From the President
With the August session of Parliament beginning in just over a week, there has been much speculation over the fate of the Government's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme legislation in the Senate.
It is by no means certain. The Greens believe the targets are too low and more action is needed to boost alternative technologies. The Opposition's position has been hard to follow but Leader Malcolm Turnbull has indicated he is seeking talks with the Government over the nine issues of concern before his party room gives its support.
An Emissions Trading Scheme ultimately puts a price on carbon through the allocation of permits. Pollution intensive industries are therefore under pressure to reduce their emissions or buy new permits. The premise of an ETS is that over time the economic advantage will be weighted away from carbon intensive sources of energy such as coal-fired power stations towards greater investment in new technologies such as wind and solar energy and even nuclear power.
However, the devil is in the detail and there is talk of horse-trading behind closed doors over which industries should qualify for free permits and other forms of support.
Local government has always supported the need to significantly reduce Australian and global greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change is a great threat to local communities. Rising sea levels and variations in climatic patterns will create upheavals and uncertainties which many councils are already grappling with and doing their best to plan for. Predictions are that the northern parts of Australia will become wetter and more tropical with associated health risks and southern Australia will become hotter and drier. We have seen recent examples of unusual weather patterns. Councils in northern NSW and Queensland are dealing with inundated waterfront properties and the small tourist destination of Coles Bay in Tasmania has water trucked in daily to support its community.
Local government is at the frontline of dealing with the challenges associated with climate change. We support the need for a properly designed ETS and believe that it will make a significant contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
Our submission in response to the CPRS discussion paper focused on inequities in the treatment of waste and we successfully argued for the removal of the 'legacy waste' clause which was going to financially hurt councils and ratepayers without offering any environmental benefit.
We particularly welcome practical measures introduced by the Commonwealth and state and territory governments to improve household energy efficiency, such as rainwater tanks for schools, solar energy rebates and the installation of insulation in older homes. Individual councils are achieving some fantastic results and leading the way, however there is still much to be done and adequate resourcing and strategy development are the keys to any large-scale changes in this area. In ALGA's Budget Submission for 2009-10 we proposed three initiatives to help councils deal with the effects of climate change:
- Planning for the future: $40m over five years to assist councils to update disaster mitigation plans;
- Actions to adapt locally: strengthening of built assets and the relocation of assets at risk; and
- Capacity building: setting up a local government Climate Change Facilitators Network.
ALGA also proposed a fund to assist councils develop projects for water sensitive urban design and community-scale recycling initiatives.
These proposals are highly relevant and I believe are crucial to achieving behavioural change in the community. The debate on what type of ETS we will have is important and we must set the right framework in place for an effective and workable scheme. However, the nuts and bolts of how communities will assist and drive reforms in adaptation and mitigation must also be front of mind as we embark on what is arguably the greatest reform that Australia has confronted in a number of years. There is no doubt that mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation to the impacts of climate change will have transformational effects on the Australian economy, environment and society as a whole and local government must be at the forefront of these changes.
Cr Geoff Lake
ALGA President
NBN roll-out
On 25 July 2009, the Australian Government made a number of announcements relating to the National Broadband Newtwork (NBN).
It has confirmed the appointment of the much anticipated executive chair of NBNCo. NBNCo. has been established by the Australian Government to deliver the National Broadband Network (NBNCo). The inaugural executive chair is Mr Mike Quigley. The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, said in relation to Mr Quigley "Few people in the world have first-hand experience with the deployment of the type of network our National Broadband Network plan involves. Mike is one of those people. He understands the technology, the applications, and all of the considerations that go into making a network viable."
Mr Quigley was most recently President and Chief Operating Officer of Alcatel, one of the world's largest telecoms technology and network deployment companies, where he has served a 36 year career. This includes leading Alcatel's team in the negotiations of the Euro 21 billion merger with Lucent Technologies which was completed in November 2006, before he returned to Australia in September 2007.
The Prime Minister noted that along with his accomplishments, Mike is also known for his energy and values. Mr Quigley is to commence his new role immediately.
The Australian Government has also appointed the Chair of the company that will roll out and operate the National Broadband Network in Tasmania, the Tasmanian NBN Company Limited (TNBN Co), a new company which will be established and jointly owned by NBNCo and Aurora Energy. The Chair is Mr Doug Campbell. Mr Campbell was awarded an Order of Australia for his service to business and to the community, particularly as a contributor to the development of communications services in regional and remote areas of Australia. He was the founding group managing director and key architect of Telstra Country Wide and has 48 years of industry experience.
TNBN Co will construct a Fibre-to-the-Premises network to deliver speeds of 100 megabits per second, to 200,000 Tasmanian households and businesses. The remainder of premises will be served by next-generation wireless or satellite services, offering speeds of 12 megabits per second or more. TNBN Co will establish a joint project team that will be located in Tasmania to implement the broadband project across the State.
The Government says it is continuing the process to appoint other directors to the Boards of both companies.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has announced that the communities of Smithton, Scottsdale and Midway Point will be the first to receive FTTP broadband connections in the rollout of the National Broadband Network in Tasmania.
