition Spokesperson on Local Government, Senator Kate Lundy.
- Westernport focus of national climate change study
- The Victorian community of Westernport is to take part in a nation-wide research project to identify the impact of climate change on Australian communities.
- Role of local government highlighted in aged care delivery
- The Australian Government's Minister for Ageing, Senator Santo Santoro has recognised the challenges for all spheres of government in meeting the ageing population challenge.
- Minister presents local government resolution to PM
- The Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads, Jim Lloyd presented a framed copy of the resolution on the recognition of local government to Prime Minister John Howard at Parliament House last week.
- AusLink's strategic regional projects announced
- The Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads, the Hon Jim Lloyd MP announced on Wednesday 13 December 2006, 24 large land transport projects across Australia that have been successful in gaining funding through AusLink's Strategic Regional Program.
- PricewaterhouseCoopers study launched
- A report into local government funding by PricewaterhouseCoopers was launched this week at Parliament House by the President of the Australian Local Government Association, Cr Paul Bell
- Help a Mate Drought Relief Fund
- What is shaping up to be Australia's worst drought has inspired some goodwill among those who face less dire circumstances. In what is becoming an inspiration for other regions, Wingecarribee Shire Mayor Gordon Lewis invited residents to donate food hampers, or individually tinned or packaged goods, children's toys or money to assist the people of the Lachlan Shire during the drought.
- Minister releases Broadband Blueprint for Australia
- Following the release of the 'State of the Regions Report 2006-07' at the National General Assembly of Local Government which highlighted the critical need for a roll-out of high-speed fibre optic broadband across Australia to improve economic prosperity, particularly in rural and regional areas, the Australian Government has released a national framework for the future of broadband in Australia.
- Local Government Roads and Transport Strategy launched
- A five-part plan calling on the Australian Government to work with councils to deal with the transport challenges facing communities over the next ten years was unveiled yesterday by the President of the Australian Local Government Association, Cr Paul Bell, AM.
- Minister urges councils to comply with Roads to Recovery requirements
- In a speech to the ALGA Regional Cooperation and Development Forum on Monday, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport and Regional Services, Mark Vaile, restated the Government's commitment to regional Australia and partnerships with local government.
- Labor's plan to streamline development approvals
- The Shadow Minister for Housing, Urban Development, Local Government and Territories, Senator Kim Carr, says the Labor Party is committed to strengthening the cooperative relationship between the local and federal spheres.
- Drought comes to Australia's cities
- A report released this week by federal Parliamentary Secretary for Water Malcolm Turnbull which outlines the state of water supplies in Australia's cities shows water supplies now "grossly inadequate" in all capitals but Hobart and Darwin.
- National standards for local government
- The Australian Local Government Association will look at a proposal to develop national standards for Local Government in liaison with Standards Australia.
- AusLink Strategic Regional Program: second project announced
- The Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads, the Hon Jim Lloyd MP, and Victorian Liberal Senator Rod Kemp, today announced the second project funded under the AusLink Strategic Regional Program.
- Local government decides on major issues facing Australia
- The 3F's' theme - Fair Funding, Fair Treatment and Formal Recognition - is the flavour behind the majority of the 46 motions to be debated at the National General Assembly of Local Government (November 27-30).
- AusLink delivers for the Huon Valley
- The first project of the AusLink Strategic Regional Program has been announced and the honour goes to the Huon Valley Council. The Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads, Jim Lloyd, and Tasmanian Liberal Senator Paul Calvert, announced Australian Government funding for a major infrastructure project in the Huon Valley and confirmed that other announcements across Australia would follow soon.
- Calls for speedy broadband roll-out
- While local governments are burning the midnight oil to submit proposals under the new deadline of Monday 18 December for the Broadband Connect Infrastructure Program, and the Innovative Services Delivery element of the Clever Networks program, a storm is brewing about existing services.
- Deputy PM attending National General Assembly Regional Forum
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- ALGA president meets Transport and Local Government Ministers
- The President of the Australian Local Government Association, Cr Paul Bell, met with the Deputy Prime Minister and Transport and Regional Services Minister, Mark Vaile, and the Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads, Jim Lloyd, at Parliament House on Tuesday.
- Audits of council expenditure under Roads to Recovery program
- The Federal Government will undertake independent audits of councils' expenditure under the Roads to Recovery program, according to responses in Senate Estimates this week.
