From the President

On Wednesday, the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Anthony Albanese, addressed the National Press Club and I found his comments encouraging.

I believe he is genuinely committed to tackling the infrastructure crisis afflicting our nation. Mr Albanese mentioned urban congestion and as he pointed out this has been estimated by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics to cost more than $20 billion by 2020, with the total length of congested roads to treble.

However, infrastructure bottlenecks are not limited to the cities; there are many deficiencies affecting our regions.

This week legislation aimed at encouraging investment in the nation's infrastructure has been introduced to parliament. It includes the establishment of a new statutory body - Infrastructure Australia - to advise governments on future needs.

The Government has said that one of the members of Infrastructure Australia will have local government experience. The first task of Infrastructure Australia will be an audit to determine the capacity and condition of nationally-significant infrastructure in the areas of water, energy, transport and communications.

In 2004, the Australian Council for Infrastructure estimated the lack of investment cost the economy $6.4 billion a year in lost production. The State of the Regions report for 2007-08 backs up Mr Albanese's statement that "in addition to slowing economic growth, poor and inadequate infrastructure has a direct impact on family budgets and the bottom line of businesses."

Dynamic regions linked to cities and other regions through road, internet, airports and communication networks will nourish vibrant, sustainable communities and assist in the development and expansion of local economies and open up markets and export opportunities for goods. ALGA has met with the National Transport Commission which is developing a national policy framework and national infrastructure plan for transport, such as roads, rail, shipping and aviation.

The role of local roads should not be underestimated and any national infrastructure plan needs to include local transport links. There is an increasing understanding that transport needs to be viewed in terms of logistics chains and when you look at a product's transport needs from the farm gate to the shelves its pretty clear that local roads are going to play an important role.

Its for this reason that ALGA places a priority on the continuation of the AusLink Roads to Recovery Program and its why our Association sought the assurances given by Labor's then Transport Spokesman, Martin Ferguson, at least year's Local Roads and Transport Congress, that Labor is committed to keeping the Program for the period (to 2013-2014) and at the levels of funding provided for in last year's Budget. I was pleased to hear Mr Albanese recommit to all of the Government?s AusLink election promises during his speech on Wednesday.

Infrastructure is vital for local government. It is the lifeblood of communities and the key to reinvigorate our regions and our cities. In this discussion about large infrastructure, which is of critical importance, we must not forget our local community infrastructure which is ageing and in urgent need of renewal - our swimming pools, our walking tracks, our senior citizen centres. Many of these were built in the 50's and 60's and have reached their use-by date. I urge the Government to consider community infrastructure in the very welcome and timely national debate we are currently engaged in.

Cr Paul Bell AM
ALGA President

Fed Govt moves to reinstate NT indigenous permit system

The Federal Government's moved to reinstate a controversial permit system, allowing Northern Territory Aboriginal communities to decide who can enter their land.

The previous government sparked outrage from indigenous groups last year, when it scrapped the system as part of its dramatic intervention into territory communities to combat child sex abuse.

The system ended last Sunday under laws approved by the previous Parliamentallowing anyone to access common areas of indigenous communities without a permit.

Yesterday Housing Minister Tanya Plibersek introduced a bill to the lower house that aims to reverse the current law.

Ms Plibersek says the Government believes scrapping the system won't help the emergency response and will make it easier for drugs and alcohol to enter communities. She says Labor believes indigenous people should be able to decide who can enter their land.

Regional delivery of Natural Resource Management

The Australian National Audit Office released its Report on the Regional Delivery Model for the National Heritage Trust and the National Action Plan for Salinity on 7 February 2008.

The Report noted significant improvements in administration since the previous ANAO report on the National Action Plan for Salinity, which was released in December 2004.

However, specific shortcomings in current administrative and governance practices were noted, including areas of non-compliance by State agencies with bilateral agreements, and the insufficiency of information on outcomes in Australian Government agency annual reports.

The Report included four recommendations, addressing:

• Analysis of the cost-effectiveness of investments
• Changes to the management of funds distribution, to improve transparency and efficiency
• Increased monitoring of compliance with bilateral agreements
• Development and implementation of a revised performance measurement framework which will allow for accurate reporting of progress against outcomes.

The Report can be accessed here.

Hard copies of the Report are available free of charge and can be ordered by email or phone; the relevant contact details can be found at the website.

A toolkit for field testing local road building materials

The Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) has been commissioned as part of the Commonwealth Government's Low Volume Roads Technology Program to develop a toolkit for field testing of local road building material.

The purpose of the project is to provide practitioners with:

• the means to conduct quick and inexpensive testing of materials in the field to establish the potential of a given material to fulfill an envisaged function; and
• sound technical advice on interpreting test results in order that practitioners can achieve greater value from local materials used in road pavements.

Tool box, as envisaged, that would comprise:

• a portable field testing tool-box, containing test equipment and reference material;
• a manual on interpretation of results; and
• guidance on developing fit for purpose specifications for the use of tested materials.

