From the President

In a little more than a week, the Federal Treasurer, Wayne Swan, will deliver his first ever Federal Budget. This Budget (Budget 2008-09), will also be the first federal ALP Budget in 13 years.

Of course, in the days leading up to the Budget, we can expect there will be much speculation about what the Budget may or may not contain. Rising inflation will be an obvious concern as the Government finalises the first of its first term Budgets. At the same time, the Government has signaled a desire to do what it can to help relieve pressures on working families.

Ministers are, understandably, remaining tight-lipped about what exactly the Budget will contain. However, one measure - personal income tax cuts - is certain to be included in the Budget. Personal income tax cuts were promised during the election campaign, and Ministers have publicly stated that there is every desire to deliver them.

Depending on how the Budget is framed, personal income tax cuts may help "ease the burden" and serve to boost participation in the workforce, which in turn may help Australia's productivity growth.

However, personal income tax is only one aspect of what is a complex tax system in Australia. The last complete review of Australia's tax system was held in the mid-1980s, at a time when the world was a much different place. We know, for example, that many local councils have changed remarkably in their role and functions during this time.

There are positive signs from the government that it may soon announce a comprehensive review of Australia's current taxation system. At the 2020 summit, the Federal Treasurer said "..the best contribution to a strong economy in 2020 would be a more efficient, fairer and more rewarding tax and welfare system" and last week, the Prime Minister did commit to the principle of a "roots and branch" review of the tax system.

The ALGA welcomes the earlier announcement of the Federal Shadow Treasurer, Malcolm Turnbull, that he has commissioned a distinguished economist Professor Henry Ergas, to examine the many taxes in Australia at various levels of government and to report to the Opposition by year's end on options for reforming the tax system.

I believe that the design and administration of our taxation laws must be reviewed to ensure Australia and its local communities are equipped for future challenges, and can prosper in the 21st century. That review should start sooner than later. The Federal Government currently raises about 82 per cent of Australia's total taxation revenue with local government raising three per cent and the States and Territories raise 15 per cent.

Governments should not lose sight of the fact that all taxes come from the same people, and that they are raised to provide government services. As we in local government think about what the tax mix should be, and which sphere should raise which taxes, we should also consider which level of government is best suited to provide the services our communities depend upon, and how tax dollars are distributed to deliver these services properly.

We all look with anticipation to the forthcoming federal Budget. It would be timely, and sensible, for the Government to announce on Budget Night, a comprehensive review of our taxation system. Local government is a critical stakeholder in any discussions about the collection and distribution of what is, increasingly, a more greatly centralised taxation revenue system.

Cr Paul Bell AM
ALGA President

WA DRAFT PLAN - EXTENDED FEEDBACK

In response to Members' requests, the West Australian Local Government Association has extended the consultation period for feedback on the Systemic Sustainability Study draft plan.

The new closing date for submissions is Monday June 16 after State Council voted to extend the consultation period by an extra eight weeks. Initially the consultation period was six weeks for members to provide submissions with a further six weeks for discussion within the WALGA zone structure.

President Cr Bill Mitchell said extending the feedback period to 15 weeks had been initiated after comments from some Members that they required more time to respond to the draft plan.

Cr Mitchell said ensuring that all Members believed they had sufficient time to comment on the draft was justification for the extension.

For further information please contact Executive Manager Governance and Strategy, Tony Brown on 9213 2051 or email tbrown@walga.asn.au

Funding for water projects

The Minister for Climate Change and Water, Penny Wong, has confirmed Labor's election commitments to national water supply management.

Speaking at the 4^th Annual Australian Water Summit in Sydney this week, Minister Wong outlined the Government's Water for the Future program. Under the programme, $12.9 billion will be allocated over 10 years to address the key national challenges posed by current and potential water shortages.

Minister Wong noted that Water for the Future focussed on four priorities:

• taking action on climate change
• using water wisely
• securing water supplies and
• supporting healthy rivers.

Funding for three key election commitments will be announced in the 2008/9 budget:

• $1 billion for the National Urban Water and Desalination Plan (for centres with populations greater than 50 000)
• $250 million for the National Water Security Plan for Cities and Towns (for centres with populations less than 50 000)
• $250 million for the National Rainwater and Greywater Initiative.

Details of the election commitments are available here .

Rosemary James and John Pritchard of ALGA will be meeting senior officials of the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts next week, to discuss local government participation in the program. It is understood that applications for funding will be called in 2008/9, with work funded from 2009/10 onwards.