- NSW Govt makes timber bridge commitment
- ALGA President Cr Paul Bell has welcomed the announcement by the NSW Government of a $60m investment in a three-year timber bridges partnership for councils and shires to upgrade their timber bridges.
- Funding top-up for worst drought on record
- The Federal Government has announced a $560m drought relief expansion which will mean drought assistance until 2008, with total payments to farmers expected to reach $2 billion.
- Labor's new partnerships for localism
- The Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Simon Crean, outlined Labor's New Partnership for Localism in a speech on Tuesday night at the Remote Area Planning and Development Board AGM.
- Local Government and Planning Ministers meeting
- ALGA President Cr Paul Bell said that he was pleased with progress made at a meeting in Canberra last Friday of federal, state and territory local government planning ministers which agreed to endorse an approach to improve local councils' asset management and financial reporting systems.
- Parliament supports historic resolution for local government
- An historic resolution recognising local government has passed through the Australian Parliament. The news was heralded by Australian Local Government Association president Cr Paul Bell as "a significant day for local government which has officially come of age as a key player in Australian federalism."
- National Party pushes for fair funding for local government
- At the National Party federal conference over the weekend, the following motion proposed by the VIC, QLD and WA Nationals was successfully carried: ...
- Report on Australian Transport Council
- Australian, State and Territory Ministers and the President of the Australian Local Government Association met in Canberra last week as the Australia Transport Council (ATC). The meeting was chair by the Minister for Transport and Regional Services and Deputy Prime Minister, Mark Vaile.
- Skills package will not stop need for foreign workers: PM
- The Australian Government will continue recruiting skilled workers from overseas, despite a multi-million dollar skills initiative to be announced today. Local government has increased its use of 457 visas, particularly in Western Australia.
- Debate on Parliamentary motion continues
- Debate on the Parliamentary motion on local government resumed in the Main Committee of the House of Representatives on Monday. The motion is a milestone for local government and is expected to be passed in the House of Representatives this session.
- Federal-state governments appeal over native title decision
- The Australian Government is appealing a court decision which upheld the indigenous Noongar people's claim on more than six-thousand square kilometres of land in and around Perth. Attorney-General Philip Ruddock says the Commonwealth is appealing the Federal Court's decision because it leaves uncertainty surrounding the future of some parcels of Australian crown land.
- PM declares water our greatest conservation challenge
- Prime Minister John Howard has declared water scarcity the greatest conservation challenge facing Australia. After appointing Liberal MP Malcolm Turnbull head of the new federal Office of Water Resources, Mr Howard said more needed to be done at a national level to foster collaboration between governments to tackle water problems.
- Challenges ahead as councils prepare for broadband
- ALGA President Cr Paul Bell, has welcomed the recent regional broadband announcement by Communications Minister Helen Coonan and Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile, but says he is concerned that many councils face a possible skills gap.
- Road vs rail - Productivity Commission draft report
- The Productivity Commission draft report on road and rail freight pricing was released last week. The 500-page document is the result of a request from the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), of which ALGA is a member, in February to examine the vexed issue of whether road and rail transport are paying their way when using Australia's transport infrastructure.
- Local government road and transport strategy
- A highlight of the National General Assembly will be the launch of the Local Government Roads and Transport Strategy by ALGA President, Cr Paul Bell. The strategy developed at the National Local Roads and Transport Congress held in Alice Springs in July will provide the framework for policy proposals in the lead-up to the 2008 Budget and the federal election campaign next year.
- Funding study to spearhead Fair Funding Campaign
- Mr Grahame Morris, the chairman of Federal Government Services for PricewaterhouseCoopers, will provide the Keynote Address at this year's National General Assembly. Mr Morris was formerly Chief of Staff to Prime Minister John Howard and has held key positions in federal and state politics for two decades.
- Local government minister to open National General Assembly
- The Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads - Jim Lloyd - will open the General Assembly on behalf of the Prime Minister John Howard. Earlier this month Minister Lloyd introduced a resolution recognising local government in the Australian Parliament. Debate on the motion in the House of Representatives will resume in the October sitting. The motion has passed the Senate.
- Mobile phone towers - Coonan calls for community consultation
- 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.
