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28 Aug 2009
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Senate report on public transport

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The Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee reported last week on its Inquiry into "Investment of Commonwealth and State Funds in public passenger transport infrastructure and services". The general thrust of the report is consistent with the ALGA submission to the Committee which focused on the importance of public transport to communities, the deficiencies in outer urban areas and the need for federal financial involvement.

The most common comment in submissions was the need for improvements to public transport service especially speed and frequency. Also most submissions argued the need for significant investment in public transport infrastructure. The committee agrees that significant catch-up investment in public transport infrastructure is needed, particularly in light of the current strong growth in patronage, and the inevitability that congestion-free public transport will be more important in future as our cities become bigger and more congested. The Committee also recognised the poor public transport facing many rural and regional communities. The Committee noted that some needs which are currently met inadequately or not at all by regular public transport may be more suitable for community transport and are increasingly being met by local government.

The Report of the Inquiry and its nine recommendations can be found here.

The ALGA National Roads and Transport Congress from 8-10 November in Mackay will have sessions devoted to urban and public transport issues. The Congress will develop a local government transport strategy which will be provided to the Federal Government. As many councils as possible, including urban councils, should attend the Congress to have their say and input into the strategy and to show to the Federal Government that local government transport interests extend beyond roads.

Registration details for the Congress can be found on the ALGA website at www.alga.asn.au.

ALGA News Reader Survey

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ALGA News has been providing timely information and news to councils, its member State and Territory local government associations, and key stakeholders for almost six years. To keep us in touch with our readers we would like to hear from you about how we can freshen up 'ALGA News' but still maintain a quality product. We would appreciate you taking 2 minutes of your time to fill in the following survey. ALGA News is interested in your feedback! Please click on /news/Survey/FeedbackForm.php

Women must step forward

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The Minister for the Status of Women, Tanya Plibersek, has urged women to be nominated in greater numbers for Australia's national awards.

For the last three decades, more women than men have called Australia home, yet this ratio is not reflected in our Australian of the Year awards or our Australian honours and awards system.

Since the Australian of the Year award was founded in 1960, only one in five recipients have been female. Over the last 11 years, only one in three of those honoured in the General Division of the Order of Australia were women. Once a woman is nominated for an honour or award she is more likely to be successful than her male counterpart, however, fewer women than men are nominated in the first place.

Australian honours are the appointments and medals conferred through the Order of Australia, which are announced twice a year on Australia Day and the Queen's Birthday.

The Australian of the Year award recognises Australians who are role models and who inspire us all through their achievements. Australian of the Year state finalists are announced in November and December and the four national award recipients are announced on Australia Day eve.

Australian Honours and the Australian of the Year rely on the public for nominations. Look around at women you admire - you can nominate a friend, loved one, work colleague, or even someone you don't know but who you believe is deserving of an honour or award. Nominating is easy. Unless we nominate women who are apart of our lives, their stories will not be told and their contributions will not be recognised.

For information about the Order of Australia, go to www.itsanhonour.gov.au. For information about the Australian of the Year, go to www.australianoftheyear.org.au.
From the President

Whilst the unseasonably warm weather experienced by much of the east coast early this week is a clear indication that winter is coming to a close, the situation is the reverse in the northern hemisphere where their cooler weather period has commenced. This means that the severe flu season we are experiencing at home is about to enter a new phase for the most populated part of the world, which in turn may have implications for us further down the track.

In response, the Australian Government is in discussions with the states and territories (and ALGA) on how to potentially roll out the largest vaccine program in Australia's history to protect the nation from further complications arising from the H1N1 Influenza virus, or as it is more commonly known, swine flu. The Australian Government acted early and purchased 21 million doses of the CSL produced vaccine of which the first batches will become available at the end of the month.

It is worth noting that ALGA continues to participate in the National Pandemic Emergency Committee on behalf of local government and was an active member of the COAG working group that developed the Human Influenza Pandemic National Action Plan (NAP) that has helped to guide Australia?s response to the swine flu outbreak.