Three drought policy investigations

The Federal Government says there will be three separate investigations into drought policy in Australia.

The Productivity Commission will make an economic assessment of the current drought support measures.

An expert panel will be asked to assess the social impacts of the drought.

And the CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology will look at the likely future climate patterns.

The details of the Productivity Commission's review will be released next month.

Urban water reform advocated

A discussion paper produced by the Australian Government Productivity Commission advocates a more market-oriented approach to urban water management.

The paper argues that such an approach would encourage a more efficient use of Australia's water resources.

Details are contained in the 10^th anniversary issue of the Commission's journal, PC update.

The discussion paper says that under current arrangements, charging regimes recovering operating costs and a return on assets but do not reflect the scarcity of water in times of shortage. Currently, demand is managed through restrictions on water use.

It argues a more efficient approach to managing demand would be to introduce a form of scarcity-based pricing. During a drought, prices could increase as dam levels fell and the threat to water security increased. Scarcity-based pricing would allow households to choose how to use and conserve water in the way they valued most.

The paper says analysis suggests that the equity impacts on low income households would not be as significant as often suggested and could be addressed by targeted policy measures.

Markets could reveal information about costs, prices and valuations that would better equip water providers to make decisions about when new investment should proceed and the costs and benefits of different forms of augmentation. Integration of rural and urban water could provide opportunities for supply augmentation for some cities.

NSW Bega Valley saves millions of litres of water a year

A Water Loss Management Programme has helped Bega Valley Shire Council on the NSW south coast.save 120 million litres of water a year.

Following investigations into the amount of leakage, financial assistance of up to $45,000 has been provided to help find and repair leaks. As well, the money will be used to install flow meters to monitor water demand and leakage into the future in these distribution systems.

"We used acoustic leak detection technology to locate hidden leaks in some 60 kilometres of pipes, and then excavated and repaired the leaks," says the Manager of Water and Sewerage Services at Bega Valley Shire Council, Jim Collins.

"Currently the work is focussed on Bega Valley Shire Council's water supply system but it will also be able to identify some leaks which are in private household pipes," he pointed out.

Residents/owners will be advised that they may have a leak in their household water pipes, but they should also check their system for leaks."

Stewart McLeod, Chair of the NSW Water Directorate, commended Bega Valley Shire Council on its early action and pro-active approach to investigating water losses and reducing leakage in its water systems.

"These leaks are not apparent from the surface but can run off into the groundwater table, stormwater, sewer or water course. The acoustic leak detection equipment and techniques have made the identification and location of leaking pipes much more efficient and cost effective than in the past.

"The benefits of this work literally 'flow on' to the environment via local creeks and rivers.

"In this case it means an additional 120 million litres per year will flow down to a major local creek.

Cr Robert Bell, the Chair of the NSW Water Loss Management Programme, says that currently, 25 councils have applied to the programme to help reduce their water losses.

"Savings of almost 5,000 million litres of water a year are expected from these councils," Cr Bell pointed out.

"The programme works with councils to quantify their water leakage and provides financial assistance to implement cost effective water saving projects.

"The total cost of the Bega project, for example, is expected to be less than $142,000, a small price to pay for saving millions of litres of precious water a year."

The Water Loss Management Programme is a four year, $22 million project which is one-third funded by the Commonwealth through the Water Smart Australia Programme. The rest of the money comes from participating regional councils.

Local water utilities interested in applying for assistance under this programme should contact Mirko Sramek, Program Manager, on (02) 9242 4127.

New Disaster Policy book released

The "Handbook of Disaster and Emergency Policies and Institutions", written by Professors Handmer (RMIT) and Dovers (ANU) was officially launched by Major-General BW ( ?Hori?) Howard, AO MC ESM, in Canberra recently.

Both the Major-General and authors argued strongly at the launch that emergency management in Australia critically needs stronger institutional settings and longer term policy development.

That "disasters are a whole-of-government and whole-of-society problem" was a theme shared by all three of them.

For further information on the book see www.earthscan.co.uk

Human pandemic influenza

A COAG pandemic communications group was meeting in Melbourne as this edition of ALGA News went to press.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Egyptian Ministry of Health have reported a new case of human H5N1 in a two-year-old boy from Sharkia province in the Nile Delta. The boy developed symptoms on 13 April and was hospitalized on 14 April. Investigations into the source indicate that he had contact with sick and dead poultry. This reported case follows the death of a 30 year old woman from the Northern Nile Delta who died of H5N1 on 11 April.