Community Indicators
Last week, ALGA attended the Community Indicators Summit 09 in Brisbane. The Summit was convened by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and included speakers from local government (Social Policy Adviser Ms Rachel Uhr from the Local Government Association of Queensland and Mr Austin Ley of the City of Melbourne), the OECD World Forum Project, Mission Australia and Red Cross, and a number of Queensland government departments.
The Summit generated lively discussion about community-based indicators, and offered the opportunity to contribute in interactive workshops on three issues: measuring wellbeing in Indigenous Communities; Measuring Progress (which included developments in the ABS publication Measures of Australia's Progress (MAP) and the National Development Index (NDI); and Community Indicators for Better Local Government (which explored options for a core set of indicators which can be used across many Indicator frameworks).
About 170 delegates attended the Summit, including representatives from councils in NSW, and a summit declaration is currently being finalised. Delegates gained the benefit of exploring information platforms from exhibitors sharing knowledge and experience. A feature of the Summit was that presentations were videoed, and copies of the presentations and videos will be loaded to the website within the next couple of weeks. A summary of the event will also be posted to the website shortly.
The Summit outcomes and declaration will be presented at the 3rd World Forum on Statistics, Knowledge, Policy "Charting Progress, Building Visions, Improving Life", which is being held in Busan, Korea from October 27-30, 2009 (www.oecd.org), and which is a key milestone in the Global Project.
ALGA is keen to hear from councils who are using community indicators; the contact for this purpose is Larissa Karpish who can be contacted at larissa.karpish@alga.asn.au.
For more information on the Summit, click here.
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ReGenerating Community: Arts Community and Governance National Conference
September 2-4, 2009, Storey Hall, RMIT University, Melbourne
Presented by RMIT University and the Cultural Development Network
ReGenerating Community Conference is about ways in which global issues are being addressed locally through collaborations between artists, communities and local government. This conference will discuss local government's creation of new models of civic engagement. Arts are the focus. Examples of arts based projects tackling the big issues through community cultural engagement are the springboard for discussion by leading national and international speakers, commentators, community leaders, officials, politicians, academics and artists. The Generations project and five participating municipal councils will be in the spotlight.
International speakers are Anmol Vellani, Indian philosopher, theatre director and Executive Director of the India Foundation for the Arts and Lyz Crane, Director of Program Development, Partners for Livable Communities, USA.
Cultural Development Network and RMIT Globalism Research Centre are hosts for a conference that promises to be...regenerating.
Early bird registration is available until Friday August 7.
www.cdn-generations.net.au/
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Feedback on child care reforms
Written submissions on reforms to early childhood education and care can be made up to 31 August 2009 through a Commonwealth Government website.
The proposed reforms, agreed by the most recent meeting of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) on 2 July 2009 will have particular relevance for those councils which provide child care services directly or which provide infrastructure used for such services. At the heart of the reforms are proposals to reduce the ratios of children to staff. The moves are likely to result in an increase in the cost of childcare for parents and may well lead to a need for increase in facilities.
The Government has been holding a series of briefings around Australia over the past two weeks and is encouraging those who attend - and any other interested parties - to make a detailed submission on the proposals, which are outlined in a Regulation Impact Statement (RIS), to the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations by 31 August. The details of the proposed reforms are here.
The reforms are likely to have particular relevance for Victorian councils with more than 70% of those councils providing local day care and more than 80% involved in Family Day Care.
WA grain freight review released
Parliamentary Secretary for Western and Northern Australia Gary Gray has released the independent review undertaken to determine ways to improve the effectiveness of the Western Australian grain rail network.
The review analysed the findings from the WA Grain Infrastructure Group (GIG) Report - commissioned by the WA State government in 2004 - to determine if its investment strategies were still valid for the medium to long term.
The key findings of the review are:
- The GIG report does not provide a reliable basis on which to make major investment decisions;
- The overall costs of the GIG's proposed investment package are likely to significantly exceed the benefits; and
- There is a need for further analysis of alternative investment options in light of current market circumstances.
The review has been provided to the Strategic Grain Network Committee - established by the WA Government - which has representatives from industry as well as all levels of government.
The review can be found here.
Mixed reception for hospital report
This week saw the release of a National Health and Hospitals Reform commission report which proposes an increase in federal government powers on health, while stopping short of a federal takeover of public hospitals. The Rural Doctors Association says the report has failed to address ways of easing the chronic shortage of doctors outside cities. The report is available
here.
New Study
The Australian Government has asked the Productivity Commission to undertake a study into alternative market mechanisms for recovering water in the Murray-Darling Basin. The Commission is to report in January 2010.
Further details (including terms of reference) is available from the Commission's website.
Arts and health
The Menzies Research Institute at the University of Tasmania is investigating how 'arts and health' programs or projects evaluate their impact on health and wellbeing. Researcher Leigh Tesch is reviewing the literature about projects and programs that have both an artistic outcome and a health outcome, in order to look at their evaluation practice; the tools and methods used; and factors assessed and consider themes and trends across different settings and populations. (A health outcome includes enhancing social inclusion, community relationships, self esteem etc.) She would like councils to send any relevant reports, summaries or publications about evaluations that have been done with arts projects or programs to include in the review by early August. The final report will be a valuable resource for arts and health organisations in designing their own evaluation for their projects.