The NAP endorsed by COAG in June 2007 contains a statement of cooperation on human influenza pandemic committing all governments to work together and in partnership with the Australian community to meet the diverse challenges Australia faces in responding to an influenza pandemic situation. At that time the world was expecting the danger to arise from avian flu (H5N1).

Thankfully, Australia and the world have been fortunate that the current swine flu pandemic is relatively mild and the fatality rate is significantly less than would have been expected under a full blown avian flu scenario.

However that is no reason for complacency. In November 2008, ALGA convened a meeting of all emergency management and communication local government association officers to discuss how local government would respond to pandemic influenza communication and response. As a consequence of that meeting, it was agreed that there was value in developing a national local government communications protocol. A protocol was subsequently developed and was endorsed by the ALGA Board earlier this year.

The protocol does not override the responsibilities of individual state and territory local government associations, all of whom have their own separate arrangements in place with their respective state or territory government. What the protocol does do is ensure that ALGA makes every effort to liaise with the associations on what is occurring at a national/international level and provide a mechanism by which the concerns of local government can be raised and hopefully resolved at the national level. Since the outbreak of swine flu, ALGA has been regularly sending out updates on the spread of H1N1 to all state and territory local government associations. We also continue to liaise closely with associations on the implications of the proposed vaccine rollout around the country, with specific interest on issues relating to indemnity cover and resourcing implications for councils that may be involved in administering the vaccine once it has been registered by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

Whilst pandemics present a major resourcing and financial challenge for national, state and territory governments, councils will always need to play a significant supporting role in assisting such a roll out. It is critical that preparedness and business continuity plans specific to local communities are current and that a local communications plan is in place. If you're interested in more information, I recommend you click here.

Cr Geoff Lake
ALGA President

Climate Change guide

The Local Government Association of Queensland has released a new guide for councils, Mitigating Climate Change: An Introductory Guide for Queensland Local Government.

"Climate change is important to people everywhere. We believe it is central to the role of LGAQ that it should lead councils in what they do so they are in a position to help their communities respond," LGAQ president, Cr Paul Bell said today.

"This guide is a timely and much-needed response which is designed to help and support councils in their responses - in identifying greenhouse gas emissions and putting strategies in place to reduce them," Cr Bell said.

"Many council activities generate greenhouse gas emissions, for example from landfills or from electricity usage, and communities are increasingly demanding that these emissions be reduced," he said.

Workshops to demonstrate application of the guide to councillors and council officers will be staged during September in Brisbane, Toowoomba, Rockhampton and Toowoomba. More information here.

Remote digital services

Councils in remote areas have asked the federal government for assurances on the quality of digital television in the bush after the switchover from analogue.

At the 113th annual conference of the Local Government Association of Queensland in Brisbane today, association president Cr Paul Bell said that in the switchover from analogue, councils which acted as re-broadcasters wanted to provide their communities with the same full high definition television and interactive capabilities provided by network broadcasters.

"That requires digital satellite receiving equipment in order to re-broadcast the digital signal to home receivers in their local communities," Cr Bell said. "Residents in remote locations deserve the same TV service as that available in major centres."

Human Rights awards

Since 1987, the Australian Human Rights Commission has recognised the often extraordinary contribution to Australian society of a wide variety of men and women committed to issues of human rights, social justice and equality through the annual Human Rights Medals and Awards.

Nominations are open for the Human Rights Medals, Young People's Human Rights Medal and seven award categories: Law, Community (Organisation), Community (Individual), Literature (non-fiction), Print Media, Television and Radio. They may have made an outstanding contribution within their communities or through the practice of law, through writing books about human rights issues or through their work in the media.

Join the Human Rights Award's electronic mailing list and be regularly updated on the Awards. You can also contact the Public Affairs Unit on (02) 9284 9618 or email hrawards@humanrights.gov.au if you have any queries.

Father of multiculturalism dies

Prominent Catholic intellectual and father of Australian multiculturalism Jerzy Zubrzycki has died. He was 89.

