From the President

When I meet people involved in local government but who are not directly involved in their state or territory local government association, I find that often they don't know much about ALGA. In my column this week, I thought it was timely to provide some background about the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) in case you fit into this category.

ALGA was founded in 1947 as a federation of state and territory local government associations. Since 2001, membership has also included the Government of the Australian Capital Territory which combines both state and local government functions.

ALGA's policies are determined by the ALGA Board which consists of two representatives from each of the member associations and the ACT Government. ALGA's leadership group comprises the president and two vice presidents. The secretariat is managed by the chief executive.

Over the past 60 years, ALGA has grown in influence. A key decision was the establishment of a secretariat in Canberra in 1976, reflecting growing links with the Australian Government and an awareness of local government's emerging national role.

ALGA's activities at the national level include participation on 13 Ministerial Councils and the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), providing submissions to government and parliamentary inquiries, raising the profile and concerns of local government at the national level and creating annual forums to develop local government policy, such as the National General Assembly and the National Local Roads and Transport Congress.

ALGA provides a range of services to its member associations and, through them, local councils throughout Australia. These include:

• information on national issues, policies and trends affecting local government via our internet site, newsletters, special reports and conferences;
• representation on national bodies including the Council of Australian Governments, Ministerial Councils and intergovernmental committees;
• liaison and negotiation with a wide range of Commonwealth ministers and departments, shadow ministers and political parties, as well as other national organisations related to local government;
• policy development to provide a local government perspective on national affairs;
• special projects aimed at enhancing local government's capacity and status in key areas of national concern; and
• lobbying the Australian Government and Parliament on specific issues and running campaigns to secure agreed policy objectives.

As president, I try to regularly visit state and territory local government association Board meetings and annual conferences. Over the past few months, I have addressed the South Australian, NSW Shires and Tasmanian conferences and tomorrow I will visit the Western Australia conference. These are great opportunities for councils to hear directly from ALGA about what we are working on to advance local government's position nationally. Tomorrow, I will outline progress on the roll-out of the $1 billion community infrastructure fund announced by the Rudd Government, the recently announced asset management fund, the Centre for Excellence and our work to prepare for our campaign for constitutional reform to include local government.

Most of ALGA's contact is with state and territory local government associations - which comprise ALGA's Board. From time to time, I send out direct emails to councils on issues of national significance and 'ALGA News' is an important communication and information tool. I also send out a weekly update for the ALGA Board -'Friday Update' - which is a summary of ALGA's activity over the past week and which highlights key upcoming events.

Overall, local government's national organisation works pretty well. However, there is always room for improvement and I welcome any feedback. My email is geoff.lake@alga.asn.au.

Cr Geoff Lake
ALGA President

Rainfall modelling

Australia's annual rainfall will increase by an average 8.4mm by 2099, according to results from computer models.

Two academics from the Australian National University, Michael Roderick and Wee Lo Lim, have crunched the numbers from 39 models run by organisations such as Australia's CSIRO and its equivalents in France, Canada, Germany, Japan, the US and Britain to produce a downloadable book that shows all their predictions individually and averaged.

The book and e-book, An Atlas of the Global Water Cycle, has been launched at the university.

Dr Roderick and Mr Lim calculated that, by 2099, Australia's nationwide rainfall will have increased by an average of 8.4mm. But include an extra 11.2mm of evaporation across the country and the final result is a loss of 2.8mm.

Globally, rainfall is predicted to increase by an average of 46.9mm.

The Australian averages hide wider predicted regional variations. According to the data, by 2099, the Top End will be receiving 50-100mm more rain than the 1970-1999 average.

All of Victoria, and most of South Australia and Western Australia, will receive up to 50mm a year less than now.

Eastern Tasmania will receive up to 50mm less and the western half of the state will receive 50-100mm less. The Atlas of the Global Water Cycle is available here.

