AUSTRALIAN LOCAL GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION

Extra $500 million for community infrastructure - councils urged to act

Councils and shires will have until 4pm Eastern Standard Time on Friday 6 March 2009 to submit new or revised applications for the Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program - Strategic Projects program.

Last Friday, the Senate passed the $42 billion National Building and Jobs Plan which includes an additional $500 million for community infrastructure like sports grounds, swimming pools, community centres and town halls, on top of the $50 million as part of the $300 million package announced in November. As a result of amendments by Greens Leader Senator Bob Brown which were accepted by the Government, local councils and shires will have the opportunity to submit new or revised applications for the Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program - Strategic Projects.

The Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Anthony Albanese, said that the program was extremely popular with 344 submissions already received - which sought more than $1.2 billion to build infrastructure and boost local economies.

He urged interested local governments to do one of the following:

Advise the Department that they wish to continue with their existing applications;
Submit a new application for a new project; or
Revise their existing application and resubmit within the deadline.

Existing Guidelines for the Community Infrastructure Program - Strategic Projects will continue to apply. They include:

Applications are limited only to local governments, and only one application per council;
Projects must be ready to go and able to proceed within six months of signing a contract;
Projects must be seeking a Commonwealth contribution of at least $2 million;
Councils are encouraged to contribute funds or secure partnership funds for projects; and
Community organisations' projects are permitted if sponsored by a local government.

"The Government is determined to deliver this funding as quickly as possible. We are taking decisive action to support jobs, generate construction and build infrastructure in communities," he said.

"The additional $500 million builds on the $300 million announced by the Prime Minister in November 2008 at the Australian Council of Local Government - bringing community infrastructure funding to $800 million over two years.

"The Government is also conscious of the additional needs of local communities that have been affected by the Victorian bushfires and the Queensland floods. We are consulting with councils to determine options for assisting the rebuilding effort in those communities."

Please ring 1800 005 494 for further information or visit the website.

Airstrip upgrade applications

Applications for funding under the third round of the Remote Aerodrome Safety Program (RASP) are now open.

Minister Albanese has announced that $6 million is available in the third round of this Program for:

Repairing and upgrading runway surfaces;
Safety equipment such as runway lighting and navigation aids; and
Infrastructure such as animal proof fences.

Funding is not available for terminals, hangars or commercial developments.

Applications must be submitted by Friday 17 April 2009.

The objectives of the Program are to help remote and regional Australians get access to the basic services that city residents take for granted such as essential supplies, mail, passenger transport and medical care.

The Program's focus is helping to maintain air services to the nation's remote and isolated communities, particularly those where road access is unavailable, unreliable or disrupted for extended periods due to the wet season.

Project applications will be assessed through a cooperative process which includes relevant Australian Government agencies; state, territory and local governments; and the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

The first two rounds of funding generated widespread interest from remote and isolated communities, with a total of $7.6 million provided to 73 remote airstrips across the country.

Application forms, guidelines and further information are available here.

Australian of Year urges nation to 'take next step' on reconciliation

Australian of the Year and Co-Chair of Reconciliation Australia Professor Mick Dodson addressed the National Press Club on Tuesday with a heart-felt plea for Australia to lift Indigenous education standards.

"What I'd like to see is every Australian child next Australia Day geared up and ready for the start of the 2010 school year," he said. "And I want to be confident that those kids are going to get the best education this country can give them." Professor Dodson spoke of stimulus spending by governments and the need to spend and invest in our children and their teachers - the human capital - as well as physical infrastructure. "New buildings and roads and computers and gymnasiums and science labs? they're worth bugger all without people to build and occupy them." He said all Australian children had the right to a good education. "This right and this dignity are...a great deal more than merely symbolic; they have profound, practical effects."

Professor Dodson said that reconciliation was 'an active pursuit' and was about getting on with what was needed and what we know to get results we all want. "And that's a mixture of measures that target body, mind and spirit. And reconciliation is all about taking the next step, whatever that may be." Education was the principle pathway to reconciliation and the key was good schooling and for non-Indigenous children to learn about Indigenous history and culture.

He underlined the importance of the apology to the stolen generations which occurred on 13 February, 2008. Last Friday, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags flew beside the Australian flag to mark the one-year anniversary of the formal apology to the stolen generations. Professor Dodson said as had been promised by the Prime Minister in Victoria after the bushfires, Australia had to do the same with reconciliation, to 'rebuild brick by brick.'

"So-called symbolic steps like the apology, like acknowledging country, like recognition in the preamble to the Constitution, like giving an Aboriginal child pride in their culture - these are all practical things that change the way we think and feel and the way we act."

He also called for an end to the false dichotomy and the "misguided notion that reconciliation comes in two discrete and opposing forms - practical, meaning worthwhile and effective; and symbolic, meaning near enough to useless."