Polish-born Professor Zubrzycki was the founding professor of sociology at the Australian National University and is credited with helping to steer Australia towards multiculturalist settlement policies rather than the assimilationist approach that dominated until the 1970s. His commitment to multiculturalism was born in the ashes of World War II, during which he served with the Polish resistance.

A contemporary and friend of Pope John Paul II - the two attended the same high school in Cracow - Professor Zubrzycki was also a founding member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, a Vatican-based research institute that assists the church in the development of its social doctrine. He came to Australia in 1956 to take up a position at the ANU.

In an interview with the ABC in 2003, he described his initial reaction to the prospect of moving to Canberra, in the 1950s the archetype of white, middle-class Australia. "Canberra had a population of 25,000 at that time, many unmade roads and not much else to offer," Professor Zubrzycki said. "Except, and apart from, this budding new university."

He had a long and distinguished career and was appointed emeritus professor in 1994.

Federal Liberal MP Petro Georgiou, who worked with Professor Zubrzycki when Mr Georgiou was director of the Institute of Multicultural Affairs, said: "I think Jerzy recognised the importance of addressing cultural and linguistic diversity in Australian society, but was consistently sensitive (about) making diversity into division." Professor Zubrzycki is survived by his wife, Alexandra, four children and eight grandchildren.

National Flag Day

Many cities and towns around Australia hold a special flag raising or other ceremony to mark 'Flag Day', but if this is not possible there are many other ways that the 108th "birthday" of our flag can be celebrated on Thursday 3 September this year, eg:

  • Local schools could be encouraged to arrange special flag raising assemblies on the day so that students gain an appreciation of the history and significance of our flag;
  • Councils could put out a press release asking local residents, businesses, and organisations to make a special effort to fly the flag on 3 September; and/or
  • Suggesting that service organisations, sporting clubs and scout/guide troops etc that holding meetings around 3 September raise the flag or otherwise make special mention of Flag Day at the beginning or end of proceedings.

Some councils even make flag badges or flag stickers available so that residents can 'show the flag' all day on 3 September. A wealth of information about 'Flag Day', and about the unique story of the Australian flag, can be found at www.australianflag.org.au. Look under 'Flying the Flag' for ideas about celebrating 'Flag Day 3 Sep', and under 'Schools' for information about 'Preparing for Flag Day'.

Join the 'Landcare Journey'

This year, Landcare Week (Sep 7-13) marks the 20 year milestone of Landcare Australia. Under the theme Join the Landcare Journey, the awareness week celebrates the huge contribution landcare volunteers have made to their local communities, as well as encouraging others to put up their hands and get involved.

New Landcare Australia research shows that 92% of people have considered volunteering for an environmental organisation or community group; with significantly less actually following through with their intentions.

One of the main reasons highlighted for the lack of participation is that many people are still uncertain over how exactly to get involved. At the same time, one of the biggest factors in limiting the achievements of landcare groups has been determined to be a lack of volunteers.

Currently, there are over 6,000 volunteer landcare and coastcare groups across Australia who get together regularly to tackle environmental issues through tree-plantings, clean-ups, habitat restoration, species monitoring and wildlife rescue.

Landcare Week is a great time for Australians to volunteer a few hours of their time to environmental causes especially if they have never done so before, or are unable to make a regular commitment.

www.landcareweek.com, which launched this week, will follow their journey with live photos, video, Tweets and map updates. Plus with many community celebrations taking place across the country, local landcare groups can register their activities on the website in the events calendar. For those looking to take-on an environmental eyesore or issue in the local community, a New Group Starter Kit will also be available for download.

For further information or to register an event visit www.landcareweek.com.

Energy efficient buildings

On 14 September 2009, the German-Australian Chamber will host the Energy Efficiency in Buildings industry conference in Melbourne. From 14 to 18 September Australian companies have the opportunity to attend one-on-one business meetings with German companies from a trade delegation representing Germany's energy efficiency industry.

