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11 Sep 2009
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Earlybird registration closing for National Roads and Transport Congress

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Earlybird registration for the Congress in Mackay from 8-10 November will be accessible until COB today. Save over $100 and register online at /policy/transport/congress/.

The Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Anthony Albanese, has been invited and Warren Truss, Leader of the Nationals and Shadow Transport Minister, has confirmed he will be attending. Greens Leader Bob Brown has also been invited.

The Nationals recently released a statement which supports the third stage of AusLink, with minimum funding of $35 billion. AusLink 3 would, under the proposal, be funded by allocating 20 cents per litre from Commonwealth fuel excise to AusLink but there would be no increase in excise. The Nationals are also advocating that a minimum of 40 per cent of the funds are allocated to regional projects with the duplication of the Pacific Highway to be completed by 2020. The statement argues for the expansion of the Roads to Recovery program and the Strategic Regional Roads program which supports major regional connections.

The National Local Roads and Transport Congress will provide delegates the opportunity to hear and question political leaders on their transport policies in the lead-up to next year's Federal election. All councils are urged to send at least one representative to this important Congress to have their say on the development of future ALGA transport strategies. All councils should by now have received brochures on the Congress which have details for the registration arrangements.

ALGA News Reader Survey

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ALGA News has received over 40 responses so far to our short survey which will provide valuable feedback to us from our readers on 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 before it closes next Friday. ALGA News is interested in your views! Please click on www.alga.asn.au/news/Survey/FeedbackForm.php.

Time to lodge Digital Regions Initiative Expressions of Interest

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Local councils are reminded that expressions of interest for the Australian Government's new $60 million Digital Regions Initiative are due to close on Monday 14 September 2009.

The four-year initiative will co-fund innovative digital enablement projects that will change the way essential health, education and/or emergency services are delivered to regional, rural and remote communities, and councils are among those organisations eligible to apply. The Digital Regions Initiative is part of the Australian Government's up to $400 million response to the recommendations of the Dr Glasson review on the adequacy of regional and rural telecommunications in Australia.

Final guidelines for the Digital Regions Initiative have been released and reflect comments received from over 30 submissions on an earlier draft version of the guidelines. ALGA is pleased that local government's feedback on the draft guidelines has been taken into account to now allow expressions of interest to be lodged for projects of less than $2 million, provided the project can have a significant positive impact for Australians in regional, rural or remote areas in health, education or emergency services and the funding is matched. In the absence of this amendment to the draft guidelines, local councils would have been required to find a minimum $2 million of matched funding to be considered.

The Australian Government is keen to identify projects that are collaborative, and for that reason, expressions of interest that are consistent with the aim and principles of the program will be progressively published on the website established by the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy. Applicants are encouraged to review the published expressions of interest to explore opportunities to strengthen their application through cross-jurisdictional partnering to ensure maximum serivce delivery impact or to collaborate with similar projects and avoid duplication within the same jurisdiction. Applicants can also indicate whether they are prepared to consider additional project partners.

Expressions of interest close on 14 September 2009. Full project proposals are due by 14 October 2009, but lodging an expression of interest does not commit the applicant to lodge a full project proposal.

More information and a copy of the guidelines can be obtained at www.dbcde.gov.au/digitalregions.

From the President

This week we heard that two Senate Committee Inquiries will review the Federal Government's $42 billion in stimulus spending. This follows a push by the Greens which was backed by the Opposition and is basically a response to Australia's resilience to date in the face of the international downturn. The main argument for roll-back of the package is that a 'raincheck' is needed so taxpayers aren't left with unnecessarily high debt.

Whilst I'm no expert when it comes to matters of international economics, it would seem to me that Australia's ability to withstand the Global Financial Crisis and its current resilience is in large part due to the effects of the government's stimulus program. It is noteworthy that the G20 Finance Ministers' meeting on the weekend endorsed the effects of stimulus spending.

Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard was quoted on the ABC as saying it was "too soon" to withdraw the stimulus package despite better than expected growth figures showing Australia's economic performance leading the world. Ms Gillard said the global recession would show itself in the local economy through rising unemployment rates, "We know it would have been a hell of lot of worse without economic stimulus supporting Australian jobs". This caution against withdrawal of the stimulus has been echoed by some leading economists who predict that the hard times still lay ahead. For example, although job advertisements registered by the ANZ Bank and the Olivier employment group both show the first upturn in more than a year, August's total was still down 48.1% from a year ago.

