Councils get on with the job of delivering stimulus projects

More than 3,300 projects across Australia are currently being rolled out by Australia's 562 councils under the $800 million Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program, a key part of the Rudd Government's economic stimulus packages. Councils are also involved in a range of other stimulus measures such as road black spot funding and job creation initiatives.

The President of the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA), Cr Geoff Lake said, "Construction has started on many of these projects and we are already seeing real outcomes on the ground in local communities in terms of job creation, stimulating local demand and delivering valuable infrastructure.

"One of the best aspects of this funding is that the Rudd Government has put its faith in councils to identify their own priority projects for funding. Importantly, it is local communities rather than Canberra bureaucrats who have developed these projects and therefore they reflect localised needs and priorities."

The program funds councils to build and renew local infrastructure such as community centres, town halls, parks and playgrounds, pools and sporting facilities. A list of the projects which have been funded is available at www.alga.asn.au/policy/regdev/reginf/

Broadband and greenfield estates consultation paper

On 7 April 2009 the Australian Government announced it will establish a new company that will invest up to $43 billion over eight years to build and operate a National Broadband Network (NBN) delivering superfast broadband to Australian homes and workplaces.

One of the immediate steps the Australian Government announced was that fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) infrastructure would be required in greenfield estates that receive planning approval after 1 July 2010.

The Australian Government is undertaking a targeted consultation process with key stakeholders on how to implement this initiative.

A discussion paper has been prepared to assist with this process by setting out possible approaches and highlighting particular areas where the views of stakeholders are being sought. The paper outlines two possible models for the implementation of the initiative. Because of the interaction with planning and development processes, either model would see a significant role for all levels of government necessitating a co-operative approach. The paper foreshadows that, as well as introducing any legislative change necessary, the Australian government will work with other tiers of government and industry to develop templates, technical standard or educational material. The options put forward in this paper, therefore, should be seen as a starting point for discussion, and on which feedback is welcome. A number of questions have been posed on a wide range of issues, but the Australian Government is also interested in any additional issues respondents may wish to raise in relation to this initiative.

Submissions in response to the paper are sought by Friday 12 June. The National Broadband Network Taskforce has advised that it is about to start meetings with local government and planning representatives in all jurisdictions (except Tas and NT) starting 3 June 2009.

Women and heart disease

The National Heart Foundation's Go Red for Women campaign was backed by the major parties at a Parliamentary breakfast this week.

Health Minister Nicola Roxon said there was a myth that cardiovascular disease was the preserve of middle-aged males. In fact, the leading cause of death among women in Australia today is cardiovascular disease - which includes coronary heart disease and strokes, the biggest killers.

"More than 22,000 women each year die of cardiovascular disease and it is especially prevalent in older women," she said. "International research indicates that women are more likely to have atypical symptoms of cardiovascular disease, which may lead to under-recognition of the disease by both women and their health professionals. If women are not aware of the risks they face from cardiovascular disease they are more likely to pass off warning symptoms as less serious problems such as reflux or muscle pain."

Go Red for Women, aims to raise awareness of the fact that CVD is a serious health risk for all Australian women and disadvantaged and indigenous women are most at risk. The campaign promotes a regime of non-smoking, healthy eating, adequate exercise and control over blood pressure and blood glucose. More information about Go Red for Women Day on June 12 is at www.goredforwomen.com.au

(Pictured L to R) : Minister Roxon, Greens health spokeswoman Senator Rachael Siewert, Shadow Minister for Ageing Margaret May and Heart Foundation CEO Dr Lyn Roberts)

From the President

The ongoing financial sustainability of many councils across Australia remains a pressing issue. As part of ALGA's ongoing advocacy on this issue, CEO Adrian-Beresford-Wylie yesterday addressed the Taxation Review Panel chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury, Dr Ken Henry, at Parliament House.

Financial sustainability was a major issue on ALGA's agenda when I last served on the ALGA Board during my time as President of the Municipal Association of Victoria from 2004 to 2006. At that time, ALGA commissioned the landmark PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report into local government finances and it has since been critical in establishing an evidence based approach to tackling the issue. Indeed, that report was referred to by the Prime Minister in November of last year in announcing the first tranche of community infrastructure funding for councils.

The nub of the financing issue is basic fairness - we all know that Financial Assistance Grants (FAGs) have declined from around 1% of Australian Government taxation revenues in 1995-96 to 0.7% in 2008-09. This is in contrast to the growth tax which the states and territories have access to from the national level - the GST.

The facts speak for themselves. The PwC report's conservative estimate is that 10-30% of councils have financial sustainability issues. It estimates that the total infrastructure backlog for local government across Australia is $14.5 billion. The Productivity Commission appreciates this position when it recently concluded that 'there is a case to review the provision of Australian Government general purpose grants to local government.' This confirms ALGA's long-held view that FAGs must be reconsidered.

The review into 'Australia's Future Tax System' was announced by the Australian Government in the 2008-09 Budget and followed calls from a wide range of stakeholders (including ALGA) for such a review. The Review was described by the Australian Government as 'the most comprehensive review of Australia's tax-transfer system since World War 2' and its terms of reference have the objective of creating a tax-transfer structure to position Australia for the demographic, social, economic and environmental challenges of future decades.

However, the terms of reference did not include 'matters relating to the roles of different levels of government, the quantum of intergovernmental grants and horizontal equalization.' What ALGA told the Panel yesterday was that despite this, the terms of reference seem to 'approve' local government taxation (council rates) from a tax design principle perspective and that this should be included in the Panel's interpretation.

The core of our argument is the following:

• That council rates based on property meet all the criteria for good tax design: fairness, efficiency, simplicity, transparency and adequacy/sustainability;
• Local government is maximising its potential to raise own-source revenue, but Commonwealth funding is required for general purposes and to assist with infrastructure renewals; and
• FAGs are insufficient and need to be reformed.

These considerations are central to the theme of our National General Assembly - Rising to the Challenge: Infrastructure, Climate Change and Financing - which will feed into the Australian Council of Local Government plenary session on June 25^th (the mayors meeting with the Prime Minister). ALGA will continue advocating strongly for reform to local government funding. Adequate funding is at the heart of the sustainability of councils and their ability to provide services to local communities.

Note: ALGA's October 2008 submission on the Treasury paper, Australia's Tax and Tax Transfer Architecture, and its second submission in May 2009 on Australia's Future Taxation System Consultation Paper are available at: www.alga.asn.au/policy/finance.

Cr Geoff Lake
ALGA President

Quote of the week

"Have patience with all things but first with yourself. Never confuse your mistakes with your value as a human being. You're a perfectly valuable, creative, worthwhile person simply because you exist. And no amount of triumphs or tribulations can ever change that. Unconditional self-acceptance is the core of a peaceful mind." -
Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622)

International news  

If Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Sydneysiders should be feeling very flattered indeed.

One of France's leading architects has proposed a replica Sydney Opera House be built on the banks of the Seine to improve Paris's outer suburbs.

Roland Castro was one of 10 architects commissioned by the President, Nicholas Sarkozy, to come up with ideas to improve the capital. His design shows a facsimile of Joern Utzon's building beside the river at Gennevilliers, on Paris's north-west fringe, which has been marred by street violence since the race riots of November 2005. The plan tries to "plant some beauty where it is now mostly ugliness," Mr Castro said.

Utzon's son, Jan, said it was "flattering that people like the construction so much they think about re-creating it somewhere else". Mr Utzon is in Sydney to launch photographer Katarina Stuebe's book, Jorn Utzon's Sydney Opera House: A Tribute.

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