SA network

Expressions of Interest are sought for committee members for the Regional Development Australia (RDA) network of committees in South Australia. Applications close 9 August 2009.

• Expression of Interest Advertisement
• SA Expression of Interest Handbook
• Expression of Interest Application Form
• Media Release - Regional Development Australia Seeks South Australian Community

Queries about the Expression of Interest process in South Australia can be emailed to rda.sa@infrastructure.gov.au.

MAV human resource conference

Demonstrating the latest thinking and future directions for local government human resources, the 2009 National Local Government Human Resource conference will address the linkages and solutions provided by human resources in the face of changing economic, social and environmental landscapes confronting local government councils.

Considering a diverse range of topics, including recruitment, organisational collaboration, the legislative environment, crisis management and employment branding, a comprehensive program features high profile keynote speakers, practical workshops and showcases successful council human resource programs.

Further information on the conference, to be held from 18 - 20 November 2009 at Sebel Albert Park Melbourne, is available here.

Childcare investment

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has pointed to low wages of childcare workers as a key problem that must be resolved to improve the early childhood education and care sector as a whole.

Speaking at the recent Adelaide hearing for the Senate Inquiry into the provision of childcare, Senator Hanson-Young said that lifting workers' wages and helping them gain qualifications would lift the quality of Australian childcare.

"Referring childcare funding models to the Productivity Commission would be a good start in making sure we are properly targeting the millions of dollars that go out into the community each year in childcare benefits and rebates."

Senator Hanson-Young said that early childhood education and childcare aspects of the Council of Australian Governments' agenda would only be met if centres were staffed with properly paid, qualified staff.

Swine flu update

Australia has 24,395 confirmed cases of swine flu. The total number of Australian deaths is 77. Following the outbreak of the pandemic at a NSW piggery, the Royal Queensland Show has banned pigs from the grounds to protect the animals from catching the pandemic. While no formal decision has been made to exclude pigs from agricultural events, each case will be managed individually be the relevant authorities. Internationally there are almost 200,000 confirmed cases (just over 50% of these are in the Americas) with 1,484 deaths.

Refugee, humanitarian overview

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship has produced an overview of Australia's Refugee and Humanitarian Program, outlining the onshore protection and refugee resettlement components of the program and explaining Australia's current role in refugee protection and in settlement support. This booklet can be downloaded from the DIAC website.

Biosecurity partnerships

Plant Health Australia (PHA) is the lead national coordinating body for plant biosecurity in Australia. It works in partnership with industry, governments, researchers and others to facilitate and manage improvements in biosecurity policy and practice across Australia's plant industries, and to build capacity to respond to plant pest emergencies.

PHA works with its industry members and signatories to develop and implement Industry Biosecurity Plans. These Plans prioritise the highest risk exotic pests and identifying actions to reduce the likelihood or impact of any incursion.

More information about the 20 Industry Biosecurity Plans currently in place is available on the PHA website.

On the website, you can also subscribe to PHA's weekly e-newsletter Tendrils.

PHA has also developed, in partnership with Animal Health Australia, a range of information and tools on biosecurity tailored for producers.

The Farm Biosecurity website contains advice and resources for simple and effective biosecurity measures that producers can implement on their property to help secure their crop/orchard/plantation, their livelihood and the future of their industry.

Exercise and sport survey

The number of Australians taking part in regular physical activity increased by one million last year from the 2007 total, according to the Exercise, Recreation and Sport Survey (ERASS) report, released this month.

Minister for Sport and Youth the Hon Kate Ellis said the latest ERASS findings showed an estimated 8.2 million Australians (almost half of the report's estimated population) aged 15 years and over were active at least three times a week, a rise from 7.1 million (43 per cent) in 2007.

Ms Ellis said that the number of Australians exercising regularly had risen by 12 percentage points since the annual study started in 2001.

The ERASS study found females were more likely to be involved in regular physical activity, registering 51 per cent compared with 47 per cent of males. However men were more likely to be active for longer periods.