- Quotes from Parliamentary debate on motion recognising local government
- "Local government is an integral part of the governance task in Australia." - Jim Lloyd, MP, Minister for Local Government
- Major water funding projects announcement by PM
- The Prime Minister John Howard has announced 11 projects designed to improve water management across Australia through better information and science.
- Housing affordability debate heats up
- ALGA President Paul Bell has written to Alan Cadman MP asking him to amend a motion he introduced into the House of Representatives this week on housing affordability.
- Update on recognition for local government motion
- Debate on the historic motion recognising local government as an important part of Australian federalism will resume in the Main Committee of the House of Representatives in the October sitting from the 9th.
- Lloyd, Santoro, Beazley, Carr to attend NGA06
- Local Government Minister, Jim Lloyd, will open this year's National General Assembly of Local Government. Minister Lloyd has been instrumental in progressing the Roads to Recovery, which began under the leadership of his predecessor, former Transport Minister John Anderson.
- Parliamentary Motion gives local government due recognition
- A milestone for local government was achieved in Federal Parliament this week with the introduction into both Houses of the Parliamentary Motion on Local Government.
- Minister Lloyd urges states to 'do more for local government'
- ALGA President Cr Paul Bell thanked Local Government Minister Jim Lloyd for his efforts in developing the motion in consultation with ALGA. The motion formed part of the Government's response to the Fair Share report on cost shifting.
- Labor calls for new vision for local government
- Shadow local government minister Senator Kim Carr, in supporting Labor's amendment to the resolution, called for a new vision for local government, including a referendum to gain constitutional recognition for the longest-established governments in this nation.
- Planning changes welcomed
- Local councils are likely to win back some planning powers as part of a Victorian State Government bid to slash red tape and ease tensions over development.
- Historic aged care agreement for Tasmania
- The first agreement of its kind in Australia, the Tripartite Partnership Agreement for Population Ageing in Tasmania, was signed this week by Premier Paul Lennon, the federal Minister for Ageing, Senator Santo Santoro, and the President of the Local Government Association of Tasmania, Councillor Mike Gaffney.
- Broadband for the bush
- The announcement by the Federal Government that it plans to sell part of its remaining 51.8% Telstra stake for an anticipated $8b in October and transfer the remainder into the Future Fund for a later sale, has raised concerns about the timing of the rollout of high-speed broadband and services for regional Australia.
- Parliamentary recognition of local government
- The campaign for constitutional recognition of local government has moved a step closer with the resolution to be debated shortly in Federal Parliament.
- Housing affordability may be on COAG agenda
- Housing affordability is expected to be included on the agenda at the Council of Australian Governments meeting in Canberra later this year.
- Labor's policy on water recycling
- Federal Labor announced its water recycling policy this week which sets a national target of 30% of wastewater being recycled by 2015.
- Councils not to blame for drop in housing affordability
- A report released on 14 August by the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) puts to rest the assertions of the building industry that councils are responsible for driving up house prices.
- Report finds more than half of WA councils unsustainable
- An independent report commissioned by the West Australian Local Government Association has found that more than half of WA's councils are financially unsustainable from their current own source revenue.
- Financial sustainability - Ministers get the message
- Federal and State local government ministers at their meeting in Adelaide on 4 August heard first hand from ALGA President Cr Paul Bell about the financial plight of local councils and the need for a national commitment from all spheres of government to address the issue.
- COAG Reform Agenda on track
- At their meeting in Adelaide last week, state and federal local government and planning ministers approved work by bureaucrats on a variety of areas to ensure that the Local Government and Planning Minister's Council met its requirements under the broad Council of Australian Governments (COAG) National Reform Agenda.
- Residents Say NO to recycled water but Yes to local democracy
- In a referendum held last week that generated national discussion, some 62 per cent of residents opposed the treating of sewage for drinking water in the inland south-east Queensland city.
- Local Government and Planning Ministers meeting in Adelaide
- ALGA President, Cr Paul Bell AM, will meet with local government and planning ministers in Adelaide today. The Local Government and Planning Ministers' Council (LGPMC), will consider and debate a variety of important matters that are of critical importance to local government.
- No room for local government on new Federation Council
- Local government appears to have no role in the new Council of Australian Federation being established by the states and territories, according to the preliminary information released on the proposal.