Since 2003, there have been a total of 381 WHO confirmed cases of human H5N1, leading to 240 deaths. For regular updates on global cases see WHO updates.

ALGA President writes to Minister for Climate Change and Water

President Paul Bell has written to Senator Penny Wong, the Minister for Climate Change and Water, expressing his concerns regarding the cessation of funding for the Local Government Natural Resource Management Facilitator Network.

He noted that the facilitators have been active in supporting the effective engagement of councils in environmental and natural resource management.

The letter continued:

Local government plays a major role in environmental and natural resource management in Australia. This role is particularly critical now, given the severe national challenges posed by climate change and water management.

The new Caring for our Country program specifically excludes funding for this low-cost but critical Facilitator Network and will therefore significantly impact local government capacity to support the Australian Government's initiatives with regard to environmental and natural resource management, including climate change and water. Cessation of funding for the Network will also significantly reduce local government engagement with regional and national organisations working to address these major challenges.

Local govt. mourns "Mr Camden"

Bruce Ferguson, the man known as "Mr Camden" died on Anzac Day. He was 91.

Mr Ferguson was an alderman for 34 years between 1950 and 1987. He was the Camden (NSW) mayor from 1964 to 1977. The World War II digger died peacefully in a Sydney hospital of a heart ailment.

The ALGA President, Cr Paul Bell, described Mr Ferguson as a "legend" in local government, saying his selfless community service was an example to all.

"Bruce certainly left some big shoes to fill," he said.

Mr Ferguson's service to the community and local government was recognised in 1984 when he received a Medal of the Order of Australia. Mr Ferguson enjoyed community life and volunteered his time to help many organisations including the Camden SES, the town's Carrington Hospital, the scouts and the Camden Co-operative Housing Society. As well, he was Camden's first civil defence co-ordinator and helped to develop a flood warning system.

The council's administration building was financed by the sale of the council's gasworks to the Australian Gas Light Company, a sale negotiated by Mr Ferguson.

In a tribute, the Camden Advertiser newspaper commented that over the years, the success of many Camden services and council practices had been attributed to Mr Ferguson's hard work, including the library service and the council's involvement in computer accounting.

Mr Ferguson was named Camden Citizen of the Year in 1981 for service to the community.

The newspaper says that a glance at Camden Museum?s file on Mr Ferguson reveals a plerthora of civic positions. These include: member of the NSW Local Government Association, chairman of the Local Government Investment Service, member of the Campbelltown-Camden Planning Development Board for 15 years and member of the NSW Treasury sub-committee on investments.

Mr Ferguson's wife, Mary, pre-deceased him in 1995. The couple had no children.

Hobart happenings

Hobart City Council aldermen are seeking a boost in their annual allowance.

A submission is with the council. It is based on a formula derived from the pay of a backbench state MP, and argues increased workload, responsibilities and expected availability to constituents and other interest groups.

Remuneration for aldermen would rise from $13,000 to almost $30,000 a year.

The Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor's pay would remain unchanged at $91,000 and $30,000 respectively.

An alderman's electoral allowance of just over $5,000 is also proposed.

The submission points out that on average, aldermen spend around 60 hours a month on council-related matters. It also states that many of the elected officials take time out from their own employment or business, with many also contributing to the costs of running their office out of their own pockets.

Meanwhile, the Hobart City Council is developing a plan to prepare the city for a major emergency.

The awareness campaign has been inspired by a similar program called "Get Ready Sydney."

As part of the plan people will be asked to assemble a "go bag," containing shoes, water, identification and a first aid kit.

The Lord Mayor, Rob Valentine, says it's not a scare campaign, but rather about preparing citizens for what might happen.

"We know that the emergencies that have happened in our area can be significant. You only have to think of the 1967 bushfires: 1400 homes lost, 63 lives - a very significant event," Mayor Valentine said.

Dubbo City Council to cut airport landing fees

The Dubbo City Council has decided to cut landing fees at the city airport.

The current fee of $10.91 a passenger will be halved when 150,000 passengers have gone through the terminal each year.

Dubbo Mayor, Greg Matthews says the tiered fee structure provides an incentive for airline loyalty and growth.

"Both Qantas and Rex are bringing in more than 75,000 passengers each a year," he says.