Australia's most popular sports and physical activities included aerobics/fitness, golf, outdoor football (soccer), netball, tennis, touch football, basketball, Australian Football, swimming and outdoor cricket.

The Exercise, Recreation and Sport Survey, a joint initiative of the Australian Sports Commission and state/territory sport and recreation departments, collects information on the frequency, duration, nature and type of activities that are participated in by persons aged 15 years and over for exercise, recreation and sport, excluding coaching, refereeing and being a spectator. The research can be found here.

Audit for Community Infrastructure

The 'Financial Review' reported this week that the Auditor-General Ian McPhee will audit the almost $1 billion in funding for community infrastructure for local government along with other Stimulus and grants programs, such as the $176 million Better Regions Program, with both audits expected to be completed in 2010-11. "In broad terms, each audit will assess whether the relevant program has been effectively designed and administered," the audit office said. It will also look at whether the "rapid injection of funds" and the actual implementation of the programs supported local jobs. Mr McPhee has signaled the ANAO's ongoing interest in ministers' administration of grants programs. The audit office's previous investigations had uncovered continuing weaknesses in some areas, such as the administration of grants, according to the 2009-10 audit work program delivered to Ministers last Friday.

Web 2.0 Taskforce

Web 2.0 technologies are revolutionising the way citizens and governments around the world communicate and conduct business with each other. So far, Web 2.0 has led to social networking sites, vidoesharing sites, wikis, blogs and mashups. These include Flickr, Twitter, YouTube and Face Book.

Web 2.0 is designed to promote interactive, open communication between and among citizens and government. Last month, the Australian Government established a new Government 2.0 Taskforce to investigate how the Australian Government can make use of new Web 2.0 tools and applications to expand the use of government information and also improve its engagement with citizens. The Taskforce is chaired by well-known economist and blogger, Dr Nicholas Gruen, with other members drawn from the public, private and education sectors.

The aim of Government 2.0 is to make government information more accessible and useable, to make government more consultative, participatory and transparent, to build a culture of online innovation, and to promote collaboration across agencies in online and information initiatives.

The Government 2.0 Taskforce has recently released an issues paper which is open for comment until Monday 24 August 2009. The issues paper focuses on two key themes: public information and digital engagement. Local councils are encouraged to contribute views.

The Taskforce will table a report by the end of 2009, and will also distribute $2.45 million of funds to support pilots and projects or prizes for innovative applications that support the development of Web 2.0 to engage government and citizens or support use of government information. Many local councils have been at the forefront of implementing Web 2.0 technologies, including Mosman Council in NSW, which was the first local government in Australia to sign up to Twitter (2008).

The Taskforce will also be conducting a series of public forums in capital cities around Australia, which local councils are encouraged to attend. Further details will follow in subsequent editions of ALGA News.

ALGA will be reviewing the Issues Paper over coming weeks. Further information is available on the Taskforce website.

Urban water reform report

A new report by Global Access Partners Urban Water Forum - 'Urban Water: A vision for national progress' - was launched this week at Parliament House.

The report looks at the particular challenges for urban water management, highlighted by the drought, in achieving urban water supply investment. It suggests that by establishing a more competitive urban water market, industries and communities will be better able to ensure the sustainable supply of water to our cities.

Global Access Partners is a business network that initiates high level discussions on a range of issues to facilitate knowledge sharing and input to Government policy.

For more information on Water for the Future click here.

Junk TV ban

Willoughby Council has begun a grass-roots campaign to pressure the Federal Government to ban junk-food advertising from television during children's viewing hours. All Willoughby councillors supported the move by Greens Councillor Lynne Saville. The Coalition on Food Advertising to Children has urged councils across NSW to join the campaign. The organisation has said children watching two hours of TV a day see 18 hours a year of ads for junk food such as chips, confectionery, burgers and soft drinks.

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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.