Specifically the project will result in:

• making better use of locally available road pavement materials that will ensure that roads will have a longer economic life to reduce on-going maintenance and lower road user costs;
• lower demands on quarrying operations and reduce adverse environmental impacts ; and
• a reduction in dust emissions and soil erosion, increase safety, and improve water run-off quality.

ARRB is interested to engage with practitioners in this field. For more information or to be involved with the project the contact is: George Giummarra, Principal Engineer - Local Government, ARRB Group Ltd. Email: george.giummarra@arrb.com.au

2020 Youth Summit announced

The Minister for Youth, Kate Ellis, has announced that a two-day 2020 Youth Summit will be held in Canberra over the weekend of 12-13 April. Ms Ellis said the 2020 Youth Summit would bring together 100 young people from around Australia in Canberra to discuss the 10 critical areas on the agenda for discussion at the Australia 2020 summit.

"This Government is committed to engaging young Australians in the decision making process and harnessing their vision for the future," Ms Ellis said. "We're inviting nominations from young Australians around the country to be a part of this summit.

The Summit will be chaired by Ms Ellis and 2004 Young Australian of the year, Hugh Evans.

Anyone between the ages of 15-24 can nominate by visiting www.australia2020.gov.au and downloading the nomination form.

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Melbourne: March 5 - 6

Implementing sustainable building practices for local and arterial roads will be one of the main topics of discussion at the Third Road Engineering & Maintenance Conference 2008 being held in Melbourne on Wednesday March 5 & Thursday March 6. The conference is held annually and draws more than 200 delegates from councils, state road authorities and private sector from across Australia.

Alan Sheridan, Director of Works, Noosa Council, will deliver a keynote presentation at the conference on the topics of Green Roads - A Case Study in the Delivery of Major Arterial Roads in a Sustainable and Environmentally Responsible Manner. Noosa has won a number of awards for its leading edge practices in this field. In addition to sustainable building practices, Alan will also outline how a relatively small council has been able to raise $80 million for road construction.

More than 25 expert speakers from councils, state road authorities and the private sector will address the full range of topics dealing with contemporary practices in road design, engineering and maintenance with a special focus on local roads. Practical case studies, based on award-winning projects, are a feature of this conference to enable councils and other road authorities to immediately implement the information presented at the conference. The speaking program is further augmented by a number of practical workshops and a highly relevant exhibition.

Key conference themes will include: developments within effective road maintenance; alliance contracts and road delivery models; good paving practices, as well as work management issues connected with working under traffic.

For more information on the conference including the full speaking program and online registration, please visit www.halledit.com.au/conferences/roads/2008/

Please visit the website for registration form, or online registration, or contact Denise McQueen on Ph: (03) 8534 5021 (direct) or (03) 8534 5000 (switch); Fax: (03) 8534 5121; Email denise.mcqueen@halledit.com.au

Please note that the early bird rate applies for registrations received by January 18.

Garnaut Climate Change Review

The current review of the potential impacts of climate change on Australia's economy, environment and water resources released an Interim Report on 21 February, 2008. The Review, headed by Professor Ross Garnaut, has released the Interim Report in part to provide a basis for further interaction with the Australian community.

The Interim Report provides some information on preliminary findings and indicates the remaining work to be conducted by the Review Team through to delivery of the final report in September 2008.

The Interim Report notes an increased urgency of addressing climate change matters, stating that: "the world is moving towards high risks of dangerous climate change more rapidly than has generally understood. This makes mitigation more urgent and more costly. At the same time, it makes the probable effects of unmitigated climate change more costly, for Australia and for the world."

Firm Australian commitments to emissions targets, and the importance of a Emissions Trading Scheme to a national mitigation effort, are emphasised.

The Minister for Climate Change and Water, Senator Penny Wong, said the Government would deliberate on the interim report, and looked forward to the final report later this year. The State of the Regions 07-08 report commissioned by ALGA from National Economics quantifies the effect of a carbon trading scheme on households and raises discussion on the need for measures to offset disadvantages for the proportionately higher burdens that will be felt by rural and regional communities. Copies of the report are available from: www.alga.asn.au

The interim Garnaut Review Report is available here.

Nominations close on Monday for PM's 2020 Summit

Nominations close at 5pm on Monday 25 February for the 2020 Summit convened by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to tackle the long term challenges confronting Australia's future.

Every Australian has the opportunity to nominate themselves, or someone else, to attend the Australia 2020 Summit as a member of one the 10 critical areas of discussion. Participants will be selected by a 10 member independent non-government Steering Committee. Expenses need to be covered by each individual. Special circumstances applications will be considered.

If you are interested in participating in the Australia 2020 Summit as a delegate on 19-20 April 2008 in Canberra, or wish to nominate someone else you believe has an important contribution to make to the discussion, please complete the nomination form and return it by no later than COB Monday 25 February 2008. Visit www.australia2020.gov.au/

You can contribute a submission online, by downloading a form and mailing it, or by contacting the toll free number to have a form mailed out to you. Submissions must be received no later than COB Wednesday 9 April 2008.