"It's been constructed on the assumption that Australians will only tolerate action and spending on Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander peoples if they can see bricks and mortar. Well, I say we're better than that. We all know that children need more than a roof over their heads to succeed. We know love and understanding and encouragement are just as important. And we know that how people feel about themselves, whether they feel valued and respected has a whole lot to do with how they face their problems because we need to pick up all the tools in our toolkit, and getting distracted by false divides is not one of those tools."

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is expected to release a report card on 24 February on the Government's efforts to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

From the President

Local government has much work to do following the passage of the Australian Government's $42 billion fiscal stimulus package, known as the Nation Building and Jobs Plan (the Package). Councils have until 4pm (EST) on Friday 6 March 2009 to submit new or revised applications for the Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program - Strategic Projects program.

The key components of the Package for local government are:

$21.5 billion to the states and territories for education, social housing and road and rail infrastructure;
$500 million to councils for community infrastructure;
$60 million for heritage infrastructure; and
$40 million for green infrastructure such as cycleways.

On 5 February 2009, I met with the Prime Minister, Premiers and Chief Ministers and Treasurers from all jurisdictions to discuss the details of the Package. The meeting was formally convened as a meeting of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), on which I am a member. At the meeting, I assured the Prime Minister and state and territory leaders that local councils stand ready and eager to play our part in the roll out of the Package.

It is clear to me in examining the components of the Package that the Australian Government is listening to the voice of local government. For example, the Package picks up on a number of proposals made by ALGA in our 2009/10 Budget submission (such as additional funding for community infrastructure, the Black Spots Program, rail level crossings and measures to assist households reduce their energy consumption).

It is important that all councils play their part in realising the objectives of this substantial spending injection into the Australian economy. In addition to the extra $500 million that will flow to local government, local government's role as a planning authority will place many councils at the frontline in facilitating many of the projects to be delivered under the broader Package. Given the overriding objective of the spending is to provide an immediate fiscal stimulus to the economy, it is essential that councils ensure that planning and development approvals happen seamlessly and quickly so there are no unreasonable delays in the roll out of the Package.

Finally, the massive coordinated response to the Victorian bushfire disaster continues to be rolled out with local councils playing a key part in local recovery efforts. The Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) - the peak body for local government in Victoria - has established a fund for people or organisations who wish to make donations to support councils directly impacted by the fires. If your council or organisation is planning to make a donation to the bushfire victims, I encourage you to make contact with the MAV and consider making your donation to this fund to help these councils in the recovery effort.

Cr Geoff Lake
ALGA President

Quote of the week

"I cannot give you the formula of success, but I can give you the formula for failure which is: Try to please everybody"
Herbert Bayard Swope

International news

The European Commission set out its proposals for a comprehensive and ambitious new global agreement to tackle climate change and how it could be financed. The new pact is due to be concluded at the Copenhagen UN climate conference in December 2009. The Commission believes that developing countries will require substantially higher funding from the developed world and multilateral institutions to help them shoulder their contribution to addressing climate change. It also advocates the creation of an OECD-wide carbon market by 2015 and innovative international funding sources based on countries' emissions and ability to pay.

To have a reasonable chance of achieving the '2 degree' objective, global emissions must peak before 2020 (excluding the land use, land use change and forestry sector) and halve by 2050. Developed nations as a whole should commit to reducing emissions by 30% from 1990 levels by 2020, and that developing nations, with the exception of the very poorest, limit emissions growth 15 - 30% from business as usual.

Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said: "Tackling the causes and impacts of climate change will require significant private and public investment over coming decades, though these investments will cost far less than letting climate change continue its destructive course. The European Economic Recovery Plan and similar measures being taken around the world to address the economic crisis are a chance to advance the low-carbon investment needed and stimulate growth, innovation and job creation at the same time. However, further financing solutions will be vital for getting agreement in Copenhagen. Today's Communication makes a key contribution by putting forward a comprehensive set of proposals for scaling up finance and investment." read more.

Forthcoming events

For a full listing of forthcoming events, see ALGA's Events calendar.

15 - 16 February 2011 Behaviour Change Workshop with Doug McKenzie-Mohr
16 - 17 February 2011 Enabling meaningful change through community engagement
23 - 24 February 2001 Evolving Models of Governance and Accountability
25 February 2011 Future housing for older Australians
02 - 04 March 2011 Census | beyond the count
06 - 09 March 2011 PIA National Congress
09 - 11 March 2011 LGSA Tourism Conference 2011
21 - 23 March 2011 Industrial & commercial Waste Recycling 2011
28 - 29 March 2011 Traffic Theory workshop
30 - 31 March 2011 3rd Annual Water Leaders Congress

Extra $500 million for community infrastructure - councils urged to act