"When they get over 150,000 we?ll have met our fixed costs, so we'll reduce the fees to make air travel more affordable for the Dubbo public," he states.

The council has also decided to employ a full-time airport manager in the next financial year.

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Dates: 23^rd and 24^th July 2008
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Register online: $995 (+gst)

View the program at www.climatechangesummit.com.au

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NSW local govt. has pivotal role in new dementia day care initiative

New South Wales councils will be running many new dementia day-care centres announced this week under a joint NSW and Commonwealth initiative.

A total of nine of the centres are to be established across the State at a cost of $11.86 million. The nine centres are the first of 16 such new centres to be established under the Home and Community Care (HACC) Programme.

In a joint statement the responsible ministers said the focus on dementia-specific facilities was a response to the increasing incidence of dementia associated with the ageing of the population. They point out that in 2006 there were more than 73,000 people living with dementia in NSW. However, by 2050 it was estimated the number would rise to 227,000.

These centres will not only provide services for people with dementia, but also will provide support for carers. The ministers describe carers as " ...everyday people doing an extraordinary job."

The new dementia day-care centres will provide outings, day trips, diversionary activities, nursing and allied health services to people with dementia. These services also assist their carers to continue in their caring role.

The ministers say the new facilities will help people with dementia to live as independently as possible in their own homes, which is what many of them and their families have said they want.

As well, the centres would also provide a day-care service, giving a respite for carers.

The new facilities will be in:

• Cooma: The Cooma-Monaro Shire Council will be given $1.57 million to purchase land and construct the Werri-Nina Centre, a purpose-built dementia day-care centre, including new Meals on Wheels distribution facilities and office space for co-ordinating community care services in the area.
• Central Coast: The Gosford City Council will receive $1.65 million to upgrade the dementia facility at Woy Woy. The centre will provide dementia day-care, food services and other HACC services.
• Cumberland / Prospect: The Baulkham Hills Shire Council is to receive $1.65 million to refurbish two buildings on its Balcombe Heights Estate, providing dementia day-care facilities.
• Central West: The Uniting Care Ageing will be given $766,000 to extend the Orange Community Care Dementia Day Care centre.
• Far West: The Walgett Shire Council will be given $1.09 million for a new purpose-built dementia day-care wing, adding to a recently built HACC services facility in Lightning Ridge.
• Far North Coast: In Casino, the Uniting Church will get $1.287 million for a dementia day-care centre to b e built within the grounds of the Casino Uniting Church.
• Illawarra: Anglicare will be provided with $1.65 million to construct a dementia centre on its land at Fairy Meadow, north of Wollongong.
• Northern Sydney: Willoughby City Council will get $1.65 million to build a dementia centre on council-owned land at Willoughby. The building is designed as two separate dementia day-care centres. The council will lease one to a HACC service provider and the other to another not-for-profit dementia day-care provider.
• New England: The Wee Waa and District HACC Association Inc. will receive $545,000 to renovate a community cottage that presently houses HACC offices, to provide a dementia day-care centre. Wee Waa town has no HACC facilities suitable for group activities and HACC day care and elders services are at present delivered from a licensed club and church halls.

Other councils may follow Sydney's inner housing example: Lord Mayor

Sydney's Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, has predicted that other major local government areas around the country could follow Sydney's example and develop inner city living for essential workers.

Ms Moore was speaking this week after the launch of a $260 million project to build up to 700 new affordable private housing units at Glebe-Ultimo in the inner city.

The State Housing Minister, Matt Brown, and Ms Moore signed a Memorandum of Understanding committing the City of Sydney and the NSW Government to a partnership to develop affordable housing on a 3.6 hectare site in Glebe.

Ms Moore said the project would help to deliver the City's Sustainable Sydney 2030 vision to offer more affordable housing, contributing to a more diverse and socially cohesive community.

"We are aiming to develop new models of affordable housing which can be replicated around Australia. We want to ensure a healthy mix of accommodation types, not a segregated city with an increasing gulf between the haves and the have-nots," Ms Moore said.

"There is an urgent need for more affordable housing close to the city to ensure people employed in essential services can afford to live close to where they work. Housing affordability is an increasing problem in inner Sydney as rents continue to rise and the vacancy rate for rental properties is now at a record low.

"The key workers were are looking to help include those who work irregular hours and who need to live close to their work such as police, nurses, cleaners and bus drivers.