Broadband update

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy confirmed during a Senate Estimates hearing that he was holding discussions with Telstra about the capabilities of its Next G mobile phone network in advance of the expected closure of the nationwide CDMA network on April 28. The Chief Executive of Telstra, Sol Trujillo, was reported in the 'Financial Review' (19/2/08) saying that despite the uptake and popularity of wireless broadband, he did not believe the government's planned $4.7 billion broadband tender would be a complementary product to wireless services. Telstra will compete for the tender to build a fixed-line high-speech broadband network. ALGA has consistently argued in its 'State of the Regions' reports produced with National Economics that regional development depends on high-speed affordable broadband coverage and that a blend of technologies will most likely be needed to get coverage to remote areas, such as fibre-optic cable and wireless technology. Copies of the 2007-08 report are available at www.alga.asn.au

More flood assistance for Qld

The state government has activated flood assistance for another 10 local government areas after wild weather caused millions of dollars worth of damage across Queensland this week.

Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts said he had approved joint state and Commonwealth-funded Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA) for Broadsound, Calliope, Duaringa, Hervey Bay, Kolan, Livingstone, Maryborough, Rockhampton, Sarina and Woorabinda.

Mr Roberts activated assistance for 13 areas in central and north Queensland including Mackay, Mirani, Nebo, Whitsunday and Bowen.

He said preliminary estimates predicted those 23 areas alone had suffered more than $34 million in damage due to heavy thunderstorms and flooding.

Only six of those 23 areas - Calliope, Hervey Bay, Kolan, Maryborough, Burnett and Miriam Vale - had not already been activated this year.

He said the Department of Communities should be contacted on 1800 440 074 for personal hardship assistance to individuals and families, and assistance for non-profit organisations.

Concessional loans for producers and small businesses should contact Queensland Rural Adjustment Authority on 1800 623 946.

To apply for freight subsidies contact the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries on 13 25 23.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has announced that the Federal Government would provide additional assistance to Mackay residents seriously affected by the floods.

The Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP) will be made available to those people adversely affected by the storms and associated flooding that commenced in the Mackay region on 14 February.

Those eligible will be able to receive a one off payment of $1000 for adults and $400 for each child to help relieve their hardship.

This assistance is over and above the support being provided by the Australian Government under the long standing Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA).

Through these arrangements with the states, the Australian Government assists with the costs and resourcing of response and recovery operations in large scale disasters.

For information on the AGDRP call the Australian Government Flood Assistance Hotline on 180 2333 or visit your local Centrelink office.

More information on Australian Government assistance is available at www.disasterassist.gov.au.

Qld local government elections

The battle for votes will begin in earnest with the close of nominations for the March 15 poll, the first to be held since the Qld Government's amalgamations which cut the number of councils from 156 to 72. The number of councillors will be slashed from 1,094 to 454 under the government's controversial reforms.

In Brisbane nine candidates are vying for the position of Lord Mayor and five candidates have nominated for the Gold Coast mayorship after the scratching of Elvis impersonator Dean Vegas (who performed at the ALGA National General Assembly in 2006). Vegas was told he was not on the electoral roll and could not nominate. On the Sunshine Coast, the three councils of Noosa, Caloundra and Maroochy will be rolled into one, with two of the Mayors - Noosa's Bob Abbot and Maroochy's Joe Natoli vying for leadership of the new council.

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INNOVATIVE FINANCING FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT INFRASTRUCTURE CONFERENCE

Sydney: March 12 - 13

In response to the escalating backlog of infrastructure investment in local government - now estimated at $14 billion dollars across Australia - finance and local government experts will address a conference in March aimed at identifying creative solutions to financing council community infrastructure.

The President of the ALGA, Cr Paul Bell, and Professor Percy Allen - chair of the Inquiry into Financial Sustainability of Local Government - will address the two-day Building & Financing Local Government and Community Infrastructure conference to be held in Sydney on March 12-13.

The conference will hear from a range of experts in project finance, alliancing, and private public partnerships. Senior managers from a number of councils including Shellharbour Council, Sutherland Shire, Coffs Harbour, and Eurobodalla will outline their experiences and strategies in attracting and managing substantial private sector investment to meet community infrastructure needs.

With constraints on the amount of money that can be raised through rates or borrowings, councils are looking to find clever solutions to meet community expectations without exposing themselves to substantial liabilities.

Novel financing techniques, PPPs, developer contributions, and JVs with the private sector are all being explored and will be reviewed at the conference which is designed to enable participants to effectively use the information to enhance their own municipalities. Individual projects being managed by councils through JVs, PPPs or alliance structures worth many tens of millions of dollars will be revealed at the conference.

The conference will review the successful partnership arrangements, legislative reform in relation to local government PPPs and will heard expert commentary from local government and project financing experts. A master class on structuring and negotiating property based infrastructure projects for local government will form part of this important conference.

For more information, visit www.lgcentre.com.au or email Denise McQueen at denise.mcqueen@halledit.com.au or telephone 03 8534 5000.

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Short courses in Regulation to gain a competitive edge

Whilst much of the work of local governments involves regulatory activities, few professional see themselves as regulators and fewer actually understand either regulatory concepts or the breath of available tools.

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