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9 Apr 2009
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Local government welcomes NBN expansion

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The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) has welcomed the Rudd Government's announcement that it will build a significantly expanded National Broadband Network (NBN).

ALGA President Cr Geoff Lake said, "Today's announcement is great news for local communities given the vital role broadband will play in the competitiveness of regions.

"The Government's promise to provide access to affordable fast broadband to every house, school and business in Australia is to be applauded. The delivery of fibre direct to 90% of Australian homes and the planned investment in wireless and satellite technology for all other Australians will allow local communities to realise enormous economic and social opportunities.

"Local communities have waited too long for adequate broadband services and we are delighted with today's decision to invest such significant sums in expanding Australia's productive capacity and educational frontiers.

"We also welcome the Government's announcement that it will mandate fibre to the home in all new greenfield developments. Councils have been advocating for this initiative for some time and it's pleasing the Government will now give fast broadband a similar priority to other utility services in planning new housing estates."

However Cr Lake has warned that the roll-out of the $43 billion infrastructure is of an unprecedented scale and has urged the Government to work with local government to ensure that the interests of the 21 million residents living throughout Australia are taken into account.

"The roll-out of the NBN infrastructure will involve laying overhead cables and cutting up roads, footpaths and nature strips", Cr Lake said.

"Local government recognises that a project of this scale requires an expedited delivery model. However, a fast broadband network completed by 2017 and sensitivity to local community interests are not mutually exclusive. Councils stand ready and willing to help deliver this ambitious nation building program."

ALGA has been a long standing proponent of the NBN. In ALGA's State of the Regions report released last year, National Economics estimated that the opportunity cost in 2008-09 of Australia's inadequate broadband infrastructure was $3.2 billion and resulted in a loss of about 33,000 jobs.

Councils concerned at waste elements of CPRS

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The Australian Local Government Association has released a briefing paper on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme legislation to assist councils that wish to make a submission to the Federal Government on the impact of the scheme on local government and communities. Submissions close on April 14.

The Briefing paper, by Deacons consultancy, was commissioned by ALGA and State and Territory Local Government Associations.

"Whilst we are pleased that ALGA's concerns on threshold issues and retrospectivity of council-owned dumps have been considered, we believe there are still some problems that need to be ironed out," ALGA President Cr Geoff Lake said. "For example, the CPRS legislation currently proposes that the threshold of 25,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions may be reduced to 10,000 tonnes in certain circumstances. This is going to force up the costs of waste disposal and will only have marginal if any impact on greenhouse gas emissions."

Cr Lake said that councils would also experience increased costs for electricity and fuel, and any emissions-intensive goods and services. The brunt of these costs would be borne by atepayers.

"Local government supports the Government's intention to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but has expressed concerns about the inclusion of waste facilities in the initial phase of the CPRS. Professor Garnaut's report makes it clear that the early inclusion of emissions from waste dumps would be problematic due to the variability of these emissions and the timing of their release. The report recommends that before being covered by the scheme, other policies to encourage mitigation in the waste sector should be pursued."

Cr Lake said that ALGA had written to the Minister for Climate Change and Water, Senator Penny Wong, outlining why inclusion of the waste sector in the initial phase of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) would be 'complex and costly' for local government.

"ALGA's view is that the sector, including local government, should continue to work with the Australian Government on a number of outstanding technical issues which need to be resolved before waste is included in the CPRS," Cr Lake said.

The issues could be summarised as:

  • the absence of accurate and affordable measurement of methane;
  • the absence of a grandfathering clause which means that ratepayers will have to pay for waste produced 20 years ago; and
  • unintended consequences resulting from the establishment of a low threshold such as providing an unfair advantage to larger landfill operators with little or no effect on emissions reduction.

The Deacons' Briefing paper on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill 2009 and associated legislation is on the ALGA website.

The Exposure Draft legislation for the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme is on public exhibition.