"This project could become a model for other local government areas.

"To show we are serious about affordable housing, the City of Sydney is contributing a site worth about $30 million in inner Sydney - an area with some of the most valuable real estate in the country - to implement the Sustainable Sydney 2030 affordable housing" Ms Moore stated.

The final details of the scheme are being worked on through the COAG Housing Working Group.

Australian Transport Council

Australian, State and Territory Transport Ministers and the President of the Australian Local Government Association are meeting today in Melbourne as the Australian Transport Council (ATC).

Ministers agreed at the 29 February 2008 meeting that there is a need for a national approach to transport policy that involves:

• agreeing the details of a national policy framework;
• a new inter-governmental agreement to implement the national policy framework which will establish the governance structure;
• settling the key work priorities and timetable.

Individual Ministers at the February meeting took responsibility for developing aspects of a national transport policy for consideration at today's meeting:

• Economic Framework for Efficient Transportation Marketplace (NSW)
• Infrastructure Planning and Investment (VIC)
• Capacity Constraints and Supply Chain Performance (SA)
• Urban Congestion (VIC)
• Climate Change, Environment and Energy (WA)
• Safety and Security (QLD)
• Strategic Research and Technology (TAS)
• Workforce Planning and Skills (NT)
• Social Inclusion (ACT)
• Governance (Commonwealth)

The President ,Cr Paul Bell, is the ALGA representative on the ATC.

Local government has been represented on each of the working groups to ensure that its interests are taken into account in the emerging reform agenda for transport.

NSW Govt. new advisory panel slammed

The Local Government and Shires Associations says the NSW Government's new advisory panel set up to assess development projects would be powerless to stop big developers pushing their plans through.

"All decisions made by the new panel could be overridden by the State Government," the President of the Shires Association of NSW, Cr Bruce Miller, said.

"The panel seems to be a smoke and mirrors attempt to smooth over problems with transparency and assessment times.

"It would be powerless to stop big developers pushing their plans through."

The President of the Local Government Association of NSW, Cr Genia McCaffery, described the move as another example of the community being sidelined.

"This panel has been announced without consultation and just weeks before a raft of planning laws, many not supported by the community, councils and industry bodies alike, are due in parliament.

"Communities have a right to know how long this panel will be in place and its longer term role.

"It should not delay the implementation of the Independent Planning Commission, which local government supports with the addition of parliamentary oversight.

Caring for our Country

Further information about the implementation timetable for the new Caring for our Country programme was provided recently.

The programme will replace funding provided under the Natural Heritage Trust and the National Action Plan for Salinity, and will in addition combine a number of other programs, such as Landcare, under one banner. Funding of $2.25 billion has been allocated for the five years from 2008/9.

Attendees at the NRM Knowledge Management Conference held in Melbourne from 14-16 April heard a representative of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, outline the timing for the program funding allocations.

Measurable outcomes for the five year program will be provided to the Prime Minister by the end of June 2008. These will guide all funding allocations under the Program.

A detailed Caring for our Country Business Plan for 2009/10, setting out the priority investment areas and the short-term (1 to 3 year) targets, will be released in September. Applications for funding are expected to be finalised before the end of 2008.

Decisions on funding allocations for the transition year (2008/9) are to be announced by July. Councils, and many other potential applicants for funding, are concerned that no guidelines for funding, nor the amount of money available, have yet been announced.

The new program may present some opportunities for local government, particularly if councils form partnerships with regional natural resource management bodies and other groups.

Unfortunately, it will be difficult for some councils to access funding from the new program, particularly those which do not have dedicated natural resource management staff.

This gulf between the 'haves' and 'have nots' will be worsened after 30 June. As reported in ALGA News on 14 March, the Australian Government has decided to cease funding the highly effective Local Government NRM Facilitators Network after 30 June 2008. The Facilitators played a key role in increasing effective council engagement in natural resource management.

ALGA President, Paul Bell, wrote to both Minister Garrett and Minister Burke on 18 March, expressing his concerns at this short-sighted approach and asking that the decision be reconsidered. Neither Minister has responded to date.

Announcement of Major Cities Unit a Good Start

The Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) has welcomed Minister Albanese's announcement of a major cities unit to renew the Commonwealth's focus on cities and urban development.

PIA CEO Jay, says the Institute would like to see the Major Cities Unit take ownership of the recommendations from the Commonwealth Parliament's Sustainable Cities and Sustainability Charter Inquiries.