- Fair funding campaign to shift up a gear
- ALGA's campaign for Fair funding of local government will be a focus of next week's meeting of the Local Government and Planning Ministers Council to be held in Adelaide on 4 August.
- R2R compliance - Lifting the game
- The message was clear and simple - if local government does not want to put this program at risk then it will ensure compliance conditions, which are not onerous as funding programs go, are met.
- Local government funding to be considered by COAG
- The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) - which brings together the Australian, state and territory governments and local government - agreed at its meeting on 14 July 2006 to ALGA President Paul Bell's request to put local government funding on the agenda for its next meeting in early 2007.
- Parliamentary Resolution set for August sitting
- After full consultation with local government on the text, the Australian Government looks set to introduce a Parliamentary Resolution into both houses of Parliament recognising the role and contribution of local government.
- National information seminars and workshops
- The Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing in conjunction with the Australian Building Codes Board will be conducting a series of information seminars and workshops on BCA Class 9c and Aged Care Certification requirements.
- Roads congress adopts historic transport strategy
- More than 400 representatives from councils across Australia this week endorsed an historic roads and transport strategy to guide local government's policy development and lobbying work over the coming decade.
- Road funding gap now exceeds $400m a year
- Local government faces an annual road funding gap of $404m a year, Cr Bell told delegates to this year's Roads Congress. The gap has grown from last year's estimate of $344m and has been published in the latest edition of the Local Government National Report.
- Speedy councils driving closer relations
- The relationship between the Australian Government and councils is "getting stronger all the time", Local Government Minster Jim Lloyd, told the Roads Congress.
- Costello stirs the federation pot
- A single level of infrastructure regulation across the economy would help Australian businesses compete against Europe, China and the United States, the Federal Treasurer Peter Costello said this week.
- Poor funding forces up Vic rates
- Data released by the Municipal Association of Victoria this week shows council rates will increase an average 6.3% across the state as budgets face a mounting combination of cost pressures.
- Transport strategy highlight for Roads Congress
- More than 400 delegates from councils across Australia will gather in Alice Springs on Sunday for the 7th National Local Roads and Transport Congress.
- Roads Congress to consider historic transport strategy
- Next month's National Local Roads and Transport Congress will consider a strategic policy document that will, for the first time, combine local government's broad transport agenda into a single document.
- Funding boost for age-friendly communities
- The Minister for Ageing, Senator Santo Santoro, has announced initial funding of $250,000 to boost action to help develop age-friendly communities.
- Costello's criteria for greatness: fix federalism
- Addressing a dinner to mark the announcement of The Bulletin magazine's top 100 most influential Australians, Mr Costello said individuals who made their way onto the list in future would include "the person who can solve the problem bedevilling Australian political life in every area, the problem of federalism".
- Eminent economist backs constitutional recognition
- An eminent economist, Professor Wolfgang Kasper, has this week thrown his weight behind constitutional recognition of local government.
- FAGs: Councils now $170m out of pocket
- Local government is now $170m out of pocket as a result of a one-off decision a decade ago to limit the escalation factor for local government financial assistance grants.
- ALGA on track: Bell hails three major milestones
- At the national level, local government has reached three major milestones during the first six months of the year, Cr Bell told the Local Government Association of Tasmania's annual conference in Hobart this week.
- Second R2R audit to include 1 in 8 councils
- ALGA understands that the Australian National Audit Office intends to scrutinise the second phase of the Roads to Recovery program (R2R2) with 1 in 8 councils to be included in the audit.
- Feds confess: councils under "financial stress"
- Local government in Australia is confronting "significant financial pressure" as service demands rise faster than revenue, according to the latest edition of the Local Government National Report published by the Australian Government this week.
- Report provides snapshot of local government
- Australia has 6,500 councillors, of whom 28% are women and more than 13% Indigenous, according to figures published this week in the latest edition of the Local Government National Report.
- Lloyd wants to "direct fund where we can"
- The Australian Government should deal with, and directly fund, local government where possible, Federal Local Government Minister, Jim Lloyd, said this week.
- Lack of recognition for FAGs disappoints Lloyd
- Federal Local Government Minister Jim Lloyd this week took "some councils" to task for their failure to acknowledge the benefits provided by the Australian Government through financial assistance grants.