ALGA's Budget submission for 2009-10 had two main strands. On one hand we argued the economic case for a sustained investment in infrastructure. In the light of the Global Financial Crisis, we also put a case for national initiatives to achieve short-term fiscal stimulus and stimulate productivity growth in the domestic economy. In this context we welcomed the Government's $1 billion Community Infrastructure Program (CIP).

The recently released Commonwealth Coordinator General's Progress Report on the Economic Stimulus Package showed that councils have reported the commencement of around 3,000 CIP projects and the completion of more than 300 projects. The 137 strategic projects have all been contracted and more than 20 have commenced since 30 June 2009.

These projects are revitalising local communities and creating jobs. Towns such as Cleve in the Eyre Peninsula region of South Australia have completed their swimming pool upgrades with funding through the CIP. This was just one example from ALGA's Infrastructure register featured in last week's 'ALGA News' that has been replicated across the country. Around the nation, there are much needed community centres, parks, libraries, walking tracks and sporting facilities being built or upgraded right now. A full list of projects (with a handy search button for regions) and their status is available here.

The second part of ALGA's Budget submission was for a sustained investment in infrastructure. ALGA will continue to advocate for a permanent Community Infrastructure Program as recommended by the House of Representatives 2009 Inquiry into a Regional Funding Model and by the PricewaterhouseCoopers 2006 Report into local government financial sustainability. The Roads to Recovery program which has funding locked in until 2014 is an excellent example of infrastructure that strengthens the long-term productivity and performance of the Australian economy. We often talk about the importance of the 'first' and 'last' mile with roads. Producers can get their goods to consumers and to export markets efficiently with a Government commitment to sustained and strategic investment in roads, rail ports and airstrips. Local government plays a key role in delivering outcomes that enhance the wellbeing of Australians at the local level. This involves working with the Australian Government to increase levels of local resilience which will enable us to withstand the economic shocks that may still lie ahead and also to position ourselves for a strong recovery. We look forward to building an even stronger partnership as we look beyond the stimulus packages to creating a more permanent and certain approach to infrastructure investment.

Cr Geoff Lake
ALGA President

Bunnies hop into suburbia

New maps released today show rabbits are increasingly edging into our cities, with reports of damage to urban sportsgrounds, golf clubs and parks.

Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Tony Burke said rabbits were once seen as a problem affecting farmers and regional areas - but that was changing. For the first time, researchers have produced national maps pinpointing rabbit populations, based on reports from more than 3,000 individual landholders and community groups.

The maps were created under the RabbitScan project, run by the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre, which is supported by the Federal Government. The project received a significant number of reports of rabbits causing significant damage to community facilities and around public buildings in urban areas.

A sports oval manager from the Central Coast in NSW said he had used two tonnes of soil in six weeks to fill-in rabbit holes. He said the sportsfield was currently closed due to the extensive damage. According to another report, overgrown vegetation around a power station in Melbourne is home to a growing rabbit population.

In the Brindabella Ranges outside of Canberra, rabbits are reportedly chewing through plastic tree guards and have destroyed more than 1,000 seedlings.

Rabbits are the most costly pest animal: responsible for an estimated $200 million damage each year.

Commonwealth conversation

The 'Commonwealth Conversation' was launched by UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband at the Royal Commonwealth Society in July. The conversation is being conducted online to help inform Commonwealth governments about key issues for the Commonwealth prior to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in November.

The Commonwealth Local Government Forum would like your help to ensure that local government is high on the agenda for discussion eg. the importance of local government in development, local democracy and citizen engagement, and improving the quality of people's lives.

A posting on local government is designed to stimulate discussion on the Commonwealth and local government: click here.

The outcomes of this discussion will feed into the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting later this year.

Recruitment - feedback wanted

The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government is undertaking a scoping exercise to determine whether local government councils are experiencing difficulty recruiting new graduate civil engineers, town planners, environmental health officers and building inspectors.

If so why? If the reason is a shortage of new graduates, the Department proposes to develop strategies that focus on vocational guidance, cadetships, bulk recruitment efforts and similar.

If the shortages are more for experienced professionals then a different approach may be needed. Issues for further exploration include settler immigration, remuneration, workplace flexibility for older workers, skill upgrading as examples.

The Project Manager has identified some really good data on civil engineers that has been shared with the Local Government Workforce Development Steering Committee, however the Department is keen to get an idea from the Human Resource professionals in local government and General Manager's about what the real problems are on the recruitment side.