Email your submission to emissions.trading@climatechange.gov.au (closes on 14th April). If you would like help preparing your submission, information is available from the Senate website. You may also seek further advice from the Committee Secretary by telephone (02 6277 3541), facsimile (02 6277 5719) or by email (climate.sen@aph.gov.au).

Tidy Towns finalists

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The national finalists in the Keep Australia Beautiful, Australian Tidy Towns Awards have been announced and will now compete to become Australia's Tidiest Town 2009.

The iconic Tidy Towns program commenced in 1969 in WA with Bunbury the first ever winner. The awards identify, acknowledge and promote Australia's best examples of sustainable communities in regional and rural areas across Australia.

In 2009 the national Tidy Towns finalists are:

  • NT: Atitjere (Harts Range), 250km north east of Alice Springs, pop 220 - pictured, winners of the 2008 Territory Tidy Towns award
  • WA: Kambalda, 620km east of Perth, birth of Nickel mining in Australia, pop 4,200
  • SA: Stansbury, 210km from Adelaide on the Yorke Peninsula, pop 450
  • TAS: Oatlands, 80km north of Hobart, features Georgian architecture, pop 800
  • VIC: Horsham, Western Victoria, Wimmera Region, pop 13,500
  • NSW: Tamworth, 400km north west of Sydney, Country Music Capital, pop 36,000
  • QLD: Caloundra, Sunshine Coast, seaside escape, pop 41,000

The national awards presentation will take place on Friday 8 May, hosted by the Governor General at Government House, Yarralumla in Canberra. Registrations close 15 April. For further information or to attend the Australian Tidy Towns Award presentation visit www.kab.org.au/tidytowns
From the President

Local Government Minister Anthony Albanese has advised ALGA that funding agreements for the initial $250 million in community infrastructure payments to councils have now been provided by the Government to almost all councils. Once this documentation has been returned, money can flow quickly and directly to councils. I urge those councils which have received agreements but have not yet signed and returned them to do so as soon as possible so funding can flow to your council. We are advised that more than half of the $250 million has already been transferred to councils who have returned their documentation.

The Minister has also advised that the Government is currently assessing the applications for the remaining $550 million in funding for strategic projects. Councils have applied for a combined total of more than $2 billion of funding. He indicated that he expected to be in a position to announce the successful projects to be funded within one month.

On a different note, and as many Australians prepare to go away for the Easter period, it is worth remembering that Easter is one of the most deadly times on our roads. This time of year serves as a grim reminder to all of us of how important upgrades to road safety are across the Australian road network. It is therefore pleasing to see that the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Anthony Albanese has just announced the projects to be funded under the recently expanded Road Safety Black Spot Program. Details are available here.

Funding for the Road Safety Black Spot Program for 2008-09 was more than doubled as part of the $4.7 billion Nation Building Package announced on 12 December by the Government - an increase from $50 million to $110 million. A significant part of this funding will help councils deliver important road safety improvements on local roads.

The Government also announced as part of its February stimulus package that it will allocate an additional $30 million in 2008-09 and $60 million in 2009-10 to extend even further the coverage of the Black Spot Program.

These are particularly welcome additions to the Program given that the Australian National Audit Office, in its review of the program last year, found that there remain important road safety projects that should be funded.

A study by the former Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics (BTRE) found that there is strong evidence that the Program has achieved its aim of improving safety at locations with a history of crashes involving death and or serious injury. The study found that the much smaller Black Spot Program that existed between 1996-97 and 1998-99 saved an estimated 32 lives. This total will now be significantly higher.

It is a sobering thought that the national Easter road toll is likely to exceed that number. Road safety is an issue for everyone in the community. I wish all of you a very safe and enjoyable Easter break.

Cr Geoff Lake
ALGA President

Flood assistance

Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, has announced that the Commonwealth Government will provide financial assistance to communities recently affected by heavy rainfall and flooding in the Sunshine Coast and Gympie regions of South-East Queensland communities on the New South Wales mid-north coast.