- Strong turn-out expected for Roads Congress
- More than 350 delegates have already registered for next month's National Local Roads and Transport Congress, to be held in Alice Springs on July 9-11. ALGA President, Cr Paul Bell, said the Congress would be an important one.
- Pressing ahead: Roundtable focuses on federal assistance
- A roundtable meeting of state and territory local government ministers and ALGA has agreed to develop a case for increasing the base for federal financial assistance grants to local government.
- Developers hoarding land
- New statistics reveal that while Queensland councils have approved adequate land for residential development, developers were holding back an increasing percentage of lots from the market.
- Transport ministers, ALGA meet in Sydney
- ALGA President, Cr Paul Bell, will join federal, state and territory transport ministers for today's meeting of the Transport Ministers Council (ATC) in Sydney.
- PwC to undertake national study of local government financing
- ALGA has commissioned PricewaterhouseCoopers to undertake a major study of local government financing, with a report due later this year. Announcing the study today, ALGA President Cr Paul Bell said it would provide a sound rationale and model for appropriate and targeted support to local government for consideration by other spheres of government.
- Academics argue councils nearing crisis point
- Local government resources "can be stretched only so far before a crisis point is reached", argue three Australian academics in a new book on the economic health of Australia's 700 councils. The book - Australian Local Government Economics - has been researched and written by Professor Brian Dollery and Andrew Johnson of the University of New England, and Dr Lin Crase of La Trobe University.
- Huge response to AusLink regional program
- The Australian Government has received nearly 500 regional transport proposals from 274 councils for possible funding under the AusLink strategic regional program. Roads Minister Jim Lloyd said this was an "excellent response" from city and regional councils to the call for applications that closed on May 1.
- Ministers, ALGA to explore rural council sustainability
- ALGA President, Cr Paul Bell, will join local government ministers for a roundtable on regional and remote council sustainability to be held in Sydney next Friday.
- Landmark emergency management survey launched
- ALGA has today urged all councils to complete a landmark emergency management survey. The first of its kind, the survey will provide a clearer national picture of local government's emergency management responsibilities and capabilities.
- Roads review hampered by lack of data
- The review of the interstate distribution of local roads grants was being hampered by a lack of "reliable and consistent" data across all states, according to a draft report released recently by the Commonwealth Grants Commission.
- Federal funding nears $2.2bn
- Total federal funding for local government will approach $2.2bn ($2,173.7m) next financial year, the Budget reveals. This comprises $1,676.8m in financial assistance grants, $404.7m in Roads to Recovery and AusLink strategic regional programs and $92.4m in other specific purpose payments (SPPs).
- But FAGs continue to slip in relative terms
- ALGA analysis confirms that financial assistance grants to local government will continue to fall as a proportion of Commonwealth taxation revenue.
- Commonwealth, councils top new poll
- A major survey of NSW residents reveals strong support for a review of Australia's federal structure, with more faith placed in federal and local government than their state counterparts.
- Big win for councils - $300m boost for local roads
- An additional $300m for local roads, announced in last night's Federal Budget, has been warmly welcomed by ALGA President Cr Paul Bell as a much-needed boost that will enhance productivity, lift regional development and improve the daily lives of all Australians.
- R2R boost - how it will work
- Roads Minister Jim Lloyd has written to all councils advising that the additional $300m for the Roads to Recovery program will be paid to councils before June 2006.
- More money for highways
- The Australian Government is to provide additional funding of $2.3bn to road and rail projects, increasing AusLink to a $15bn program from 2004-05 to 2008 -09. This includes funding for the Hume ($800m), Bruce ($220m) and Pacific Highways ($160m).
- Council sustainability 'roundtable' expected in late May
- A special meeting of the Local Government and Planning Ministers Council is expected to be convened in late May to discuss the financial sustainability of rural and remote councils.
- Transport, childcare likely winners in mid-term Budget
- ALGA is anticipating a modest mid-term Budget to be delivered next Tuesday with relatively few new spending initiatives. Transport and childcare are likely to be two exceptions.
- Allan report calls for 20% boost in federal funding
- Federal financial assistance grants to local government should be boosted by 20% to make up some of the ground lost in the past two decades.
- Senate Committee's report on salinity released
- Natural Heritage Trust and National Action Plan for Water Quality funding should be extended for another ten years with funding maintained at existing levels, at least, according to a new Senate report released recently.