If you would like to provide some feedback to the Project Manager, please click here to send an email.

Changes to ministerial councils

Two new ministerial councils have been established to realign responsibilities and functions of two existing councils to ensure broader, cross-sectoral roles.

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreed to the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs being replaced by the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs. It also agreed to the Ministerial Council of Tertiary Education and Employment replacing the Ministerial Council for Vocational and Technical Education.

KI levy for visitors

The Federal Opposition has weighed into the debate on a controversial travellers levy for Kangaroo Island visitors, saying the South Australian Government could avoid the need for the levy by spending more on local infrastructure.

The Kangaroo Island Council says it cannot afford to maintain local roads, and has been labelled financially unsustainable.

Local federal MP Jamie Briggs says he is opposed to the levy and it should be a last resort.

"There should be a bigger focus by the state Labor Government on providing the important services that the island needs," he said.

Broken Hill flicks

The Broken Hill City Council has agreed to provide funding for a film event, which would run every two years in Broken Hill.

The Broken Hill Tourism Advisory Group came up with the idea, which would showcase the region's film heritage and attract visitors during off-peak periods.

The council's general manager, Frank Zaknich says, it could become a major event for the city and improve the number of visitors.

"It's a whole range of Broken Hill filmed and made films that would be featured and we've got a whole range of those that have been made over the last two or three decades that would provide a great focus for a regular biennial event, and that's what's proposed by the Broken Hill Tourism Advisory Group," he said.

Quirky campaign

A small community south of Orange has launched a nationwide campaign to boost enrolments at its primary school.

Errowanbang Public School parents have formed a committee, to offer eight homes for less than $200-a-week in rent, on the condition families send their children to the local primary school. Errowanbang Public School currently has 13 students, but has secured government funding for a second classroom.

It follows the success of a campaign in Cumnock which saw families pay just $1-a-week in rent. Round one applications close on October 16, but the group behind the campaign says there has already been interest from families as far as Perth.
FAGs payments announced

The Federal Government has announced details of the Financial Assistance Grant payments councils will receive this financial year. The grants are paid in quarterly installments to State and Territory Governments for immediate distribution to local governing bodies. The quantum of the grants pool changes annually in line with changes in population and the Consumer Price Index. The total grant payment for 2009-10 of $1,922.7 million is $31.5 million more than the 2008-09 payment. The state FAG allocations are: New South Wales $605 million, Victoria $452 million, Queensland $378 million, Western Australia $226 million, South Australia $131 million, Tasmania $62 million and the Northern Territory $27 million. To assist councils deal with the effects of the economic downturn, on 12 May 2009 the Government announced in the Commonwealth Budget that it would bring forward for payment to all councils in June 2009 around one quarter of the 2009-10 grant pool. More information here.

Digital media report

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has released its July 2009 audit report on digital media literacy levels in Australia. The report includes examples provided to ACMA from ALGA on the policies and programs at the local government level that aim to foster, promote and increase levels of digital media literacy (DML) at the local community level.

Some of the local government initiatives noted in the report, which is not intended to be exhaustive, include the use of live webcasting by councils of council meetings, council chat rooms through www.bangthetable.com, online panels on local government issues (such as those trialled in South Australia) and the use by councils of social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.

Importantly, ACMA has acknowledged in the report that 'public libraries also play an important role in providing access and training in use of DML through the state/territory and local government public library systems and assisting with the infrastructure and delivery of some government department programs.' ALGA believes that the role of public libraries in promoting DML amongst local communities is critical to the use and take up of the digital economy. The use and take up of the digital economy is the focus of a separate paper released in July 2009 by the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Conroy, titled Digital Directions Future Economy.

If you would like to alert ALGA to the initiatives in your council that are helping to foster DML for communities, please contact Larissa Karpish of ALGA on 02 6122 9427.

The ACMA report is available here.

Healthy Spaces and Places

ALGA President Cr Geoff Lake has written to all councils this week about the Healthy Spaces and Places national planning guide, which was launched by the Minister for Rural and Regional Health, Warren Snowden, on 12 August 2009 at Parliament House, Canberra. The letter to councils includes a copy of the overview of Healthy Spaces and Places which is a web-based guide available at www.healthyplaces.org.au (a CD is also available). Healthy Spaces and Places is an Australian first as it has brought together experts from the health, local government, planning and design sectors through a unique collaboration between ALGA, the National Heart Foundation and the Planning Institute of Australia. The project has involved extensive consultation, as well as expert reviews, and received funding support from the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing. It has also been commended by the Australian Government's National Preventative Health Taskforce (2009) and the House of Representatives Committee Inquiry into Obesity (2009).