"Urban action plans, including performance targets for improving outcomes in our major cities, need to be developed and implemented", Ms Jay said.

"With the development of this Unit the Commonwealth now has the opportunity to foster integrated planning, housing, urban management and infrastructure investment systems to deliver sustainable communities across Australia."

Vale Jim Stevenson

Former transport executive, Jim Stevenson, has died at the age of 64.

Mr Stevenson was the Chief Executive of the then National Road Transport Commission between 1998 and 2000.

In a tribute to Mr Stevenson, the National Transport Commission Chairman, Mr Michael Deegan, said Mr Stevenson was widely acknowledged as the early driving force behind the national Performance Based Standards (PBS) reform and the Australian Road Rules.

"Jim Stevenson embraced the challenges of a broad transport reform agenda and oversaw the completion of a substantial work program, which has delivered significant transport savings and safety benefits for Australia," Mr Deegan said.

"Highly regarded as a policy innovator, he became known as the 'Father of PBS'. His untiring enthusiasm and interest in PBS and other national reforms continued after leaving the Commission, including through his long illness.

"Jim made an enormous contribution to the transport industry and will be greatly missed."

Mr Stevenson had a long and distinguished career in local government, the Victorian Government and both Commonwealth and State government agencies, with a strong involvement in inter-governmental relations.

"On behalf of the NTC, I pass on my deepest sympathies to Jim's family and friends. The thoughts of all the current and former employees at the NTC are with them."

Mr Stevenson is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Old Queensland mines cause home crack ups

Nineteenth-century coal mines are believed to be the cause of cracks appearing in south-ast Queensland homes. Residents of the Ipswich suburb of Collingwood Park are "distraught" over the continuing underground subsidence destroying their homes, says Ipswich mayor, Paul Pisasale.

The residents of two homes in the suburb of Collingwood Park had been evacuated and more were expected to be as engineers grappled with the problem, believed to have been caused by underground coal mining done up to 150 years ago.

"The situation at the moment is that the residents are feeling very distraught, but even though their homes have cracks in them, they are still homes," Mr Pisasale told reporters.

The mayor said the Ipswich City Council was working with structural and geotechnical engineers from the Queensland Department of Mines and Energy to determine the extent of the subsidence problem and how many homes were likely to be affected.

"Once we know what has happened, we will start the repairs." He said it was up to the state government to help those who had been affected by the subsidence.

"Queensland has done very well out of the mining industry and the resources boom," he pointed out. "But when things like this happen in any community it's important that funds be available to assist those families that have been affected by the mining industry."

Queensland Department of Mines and Energy executive director of statewide services, Jim Grundy, said about 20 homes had been identified as having some subsidence effects.

"Once we have detailed studies of the area, and once we have established the extent and the total area affected by subsidence, we will put together a comprehensive, longer term response plan," Mr Grundy said.

Qld government wins planning award

An innovative Queensland Government approach to social infrastructure planning has won a special Planning Institute of Australia award.

The State's Department of Infrastructure and Planning guidelines won the Social and Community Planning category at the Planning Institute of Australia?s National Awards held in Sydney.

The guidelines were developed for the South East corner of the State and will help deliver social infrastructure more efficiently and ensure community needs are met.

Stirling Hinchliffe, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Premier and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning said the guidelines were the first attempt in Australia to provide guidelines for social infrastructure planning.

"Social infrastructure is an important planning area because it covers community facilities such as hospitals schools and community centres.

"These are important facilities that need to be planned so community needs are met" Mr Hinchliffe said.

The rapidly-growing South East Queensland region is expected to be home to a million extra people by 2026. These non-statutory guidelines were designed to help government agencies, community groups and private developers to plan and deliver social infrastructure for the increasing population.

"The award recognises how important it is to build strong communities through infrastructure such as schools, art galleries, kindergartens and police stations, he stated.

"Infrastructure is more than roads, water and sewerage - we also have make sure social infrastructure and services are provided so communities can be strong and prosperous.

"The guidelines apply to new communities and can also help existing communities to overhaul existing social infrastructure and address emerging needs" added Mr Hinchliffe.

For information on the guidelines visit www.dip.qld.gov.au

The National Awards for Planning Excellence recognize and acknowledge quality, innovation and excellence in planning throughout Australia. The Awards promote the important role of the planning profession in the creation of Australia?s built environment, and stimulate public awareness of good planning.

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