Skills for Sustainability

The National Quality Council has established the Skills for Sustainability Action Group to enable incorporation of sustainability skills into flexible and responsive VET products and to promote a greater awareness of sustainability issues in the operations of RTOs.

On 12 June 2009, Ministers noted the progress report from the NQC on the Council's Skills for Sustainability Strategy and Action Plan. At its most recent meeting the Skills for Sustainability Action Group received a presentation on the Australian Government's National Action Plan for Education for Sustainability from the National Council for Education for Sustainability, where it was agreed there was a need for on-going liaison between the two Councils to avoid duplication of effort.

The NQC endorsed work to proceed in relation to a "stocktake" and "gap analysis" of sustainability skills, which will bring together the work of the ISC's, States and Territories, and RTOs and determine the extent of sustainability coverage in Training Packages and accredited courses. The NQC also endorsed work to proceed on options for a standards framework for voluntary certification of RTOs as providers of green skills, which will have as a focus an RTO's capacity and capability to teach and assess skills for environmental sustainability.

High productivity vehicles

Thirty-seven local government and RTA representatives are meeting in Narrandera today to evaluate the benefits of high productivity vehicles and see them in action on a 92 kilometre circuit. The Narrandera Heavy Vehicle Information Day has been organised jointly by the Narrandera Shire Council and the Australian Trucking Association's Industry Technical Council, with the support of many individual operators. ATA Chairman Trevor Martyn said the event is giving local government representatives and RTA officers the chance to see high productivity vehicles in action and talk through their characteristics with industry experts. "The local government representatives attending the event today will leave with the knowledge and expertise to make informed decisions when they consider applications from operators to use high productivity vehicles," Mr Martyn said. After a welcome from the Mayor of Narrandera, Graham Eipper, the participants will hear presentations from the ATA; the father of the B-double and higher mass limits, Bob Pearson; and from Queensland Transport about the state's success with the early adoption of high productivity vehicles. The participants will then be able to examine a series of high productivity vehicles, including a B-triple, an AB-triple, a BAB-quad, as well as PBS innovations such as a pocket road train tanker configuration that meets the PBS level 2 requirements.

State of the Regions report 2006-07
Accessible public transport

The Australian Human Rights Commission has developed draft guidelines for assessing compliance of bus stops with the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport 2002 and is seeking comment from interested parties including local government.

The Draft Guidelines are being emailed to all local government for comment. Comments are being sought on the draft by 11 September. The draft guidelines can be found here.

The contact person at the Australian Human Rights Commission is Michael Small 02 9284 9769 or michael.small@humanrights.gov.au

Indigenous affairs model

A new representative body independent from government, with an equal number of men and women in leadership roles and reliance on strict ethical standards are among the key elements of a new approach to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs proposed yesterday by a Steering Committee led by Social Justice Commissioner Tom Calma.

Commissioner Calma was asked by federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin in December 2008 to convene an independent Indigenous Steering Committee to undertake phase two of consultations and develop a model for a new national Indigenous representative body.

There would be an initial development phase up until the end of 2010 that would be focused on building a strong governance and accountability framework, and importantly, on building buy in and acceptance of the model by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Commissioner Calma said.

The model proposes that there be a selection process for delegate positions on the three-chambered National Congress and a second selection process to become a National Executive member. Commissioner Calma said the chamber model provided multiple ways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to be involved in the representative body - through existing representative peak bodies, sectoral expert bodies, community organisations, as well as in an individual capacity.

The final model is contained in the report, "Our future in our hands" - Creating a sustainable National Representative Body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, released today, available here.

Central revenue collection

Federal Assistant Treasurer Nick Sherry has raised a proposal for the Tax Office to collect all taxes, fees and charges imposed by state, territory and local governments. The proposal was discussed by Senator Sherry with Treasury Secretary Ken Henry who is head of the Federal Government's tax review.

ALGA President Geoff Lake told ABC radio and the 'Australian Financial Review' this week that speculation was premature four months out from the Henry review presenting its report. He said that centralising all revenue collection may be more efficient, but accountability could be lost.