Details: Leigh.Tesch@utas.edu.au or (03) 6226 4731 / 0419104961
Battlelines
The Shadow Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Health, Tony Abbott, launched his new book 'Battlelines' at the National Press Club on Thursday. During his speech, he raised the issue of the 'dysfunctional federation.' "Given the tensions that can arise over who has ultimate legal and financial responsibility, establishing a hierarchy of government is surely overdue, if only so that voters have a clearer idea of who to blame when things consistently go wrong," he said. The national government was subject to 'mission creep.' "It's not that politicians in Canberra arrogantly think that they are better than anyone else at running things. It's democracy, not centralism that keeps adding to Canberra's responsibilities, thanks to citizens' understandable instinct that the national government should ultimately be in charge." And Abbott's answer to ending the blame game between the Commonwealth and the states? "It's not to abolish the states or readily to interfere with the way they do things. Rather, it's to give the national parliament much the same power over the states that it currently has over the territories."
Rudd sets election agenda
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has put jobs and climate change at the centre of Labor's agenda towards the next election, flagging a $100 million plan to create 50,000 green jobs and training opportunities.
The announcement was the centrepiece of his speech to Labor faithful at the start of the three-day ALP national conference today.
The Prime Minister took to the stage with much less fanfare than two years ago, when Labor was just months away from what turned out to be a successful federal election.
Mr Rudd told delegates his government planned to continue the Labor tradition of nation-building.
"This is the tradition of which we are so proud. And this is the tradition which now shapes the future we would craft for Australia," he said. (AAP)
Quote of the week
"Can you tell me the period in commercial history when property developers were happy? They've always got a problem." -
ANZ Bank executive Bob Edgar commenting on complaints by the industry lobby when the level of government assistance is without precedent: the first homeowners grant, stamp duty concessions plus record low interest rates.
International news 
The Mercer's 2009 Worldwide Cost of Living report, conducted in March 2009, revealed the top cities as affordable destinations for overseas expatriates, comparing 143 cities across six continents.
The study measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment, and is the world's most comprehensive cost of living survey used to help multinational organisations and governments determine compensation allowances for their expatriate employees.
In Asia, it seems Japan is one of the least value-friendly, with Tokyo has moving up one place in the ranking to become the most expensive city for expatriates both in Asia and globally. The Japanese yen has strengthened considerably against the US dollar which also lifts Osaka into second place from 11th in 2008.
Hong Kong follows in fifth place and Singapore has moved up three places to reach 10th. In 140th place, Karachi continues to be the least costly city in this region - up one place from last year.
Chinese cities experienced the reverse effect. Beijing is in ninth place, having moved up 11 places to join the global top 10. Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou follow in 12th, 22nd and 23rd place respectively.
Within Australia, Sydney remains the most expensive city for expatriates but has dropped from 15th to 66th place (scoring 75.5 basis points). Melbourne follows in 92nd (69.9 points), down from 36th place, while Brisbane sits in 116th place (65.3 points), down from 57th, with Perth close behind at 117th place (65.2 points), down from 53rd. Adelaide remains the least expensive city at 130th place (scoring 61.3 points), down from 73rd place in the rankings.
According to Rob Knox, head of Mercer's information product solutions business, says Australia is a strong competitor in the 'value for money' stakes, and it is this reputation that is steadily increasing its appeal for multinational organisations seeking to manage and contain the costs of a mobile workforce in tighter economic conditions - and that, is good news for prospective employees all round and across a number of jurisdictions.
"Across the Asia Pacific region, Australian cities are extremely cost competitive destinations for global workers in comparison to cities such as Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Osaka, which have all climbed in the rankings this year. This helps makes Australia a very attractive hub for companies looking to grow their presence in the Asia Pacific region," he said.
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The fourth annual Local Government Sustainable Development Conference
Tuesday 18th - Wednesday 19th August
The Sebel Albert Park, Melbourne
This annual peak national local sustainable development conference designed to assist local government practitioners to identify, plan and implement best practice sustainable development solutions, particularly related to reducing the carbon footprint. It will showcase leading edge examples of outstanding environmental initiatives by Australian local governments.
Key speakers will include:-
- Geoff Lake, President, Australian Local Government Association
- Cr Geoff Ablett, Mayor, City of Casey
- Stephen Sawtell, General Manager, Coffs Harbour City Council
- Nick Bailey, Manager, Local Government, Sustainability Victoria
- John Gertsakis, Executive Officer, Product Stewardship Australia
- Steve Harrison, Director, Business & Economic Development, City of Prospect
Topics will include:
- Expert analysis of Local Government's emissions trading obligations
- Climate change and energy efficiency
- Integrating sustainability into economic imperatives
- Practical approaches to water management
- Sustainable planning and urban design
- Waste management and resource recovery
- Community engagement in environmental initiatives
- Green purchasing and procurement
For further information, or to register for the Conference, go to www.halledit.com.au/lgsd09 or contact Denise McQueen on 03 8534 5021 or denise.mcqueen@halledit.com.au
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