- ALGA releases 2006 ageing survey
- ALGA has today released the results of the 2006 survey on ageing and local government. The survey reveals that 99% of councils believe that population ageing will have an impact on their municipalities - just over 30% identified the impact as severe.
- State planning systems to be ranked
- All state and territory planning systems are to be ranked annually by the Planning Institute of Australia, with an announcement to be made each year on World Town Planning Day, November 8.
21 April 2006: Special edition: 2006 National Local Roads Congress. :
- Congress to consider landmark transport plan
- Delegates to this year's National Local Roads and Transport Congress, to be held in Alice Springs in July, will consider a draft local roads and transport strategy.
- Congress to span regional and urban interestst
- Roads remains core business for ALGA and the diversification of the congress policy agenda has not diluted efforts to secure ongoing funding support for local government road funding.
- Lightning Special extended - save $200
- Our Lightning Special has been extended to Friday 28 April - receive a discount of $200 off the standard registration fee.
12 April 2006: Special edition - Cost shifting IGA:
- Historic IGA to counter cost shifting signed in Canberra
- Representatives from all three spheres of government have come together today to sign an historic agreement to help counter cost shifting - a practice that places an additional burden on councils estimated at between $500m and $1.1bn each year.
- IGA "opens new chapter" on intergovernment relations
- ALGA President, Cr Paul Bell, said this morning that while the IGA won't solve the fiscal problems confronting local government, it would "help ease the considerable cost shifting burden carried by councils".
- IGA in a nutshell
- The IGA provides a framework to improve the way the three spheres of government - federal, state and local - relate to each other to achieve the best possible outcomes for communities.
7 April 2006: The main stories this week were:
- Cost shifting IGA - last minute amendments
- Last minutes changes to the draft intergovernmental agreement on cost shifting, sought by two governments, appear to have been resolved paving the way for the historic document to be signed at a special meeting in Canberra next Wednesday.
- Draft IGA - what we can expect
- ALGA anticipates that the final IGA will have a number of key features that will help counter cost shifting to local government - a practice estimated to have an impact on councils of between $500m and $1.1bn each year.
- ALGA calls for comment on broadband report
- ALGA has today released a draft report on the innovative use of broadband by local government in Australia. The report highlights the role of local government in promoting and securing broadband access for their communities.
31 March 2006: The main stories this week were:
- Local government's share of tax falling further behind
- Local government's share of taxation has dropped to 2.9 cents in every tax dollar raised across the three spheres of government, according to new figures released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
- IGA on track for April 12 sign off
- It is looking increasingly likely that the draft intergovernmental agreement on cost shifting will be approved by federal, state and local government representatives in Canberra on April 12.
- Draconian planning laws passed in NSW
- Despite strong opposition by the NSW Local Government and Shires Associations (LGSA), the state government has passed new planning legislation that enables it to impose a planning administrator or planning panels on councils it thinks aren't processing development applications fast enough.
24 March 2006: The main stories this week were:
- Labor will "redefine" partnership with local government
- The Labor Party this week pledged to "redefine the partnership between the Commonwealth and local government" with a commitment to review the amount of funding councils receive in federal financial assistance grants.
- Councils share in Water Smart grants
- The Australian Government has this week allocated more than $17m to assist NSW water conservation projects under the Water Smart Australia program.
- Developers taken to task over DA survey
- Local government leaders have questioned a survey released this week by the Residential Development Council.
22 March 2006: Cyclone Larry - Special Edition:
- Cyclone Larry: LGAQ calls for engineers, health officers
- Local government in Queensland has been at the forefront of the response to the devastation caused to communities in the far north of the state by Cyclone Larry.
- Financial donations
- In respect of financial donations, ALGA and LGAQ President, Cr Paul Bell, has asked that all donations be directed through the Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal Fund through any branch of the Commonwealth Bank or by phoning 1800 150 411.
- State government working closely with LGAQ
- The Queensland Premier, Paul Beattie, said that LGAQ would be pooling the resources of local governments across the state and offering specialist services to the affected region.
17 March 2006: The main stories this week were:
- ALGA appoints Beresford-Wylie as new Chief Executive
- A senior Commonwealth public servant with an exceptional knowledge of federal-local government relations - Mr Adrian Beresford-Wylie - has been appointed as the Chief Executive of the Australian Local Government Association.