"There's a real problem with the idea of having a one-size-fits-all solution operating across the country, with the ATO collecting revenue, that a level of local control and local diversity in how services are delivered and how fees and charges and taxes are collected may well be lost," he said.

"There needs to be an increase in the money that's spent at the local level in order to fund the more than 150 services typically that councils across Australia are providing, and we hope that that will be more of a focus of the Henry tax review, rather than issues around a more centralised collection model."

Invest in skills for recovery

The Minister for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson, has told the 5th National Convention of Skills DMC that now is the time to boost training in preparation for the global economic recovery.

Skills DMC is the national industry skills council for the resources and infrastructure sectors. Minister Ferguson said: "When demand for resources and energy accelerated in the past decade, Australia was caught unawares. Today, the signs of recovery are appearing almost every day - we must prepare now, by investing in skills and training if we are to make the most of the looming return to growth."

GFC impact on workers

The global financial crisis has had a severe and divisive impact on the sentiment of the workforce in Australia and New Zealand according to extensive research by Hudson, a provider of specialist recruitment, talent management and managed services.

The research findings, part of the Hudson 20:20 Series report Talent Tightrope: Managing the Workplace through the Downturn, reveal that employers consistently think their employees'sentiment is twice as good as it is in reality.

"In every aspect of current workplace sentiment, whether job satisfaction, motivation, morale, perceived stress levels or job security employers are clearly unaware of their employees' frame of mind," said Mark Steyn, CEO Hudson A/NZ. "For example, nearly half (44%) of the 2,394 employees surveyed indicated that worker morale has plummeted. In contrast, only 26% of the 247 employers interviewed acknowledge that workplace morale has dropped. "The initial response of Australian companies to the global crisis has understandably focused on rapid crisis management, including slashing workforce-related costs through restructures and redundancies," he said.

The results show that over half of the companies surveyed (51%) say revenue has declined, 41% have downgraded their profits outlooks, 37% have undergone or faced a restructure and over a third (35%) have made roles redundant.

"While most employees are not blind to commercial realities and the need of their employers to cut costs and implement rapid change, discontent is brewing," said Steyn. In fact, over a third of all employees (35%) report increasing concern about the impact of the downturn on their personal circumstances. The report looks in detail at the three generations in the workforce (X, Y and Baby Boomers) and found that Baby Boomers have been the most severely distressed with almost half (42%) registering heightened concern about their future. Insecurity abounds, with almost a third (32%) of employees genuinely concerned about losing their jobs. "This is very different scenario to only a year ago," said Steyn.

"Nearly half (42%) said that they feel their job is less secure than the same time last year, but even though they now fear more for their jobs, it doesn't necessarily mean they want to stay with their current employer."

EOWA survey

The Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA) has released its 2009 Survey on Paid Maternity Leave, Sex-based Harassment Initiatives and the Gender Pay Gap. Over 2,300 reporting organisations participated in the 2009 survey representing more than one million female employees.

The survey has found that unfortunately the gender pay gap in Australia is proving to be 'stubbornly durable' and the report contains practical steps for businesses on how to address the gender pay gap. This will ensure businesses are well positioned to tap into the widest talent pool available and that their workforce is engaged and committed, particularly in the context of the global recession. The survey is available here.

Government Skills Australia

On 31 March this year, Government Skills Australia hosted the Local Government Forum 2009 on behalf of the Local Government Industry Advisory Committee (LGIAC). The Forum attracted positive feedback from delegates and will be held on 23 March 2010 in Canberra. A special invitation is extended to local government representatives to consider making a presentation at the Forum - details can be provided on the registration form and the registration fee will be waived for all successful presenters. Details here.

Farmers calculate emissions

Farmers throughout NSW and Australia can now assess the carbon emissions from their individual operations through a new online calculator. The FarmGAS calculator was launched this week by the Australian Farm Institute. The FarmGAS calculator is available free online, through the Australian Farm Institute's website.