Commonwealth assistance is being provided to the Queensland Government through the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA).

"The Commonwealth Government will continue to work with the Queensland Government, local government and community organisations to support those that have been affected," Mr McClelland said.

Funding will include assistance for the restoration of essential public infrastructure and relief operations, as well as personal hardship and distress assistance, inclusing road and rail freight subsidies of up to $15,000 for NSW to assist primary producers for the carriage of livestock and fodder The maximum subsidy available is $15,000 per annum. Further information here.

Bushfire relief package

Victorian Premier John Brumby and Chair of the Victorian Bushfire Appeal fund John Landy have announced a $9 million dollar assistance package to local councils affected by the 2009 bushfires.

Mr Brumby said the Advisory Panel had made the decision to provide assistance to local councils who had played a significant role in guiding the recovery of local communities.

"This 9 million assistance package recognises that local governments are often best placed to identify what disaster-related services are needed in their local community and to continue to deliver these services over the long term," Mr Brumby said.

The Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority (VBBRA) headed by Christine Nixon will have oversight of this payment in consultation with Local Government Victoria. The Authority is working closely with all shire councils affected by the bushfires and will ensure that proposals nominated by shire councils will benefit people and families directly affected by the devastation. Funding priority will be given to those shires and councils most severely affected by the bushfires.

To find out information about all the grants allocated by the Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund those people directly affected by the bushfires need to call the Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund Hotline on 1800 180 213 or click here.

Far North Qld infrastructure

Community infrastructure in Far North Queensland is in the spotlight with funding for more than $2 million for ready-to-go infrastructure projects. Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development and Northern Australia, Gary Gray, took to the road from Cairns through Karumba to Normanton this week to take a closer look at infrastructure in the Far North.

Mr Gray said it was important to get a real understanding of the infrastructure issues facing regional and remote communities such as these. A list of funded projects in the Carpentaria Shire Council, Tablelands Regional Council and Cairns is available here.

Mayors "break bread" for Passover

120 mayors, councillors and leaders of local government from across NSW gathered at a unique Passover dinner this week.

Local Government Minister Barbara Perry was guest of honour at the unprecedented event, which was held in Randwick Town Hall on April 1. Minister Perry spoke of the Government's commitment to community building and equitable representation of local communities on councils.

Organised by the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, the Local Government Passover Dinner included the Mayors of North Sydney, Ryde, Kogarah, Gosford, Shoalhaven, Liverpool, Leichhardt, Waverley, Randwick, Woollahra and Botany Bay.

Other guests included Shadow Special Minister of State Chris Hartcher, Local Government and Shires Association President Genia McCaffery, who is also Mayor of North Sydney, and Stepan Kerkyasharian, Chair of the Community Relations Commission.

Guests enjoyed an evening of discussion, ritual, music and dancing as they participated in a contemporary celebration of the Jewish festival of Passover. The function featured personal stories of freedom by Elias Farah from the Australian Federal Police; Dai Le, Community Relations Co-ordinator for the NSW Liberal Party; and Holocaust survivor Olga Horak.

MobileMuster awards

MobileMuster, the official recycling program of the mobile phone industry, is calling on local councils who have helped promote and collect mobile phones for recycling to enter the 2009 MobileMuster Local Government Awards.

The awards, now in their third year, aim to recognise and celebrate the outstanding efforts by local councils in promoting and collecting mobile phones, batteries, chargers and accessories for recycling.

The five winning councils will be announced during the Australian Local Government Association Conference (ALGA), which will be held at the National Convention Centre in Canberra from 21 June - 24 June.

Rose Read, Manager of Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association's (AMTA) official recycling program, MobileMuster, encourages councils to nominate their efforts in three of the five categories, including Best Promoter, Working with Schools, Top Recycler (Overall and Per Capita) and the National Excellence Award. Councils can register for the Best Promoter, Working with Schools and National Excellence categories.

