As the peak body representing local government in Australia, ALGA makes numerous submissions and presentations to a broad range of organisations and bodies. These include:
- Parliamentary committees conducting inquiries of interest and relevance to local government
- National organisations conducting inquiries and studies, such as the Productivity Commission
- Political parties and individual parliamentarians
- The Australian Government, its ministers, departments and agencies
- International bodies and agencies
These submissions advance the interests of local government and address issues of concern to councils and the communities they collectively serve.
- Federal Budget 2006-07: Fair funding for local government
- 11 November 2005
… there is growing evidence that at the local level communities are facing increasing financial pressure. Local government, the embodiment of local communities, is facing pressures from a variety of sources. Three major reports - the Commonwealth Grants Commission review of Financial Assistance Act, the Hawker Report, and the Rising to the Challenge Report - have provided extensive evidence that many local governments, especially those in rural and remote Australia are in significant financial trouble. - Response to NTC discussion paper on the third heavy vehicle road pricing determination
- August 2005
Local government in Australia has responsibility for a massive network of local roads. Of the 850,000 kilometre national network of roads, local government has responsibility for the development and upkeep of some 685, 000 kilometres or about 85 percent of the total network. - Inquiry into infrastructure provision in coastal growth areas
- 20 May 2005
Coastal areas are facing unprecedented development pressures from both population and tourism. Councils are struggling to cope with the environmental, social and infrastructure issues they are facing as a result of the movement of people into coastal areas. - Inquiry into the extent and economic impact of salinity in the Australian environment
- 20 May 2005
Councils are directly impacted upon by salinity, particularly by urban salinity. Urban salinity has significant costs for both councils and their communities, in terms of salt affected infrastructure such as roads, housing and drainage, and hence local government welcomes programs aimed at reducing the impact of salinity across Australia. - Review of the National Framework for the Management and Monitoring of Australia's Native Vegetation (NVF)
- 19 May 2005
Councils who have been buying land with high conservation values to create reserves have had to seriously reassess their programs as the price of land has substantially increased over recent years. These increasing costs are making this activity extremely difficult, or no longer a financially viable option, for councils. - Inquiry into health funding
- 13 May 2005
Local government concentrates on planning, coordination, policy development and in many cases direct service provision of population based public health services to their local communities - particularly those aimed to promote healthy environments and control the causes of disease, illness and injury. - Inquiry into the integration of regional rail and road freight transport and their interface with ports
- 11 May 2005
Transport is not an end in itself, but only a mechanism to deliver the necessary economic and social outcomes to our community. However, providing effective and efficient transport services requires co-ordination and robustness throughout the entire transport network - not just the major interstate and metropolitan links. - AusLink legislation
- 23 March 2005
ALGA has made a submission to the Senate Committee inquiring into the AusLink legislation. It strongly reinforces the importance of Roads to Recovery and stressed the need to continue the simple and efficient arrangements used in the previous R2R program. With R2R now a component of AusLink, it is vital that R2R funding is clearly and effectively quarantined for use by local government, for projects selected by local councils. ALGA is anxious that the AusLink legislation be passed as quickly as possible to ensure a seamless transition into the 'new' R2R program and give councils certainty of funding in their 2005/06 roadworks budgets. - Federal Budget 2005-06: Towards a Fair share
- 31 January 2005
ALGA is seeking an increase in the quantum of assistance through changes in the way the Australian Government calculates Financial Assistance Grants (FAGs). The current program does not provide local government with sufficient growth in funding to meet increasing demand. The CPI-based escalation methodology has seen FAGs steadily decline as a proportion of total Commonwealth taxation revenue. The scheme is more than 30 years old and does not reflect the changes in local government's roles and responsibilities. Nor does it reflect the real costs of providing services and maintaining infrastructure.