Global poverty

World Vision Australia CEO Tim Costello has launched Island Nation or Global Citizen? 2007, How is Australia faring in the global challenge to make poverty history? at the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday.

While Australians individually are among the most generous people in the world, behind Ireland, the report reveals that Australia is one of only six developed countries out of the world's 22 most developed nations that have failed to make a commitment to lift aid to 0.7% of national income.

It also shows Australians mistakenly believe the government's level of aid was much more generous than the reality of 1.34%. The research shows that four out of five people want our government to do more.

The report which outlines Australia's progress against the eight Millennium Development Goals is available from the World Vision website.

Councils' IT solutions

Last week, Parliamentary Secretary for Innovation and Industry Richard Marles on behalf of the Minister for Broadband, Communication and the Digital Economy delivered an address at the MAV Technology Solutions Conference in which local government was described as holding 'a special place in Australia's democracy'. He also said that local government can play a critical role in the roll-out of the National Broadband Network.

The Australian Government noted the impact of the work of the MAV Broadband Innovation Fund (funded by the Victorian Government), which recently led to the launch of the South West Knowledge Hub at Colac Otway Shire Council. The hub aims to improve services for ratepayers, and provide faster access to regional data for government departments and authorities. It is a leading edge example of how broadband technology can be used as an enabler to improve government service delivery to communities. Further information can be accessed here.

Other projects noted in the address as showing the way on technology solutions included Queensland's Sunshine Coast Regional Council 'Connecting the Coast' project, Victoria's Towong Shire telemetry network (to assist farmers and other resource managers with real-time online access to environmental data) and the City of Whittlesea's championing of fibre in greenfields development in Victoria.

A copy of the speech can be accessed here.

Bushfire planning

Horsham Rural City Council will implement tougher planning rules for building in bushfire prone areas.

The council is working with the Country Fire Authority to produce a wildfire management overlay control map, which will replace the current bushfire prone area map.

It is a more detailed plan which may include refuges and better exit paths.

The council's Robin Neilson says people will have to apply for a planning permit for the construction of a building in the overlay area.

"Which gives us the opportunity to look at not only the structure of the building, but also clearing of vegetation, path of escape, it gives us a bit wider look at and able to put conditions on wider issues other than just on the construction of the building," he said.

It is believed the wildfire controls may be implemented state-wide in further Bushfires Royal Commission recommendations.

Quote of the week

"In the search for character and commitment, we must rid ourselves of our inherited, even cherished biases and prejudices. Character, ability and intelligence are not concentrated in one sex over the other." -
J. Irwin Miller, Former CEO, Cummins Inc.

International news  

Vladimir Kozlov, director of the steering committee of the Alga! Party (Ahead!) that is still remains unregistered with the Justice Ministry, announced a new campaign to legalize the movement in Kazakhstan.

"We don't need that registration any more. We publicly announce that we refuse to carry on with this procedure that has lasted for 1,000 and one day as of August 5," he told reporters in Almaty on Wednesday.

"1,000 and 1 day is the Rubicon that if crossed should change the attitude and the essence of the event," he said.

The party has no official explanation why tis attempts to register have been blocked. "Those who created this deaden keep a dumb silence on the matter offering no comments. The situation obviously requires some "reloading", Kozlov said. The Alga! party has been attempting to register since November 2006.

Kozlov says that the new law "On Parties" allows a steering committee of a party to legally function for 6 months. "If we our application is turned down again, or suspended, every six months we will organize a steering committee, hold an assembly and commence a new registration," he said.

The Alga! Party had been trying to get registered for a number of years. However the justice agencies had never official refused the registration. In early June one of the Almaty courts sustained the decision of the special district administrative court concerning the leader of the unregistered Alga! Party (Go Ahead!), Vladimir Kozlov. The decision was issued on May 19, 2009 by the primary jurisdiction court to impose a fine of 127,000 tenge on Kozlov as he had been an acting leader of an unregistered party, which is treated as administrative offence. Thus, the Alga! Party was not allowed to exist any more. (Source: AP)
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
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