Nominations are open until Tuesday 9 June 2009. For more information or to nominate your council, visit www.mobilemuster.com.au or call 1300 730070.
Don't waste consultation!

At the 17th meeting of the Environment Protection and Heritage Council held in Adelaide on Tuesday, Australian environment ministers agreed to the development of a national waste policy to provide a coherent, efficient and environmentally responsible approach to waste management in Australia. This week the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts released a National Waste Policy Consultation Paper. This is an opportunity for stakeholders to contribute their ideas, insights, views and knowledge to help shape the development of a national waste policy. Public consultation sessions will be held from 21 April to 1 May 2009 in each capital city, as well as Townsville, Kalgoorlie and Wagga Wagga. Readers of ALGA News should subscribe to the online E-news updates to receive automatic updates on venue locations for public meetings and other relevant information regarding the development of the national waste policy. For planning purposes the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts request that interested parties pre-register to attend attendance public consultation meeting by emailing wastepolicy@environment.gov.au.

ALGA hosts Austroads meeting

ALGA hosted the 47th Austroads Council meeting at the Rydges Capital Hill Hotel on 2 April.

ALGA is member of Austroads which is the association of Australian and New Zealand road transport and traffic authorities and has the aim of promoting improved road transport outcomes.

ALGA was represented by Chief Executive Officer Adrian Beresford-Wylie.

The Council meeting is part of a regular administrative and policy setting arrangements of Austroads. The meeting covered a wide range of topics including strategic directions of transport in Australia, and internal Austroads administrative and legal arrangements.

The Austroads Council also received progress reports from each of the research programs being funded by Austroads.

The Council also received reports from ALGA on developments in local government. The ALGA report covered the election of the new Austroads president, the inaugural Australia Council of local government, the benefits to councils of the economic stimulus package, the Constitutional Convention held in December, the upcoming National General Assembly and the ALGA request to the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Anthony Albanese, to amend the provisions of Roads to Recovery to allow greater flexibility in the use of the funds.

Through ALGA's membership of Austroads all councils have access to all the technical and research publications produced by Austroads. More details can found at the Austroads website.

Premises standards

The House of Representatives Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee held a roundtable in Melbourne this week with key organisations as part of its inquiry into the draft Premises Standards. Four key organisations appeared at the roundtable: the Attorney-General's Department, the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, the Australian Building Codes Board and the Australian Human Rights Commission.

The Committee has received over 120 submissions and has held six public hearings. Some of the reoccurring concerns include: the exclusion of Class 2 buildings, typically apartment blocks, from the scope of the Standards; the appropriateness of the small building exemption; the unjustifiable hardship provision, the use of access panels, and in particular, whether their decisions should be binding; the absence of emergency egress provisions; and, the scope, criteria and timing of the proposed review process.

ALGA has prepared a submission and a copy is now available at ALGA's website under 'submissions.'

Litter reduction campaign

A program funded by the Packaging Stewardship Forum (PSF) of the Australian Food and Grocery Council, has seen forty local governments and communities receive thousands of free rubbish and recycling bin stickers and posters as well as more than 380 roadside signs ready for installation, all carrying the well known anti-litter message of Do the Right Thing.

PSF General Manager, Jenny Pickles, said that it was important to support communities at a local level. "The aim of this program is to support and encourage the great work that communities are doing, or plan to do, throughout Australia to reduce litter and increase recycling locally."

The PSF received application forms from all over Australia, with more than one quarter coming from remote and indigenous communities in the Northern Territory and rural areas in Queensland.

The Do the Right Thing program has been running in Australia for nearly 30 years with 81 per cent of Australians recognising the message as meaning put your rubbish in the bin. Through the implementation of this new signage program, the total number of Australian communities now using the Do the Right Thing message will be brought up to nearly 300.

Further information: Alicia Hewitt on (02) 6270 9018

Jobs Fund

A new $650 million Jobs Fund announced by the Federal Government will support local jobs, build skills and improve facilities in local communities.