- Facing up to the freight challenge
- The National Transport Commission has released a new report - Twice the Task - detailing proposed responses to projections that Australia's freight transport task is set to double between 2000 and 2020.
- Dallying developers cause DA delays
- Despite complaints about council delays in approving development applications, many delays are caused by developers themselves, a Queensland survey has found.
10 March 2006: The main stories this week were:
- Broadband: Coonan considers second network
- Communications Minister Helen Coonan is considering using a "large part" of the $1.1bn Connect Australia funding to "stimulate the development of a competitive wholesale access network in regional Australia".
- NSW report identifies 70 reform options for councils
- Councils need a fairer share of national taxation revenue if they are to have any hope of sustaining infrastructure and services, the Local Government and Shires Associations of NSW said following the release of an interim report into council sustainability.
- Labor developing alternative to AusLink
- Labor is developing a national transport policy that will present a distinctly different approach to AusLink, Shadow Transport Minister, Senator Kerry O'Brien told a transport conference in Melbourne this week.
3 March 2006: The main stories this week were:
- Lloyd, Truss call submissions for $127m strategic transport projects
- The Australian Government has invited councils to submit proposals for funding under the AusLink strategic regional program.
- AusLink strategic regional program - key points
- All payments are to be made to an individual council. Where a project involves a group of councils, the group must identify a lead council through which all contact and payments will be made.
- Costello's tax review to include rates
- Local government property rates will be included in an international comparison of Australia's taxes announced by Federal Treasurer Peter Costello on Sunday.
24 February 2006: The main stories this week were:
- ALGA farewells Ian Chalmers
- ALGA's Chief Executive, Ian Chalmers, steps down from his post today after five years at the helm of Australia's peak local government organisation.
- NSW planning changes an "assault on local democracy"
- New planning 'reforms' by the NSW Government constituted an attack on local communities and the democratic process of local government, the Local Government Association of NSW said yesterday.
- Strong growth puts more pressure on councils
- Outer suburban areas of capital cities - the so-called fringe cities - continued to record strong population growth in 2004-05, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released yesterday.
17 February 2006: The main stories this week were:
- COAG: Local government has foot in the payments door
- The Prime Minister and Premiers have agreed that, where local government participates in the national reform agenda, it should share in the benefits of the reform process.
- R2R: strategic component guidelines out soon
- The Australian Government will shortly invite councils to submit regional road projects for possible funding under the strategic component of the Roads to Recovery program.
- COAG refers airport angst to transport ministers
- State premiers have supported local government concerns about rampant development on federal airport land.
10 February 2006: The main stories this week were:
- COAG: uncertainty over reform agenda payments
- The way in which policy reform payments will be made to state and territory governments is far from certain as the nation's political leaders convene in Canberra for today's Council of Australian Governments meeting.
- Bell, state presidents lobby for IGA
- Lobbying efforts are underway around the country to gain support for the draft intergovernmental agreement on cost shifting.
- Lloyd takes rock star MP to task on road claims
- Former rock singer turned MP, Peter Garrett, has been taken to task by Federal Local Government Minister Jim Lloyd over claims that the Roads to Recovery program was an example of National Party "pork-barreling".
3 February 2006: The main stories this week were:
- COAG meets to consider broad reform agenda
- The three spheres of government will come together at next week's Council of Australian Governments meeting in Canberra to consider a broad reform agenda covering areas including competition policy. …
- NSW infrastructure study strengthens fair funding campaign
- A NSW survey has found a massive $6.3bn backlog in local government infrastructure, strengthening the national campaign for fair funding. …
- Beazley to focus on nation building
- In an address to the National Press Club on Wednesday, the Opposition Leader pledged to produce more policy blueprints reflecting Opposition's priorities in the lead up to next year's federal election. …
27 January 2006: The main stories this week were:
- Reshuffle: no big changes for local government
- As expected, changes to the Howard Government frontbench have few direct implications for local government. …
- Attack on councils branded a "silly season beat up"
- An attack on local government carried in the Weekend Australian in early January was nothing more than a "silly season beat-up," ALGA President, Cr Paul Bell, said this month. …
- Australia Day honours for councillors, mayors
- ALGA President, Cr Paul Bell, has congratulated mayors, councillors and officials named in the Australia Day honours list. …