• Charters Towers Regional Council, north Queensland
• City of Greater Geelong , Victoria
• City of Liverpool, NSW
• Latrobe City, Victoria
• Rural City of Wangaratta, Victoria

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/

Regional Ministerial Council

ALGA Board Member and LGAQ President Cr Paul Bell highlighted the need for the Commonwealth and State Governments to work closely with local government in the establishment and implementation of Regional Development Australia (RDA) at a meeting of Regional Development ministers in Bendigo on 5 August. Ministers, meeting as the Regional Development Council, considered progress in establishing RDA and its major functions as well as its priorities in targeting local and regional needs and supporting whole of government responses to issues such as the global recession. Cr Bell noted the importance of engaging state local government associations in the establishment of RDA and in ensuring that individual councils are members of RDA committees.

Cr Bell also provided a briefing to his ministerial colleagues on the impact of the global recession on the regions as revealed in the Supplementary Report to the 2008 State of the Regions Report. The Supplementary report, commissioned by ALGA for this year's National General Assembly held in June, paints a worrying picture of growing unemployment in the regions, particularly resource-based regions in Western Australia and Queensland.

Over 45s over the hill?

In a speech to the Australian Institute of Family Studies this week, Commissioner for Age Discrimination, Elizabeth Broderick, emphasised the fact that age discrimination is likely to touch the lives of most people earlier than they think, because the official age at which a person is considered to be a mature age worker is 45.

"Our consultations, and other research, indicate that age discrimination is one of the most unaddressed barriers to workforce participation that people aged 45 and over will face," said Commissioner Broderick .

Commissioner Broderick said that age discrimination in recruitment and employment in Australia today appears to be pervasive, systemic, invisible and accepted, and people needed to realise that it might affect their employability sooner than they think - that is, when they are in their forties.

"Given that by 2020, it is expected that 4 out of 10 people in our labour force will be 45 and over, and the increase in the age pension age to 67 signals an expectation for us to work longer, unaddressed unlawful age discrimination emerges as a vey clear problem in relation to employment in our community," said Commission Broderick. "It is not someone else's issue - it can happen to all of us."

Ms Broderick said that age discrimination knew no demographic boundaries - it crosses cultural background, class, faith, gender, sexuality and disability.

"We need to make this invisible problem visible," Commissioner Broderick said. "We need to invest in research into this problem, we need to commit to communicating the existence and extent of this problem to the wider community and we need to look at legislative and policy reforms to address it." More information here.

Healthy spaces and places

This week will see the culmination of ALGA's work over the past 18 months on a national planning guide to help foster better health outcomes for Australians through planning, with the launch of Healthy Spaces and Places by the Minister for Indigenous Health, Rural and Regional Health and Regional Service Delivery, Warren Snowden.

Healthy Spaces and Places is a unique collaboration between ALGA, the National Heart Foundation and the Planning Institute of Australia and responds to widespread concerns about how to help reduce the high levels of preventable diseases in Australia through the design of the built environment.

The launch will be conducted on Wednesday 12 August 2009 at the annual Built Environment Meets Parliament (BEMP) Summit at Parliament House, Canberra. Further information on the BEMP here.

Minister slams state barriers

The Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Anthony Albanese has expressed his frustration with state bureaucracies thwarting major transport projects.

Speaking at an infrastructure seminar at the ALP national conference last Friday, Minister Albanese cited railway regulation as an example of 'absurd' behaviour by the states. He said it made no sense that there were seven or eight rail regulators in Australia while there was one in the European Union and one in the US. He said that some of the states has resisted attempted at the last COAG meeting to get rid of the rules. "The state governments need to grow up and get on with it and support the reform process," he said.

NBN advisers chosen

KPMG and McKinsey have been awarded the lead advisory role to undertake an implementation study into the federal government's $43 billion national broadband network. Rival consultancy firms included Deloitte, A.T. Kearney and Acacia, and Boston Consulting Group.