The new Jobs Fund is part of the Rudd Government's Jobs and Training Compact with Australians who have been hit hardest by the global recession, and builds on the Rudd Government's $42 billion Nation Building Economic Stimulus Plan.

The Jobs Fund includes three streams:

  • $300 million for Local Jobs to invest in community projects of up to $2 million that help protect the environment or promote sustainability and will include $60 million for community heritage projects, and $40 million for commuter bike paths.
  • $200 million to Get Communities Working which will invest in local council and not-for-profit projects of up to $2 million to upgrade vital community facilities and build community capacity.
  • $150 million for Infrastructure Employment Projects to be initiated by the Australian Government for the construction of local infrastructure that will create immediate jobs in communities affected by the global economic downturn.

Projects will encourage local government, community organisations, employers and employment service providers to work together to give people employment or training opportunities in their local area.

Most projects will commence from 1 July 2009 with submissions sought from May. Some heritage projects in the Local Jobs stream will commence sooner.

The Jobs Fund includes the commitments made by the Government as part of the Nation Building Economic Stimulus Plan.

The Federal Government will also appoint Local Employment Co-ordinators to marshal training, infrastructure and Jobs Fund investments to maximise job opportunities in seven local communities hit hardest by the effects of the global recession.

The Government is providing $20.8 million for the Local Employment Co-ordinators to work in regions and communities affected by higher unemployment and job losses.

Local Employment Co-ordinators will work with employers and not-for-profit organisations to identify new job opportunities and will help match the employment and training needs of local communities with available Commonwealth services and funding.

They will work in seven initial areas:

  • Canterbury Bankstown and South Western Sydney
  • The Illawarra, south of Sydney
  • Ipswich - Logan in Queensland
  • Northern and Western Adelaide
  • South Eastern Melbourne
  • South West Perth
  • Northern Tasmania

More information here.

Rate pegging

NSW local councils are bracing for a rough financial year with the State Government announcing a 3.5% limit on rate increases for 2009/10.

With the cost shifting burden exceeding $400M in recent years, the infrastructure backlog in NSW is becoming the elephant in the room that the State Government refuses to acknowledge.

President of the Local Government Association Cr Genia McCaffery said constant cost shifting from the State Government meant that Local Government was expected to foot more and more of the bill for sustaining their communities, without an equitable increase in income.

President of the Shires Association Cr Bruce Miller said that while the State Government has indicated a willingness to look at the issue of rate pegging, it is time for some real action.

Quote of the week

"The provision of an equitable broadband service across all of Australia remains an important goal" -
National Economics' State of the Regions Report 2008-09 commissioned by ALGA

International news  

South Korea has set up a network of 140 'tough love' rehabilitation centres in a bid to curb the growth of internet addiction among the country's teenaged population. Nearly a third of children in the world's most web-savvy country are thought to be at risk, many of them playing truant to get their daily dose of 'PC Bang', the street corner internet caf?s that have sprung up in recent years.

The rehabilitation centres employ a carrot and stick approach, combining counselling workshops in pottery and drumming with the discipline of a military boot camp.

'Patients' are banned from all internet use and allowed no more than one hour per day on their mobile phones.

"Korea has been most aggressive in embracing the internet. Now we have to lead in dealing with its consequences," Koh Young-sam, head of the Jump Up Internet Rescue School, told The New York Times.

Industry experts fear that web addiction could spread beyond South Korea to neighbouring China, the world's second largest internet market after the US.

In September, a man from the southern Chinese province of Guangdong reportedly died after a non-stop, three-day online gaming session. (Source: vnunet.com).

State of the Regions report 2006-07
Forthcoming events

For a full listing of forthcoming events, see ALGA's Events calendar.
ALGA News can be read online each week at www.alga.asn.au/news.aspx
Editor: newscomments@alga.asn.au Tel: 02 6122 9434.
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