As lead adviser, KPMG and McKinsey will be charged with investigating ways in which the fibre-to-the-home network will be financed, built and operated. KPMG is also undertaking a similar role to consult on the rollout of the NBN in Tasmania.

Coastal erosion

Greg Combet, the Minister Assisting the Minister for Climate Change, launched the National Coastal Landform and Stability Mapping tool which for the first time, maps coastal landform type for the entire Australian coastline and provides the ability to identify vulnerable areas to erosion under a changing climate.

The mapping tool contains detailed coastal landform information, so it will be of immediate benefit to local planners and decision makers as they make coastal planning decisions. This work provides essential baseline data to feed into the Australian Government's National Coastal Risk and Vulnerability Assessment.

Mr Combet said that taking action would help communities, environment and industries to adapt to, and prepare for, the impacts of climate change.

The Landform and Stability Mapping Tool was funded by the Department of Climate Change and developed by Geoscience Australia in collaboration with the University of Tasmania.

Urban Design Award

This year's national award will take place in Canberra on Tuesday 11 August, the night prior to the Built Environment Meets Parliament (BEMP) summit.

Environment Minister Peter Garrett will present the Australia Award for Urban Design at the dinner on behalf of the Prime Minister.

The Australia Award for Urban Design was created by the Urban Design Taskforce and was first awarded in 1996. The Award was established to recognise recent urban design projects of high quality in Australia and to encourage cities, towns and emerging settlements of all sizes to strive similarly for improvement. It acknowledges the critical role of good urban design in the development of our cities and towns.

Greens urge youth vote

The Australian Greens have urged Prime Minister Rudd to move quickly to allow voting in Federal elections for Australians aged 16 and 17.

Australian Greens Leader Senator Bob Brown said Australians aged between 16 and 17 should voluntarily be allowed to enrol to vote. "What we want to see is the Rudd Government act to reverse the Howard Government legislation which closes the electoral rolls on the day an election is called. It disenfranchises thousands of young people who don't get on the rolls in time."

"The Rudd Government can get that legislation through the Parliament very rapidly, and it means tens of thousands of Australians won't be disenfranchised like they were at the last election."

Disabled parking permits

The 'Herald' reports that rorting of disabled parking permits is so widespread that one Sydney council plans to slash its one-hour car spaces to prevent permit holders parking free all day.

Frustrated by the State Government's failure to overhaul the system despite repeated promises to crack down on cheats, Waverley Council is moving to stamp out the problem in Bondi Junction.

Under the NSW scheme, the most generous in the country, anyone with a disabled parking sticker can park free indefinitely in any metered or time-limited space. The only exception is for short-term parking up to 30 minutes.

A review of parking in Waverley recommended that metered spaces in Bondi Junction be limited to half an hour until noon each day to stop commuters parking all day in one-hour spaces.

The mayor, Sally Betts, said government inaction had forced the council to act. Many spaces were occupied by the same car all day, preventing legitimate users finding a park, she said.

"Parking all day in dense business districts, even if someone is genuinely disabled, is not the intention of the scheme and impacts on availability of parking spots."

Push for more competition

The federal government is pushing for changes to zoning laws and to shopping centre leasing arrangements that benefit Coles and Woolworths in an effort to increase competition in the grocery sector.

In an interview with 'The Weekend Australian,' The Minister for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Small Business, Craig Emerson, said there was an insidious combination of local planning laws and restrictive agreements between major supermarkets and shopping centre owners that created an artificial scarcity of grocery store sites.

In the next few weeks, the states are all due to present Minister Emerson with reports on their planning laws as they affect shopping centre development.

But the more immediate pressure on Coles and Woolworths is likely to come from a challenge to the restrictive terms of leasing agreements between the major retailers and shopping centre owners. Under many of these leases, Coles and Woolworths include terms which effectively prevent centre managers leasing space to competing supermarkets.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission believes it has about 700 examples of anti-competitive leases that could contravene the Trade Practices Act.

ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel told 'The Weekend Australian' that what are known as 'restrictive covenants' negotiated by Coles and Woolworths were at the centre of the regulator's radar screen.

"We regard it as the single most important area we can tackle to lower the barriers to entry," he said.

"We consider it a matter of high priority to deal with this issue and we have the tools available under the Trade Practices Act." Foreign companies like German low-cost retailer Aldi and the giant US discounter Costco are keen to expand their operations in Australia.

A national compact

The Australian Government, as part of its social inclusion agenda, wants to develop a new and stronger relationship with the third sector (not for profit sector including organisations such as charities, clubs, churches, etc) in Australia. One way to do this is through a national compact. A national compact will provide an opportunity to develop an agreement between the government and the third sector which will improve and strengthen the relationship and in turn, the services provided in the community.

The government wants to know what you think about the work that has been done so far. Your contribution will aid the development of a final compact between the government and the third sector. Your views on how a national compact could benefit local communities, and what it might mean for local government and their stakeholders would be invaluable. This second stage of consultations will focus on the draft principles and priorities which have emerged in the work to date.

Between May and July this year, the Compact Joint Taskforce with representation from non-profit organisations, Commonwealth agencies, local government and the ACTU met to develop a framework for the compact containing key priorities and principles. Mary Agostino, Manager of Family Services, Whittlesea Council, participated in the Taskforce, which highlighted the opportunity of the compact to address emerging issues, and consider the pressures on services in growing communities.

During this planning phase of the National Compact it has become evident that not everything can be done at once, and need to be sure of the issues that are most important to your organisation and other organisations across the sector.

A consultation paper has been developed, which will be available soon. In the meantime, share your views on what a national compact would mean to you and the people you work with. Your input is very important so register online to participate in a national discussion on the building of a national compact, here.

Local government is also invited to lead targeted consultations with your members and stakeholders. A consultation toolkit will shortly be available to organisations to engage with their own stakeholders and collect structured feedback.

Further information about the Compact and the forum is at www.socialinclusion.gov.au or www.fahcsia.gov.au or you may phone 1800 607 839 Monday - Friday from 8.30-5.00pm (AEST). TTY users - phone 133 677 then ask for the phone number you wish to contact.

High Country Rail Trail

Anthony Albanese, the Minister for Infrastructure, Regional Development and Local Government, announced this week that the Government had officially signed the contract to deliver $13.2 million towards the 134-kilometre Goulburn River High Country Rail Trail.

Joining the Minister were Councillors from Mansfield, Mitchell and Murrindindi councils. The councils are partnering with the Federal Government to deliver the project. The project is a good example of Federal and local government working together to create jobs in regional economies and delivering the infrastructure that local communities need.

Mr Albanese said "The Rail Trail was identified as a priority by the local communities after the devastating February bushfires and is part of the Rudd Government's plan to support bushfire-affected communities and revitalise their infrastructure and services."

The Rail Trail project will connect Mansfield to Tallarook and the Goulburn Valley and Hume Freeway corridor, linking the communities of Trawool, Kerrisdale, Homewood, Yea, Molesworth, Cathkin, Alexandra, Koriella, Kanumbra, Merton, Woodfield, Bonnie Doon, Maindample and Mansfield. It will also provide improved access for emergency vehicles and maintenance services.

The development of the trail will involve:

• construction of 39 bridges and repairs to 29 bridges;
• construction of seven car parks and installation of amenities;
• construction of 17 rest stops; and
• installation of eight water tanks

Mr Albanese said, "I congratulate the local community and local councils on this project and encourage them to work quickly to get construction underway." Federal funding of $13.2 million for this project is from the $1 billion Community Infrastructure Program, which is part of the Government's Economic Stimulus Plan.

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The fourth annual Local Government Sustainable Development Conference

Tuesday 18^th - Wednesday 19^th 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