No Amalgamations assurance

Queensland councils have welcomed Premier Bligh's assurance that there would be no more council amalgamations.

"There have been continuing rumours of further council amalgamations which, until the premier's unreserved statement today, have not been denied by the government," Local Government Association of Queensland president, Cr Paul Bell said.

"Amalgamations have saddled councils with a great deal of unbudgeted expenses and it appears the benefits will be a long time coming," he said. "But the issue is now behind us and councils are planning, with some certainty, for the future.

Water management

President of the Local Government Association Cr Genia McCaffery has acknowledged the vital role NSW councils play in managing water resources in NSW.

Cr McCaffery was speaking at the 2009 LGSA Water Management Conference in Deniliquin - a part of NSW hardest hit by the most recent drought. Cr McCaffery highlighted a number of councils that have done some extraordinary work in developing new technology to help adapt to reducing water supplies.

"Some recent awards have highlighted the innovation and forward thinking that is shining through in water management in this State," she said. "Orange Council has received a Green Globe Award and a NSW Water Environment Award for their ground breaking Stormwater Harvesting Project at Blackmans Swamp Creek. Clarence Valley and Coffs Harbour councils also received praise, for working together on the Shannon Creek Dam project."

Market rates for 457s

The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, has announced details of the requirement for temporary skilled overseas workers to be paid market salary rates.

The payment of market rates will ensure subclass 457 visa holders are on the same wages and conditions of employment as those provided to an Australian worker undertaking equivalent work in the same workplace.

Where there is an equivalent Australian worker in the workplace, the market rate will be determined by the industrial arrangements that apply to this worker - for example, a collective agreement, award, award conditions with above award salary rates or a common law contract.

Where there is no equivalent worker onsite, the employer may reference collective agreements or awards for that position to substantiate the market rate. If there is no applicable agreement or award, other evidence such as remuneration surveys or earnings data must be provided.

Senator Evans said the subclass 457 visa scheme was a demand driven program designed to supplement - not replace - the local workforce when there were serious skills shortages.

Under current arrangements, employers are obliged to pay workers on subclass 457 visas the minimum salary level of $45 220 or the award rate. This means overseas workers can be paid less than an Australian employee in the same workplace who may be paid at above award rates - which is the market rate. Market salary rates will apply to all new subclass 457 visa holders from 14 September 2009 except where annual earnings of $180 000 or more are proposed.

Visas will not be granted to new subclass 457 visa applicants if the market salary rate for the position is below a temporary skilled migration income threshold of $45 220. The threshold will be indexed in line with ABS earnings data.

Under transitional arrangements, employers currently paying less than the market salary rate to existing subclass 457 visa holders employed in Australia will have until 1 January 2010 to commence paying market rates. More details at www.immi.gov.au

Glass recycling

Glass recycling in Victoria is heading down a new path with an industry and government initiative looking into the alternative use of crushed glass in footpaths. The Packaging Stewardship Forum (PSF) of the Australian Food and Grocery Council has partnered with the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) and Sustainability Victoria to undertake trials of recycled glass and brick to be used as a sub-base aggregate in local government footpaths and shared pathways for pedestrians and cyclists.

MAV Sector Development Manager John Hennessy said that the use of recycled materials in road construction by local government in Victoria had plateaued in recent years. "Large stockpiles of crushed glass and crushed brick are growing across Victoria and it's proving more difficult to open new quarries from which to obtain sub-base. These trials are a crucial step forward in reducing the stockpiles of glass and bricks and putting them to good use," Mr Hennessy said.

Public Service review

In a speech last week to the Australia New Zealand School of Government, the Prime Minister announced that he has asked the head of the department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Terry Moran, to head up an advisory group that will review the Australian Public Service with a view to making it "best public service anywhere in the world".

Although the Prime Minister said that the public service was working admirably, he also said there was considerable room for improvement and greater efficiency in all its operations, and that he would like a "blueprint" on the further steps needed to rejuvenate the Australian Public Service by early 2010.

Mr Rudd noted that today's public policy challenges are broad in scope, deep in complexity, and come at a time of new global, national and local forces of change. He commented that these challenges defy conventional approaches and require new, collaborative approaches to policy making across departments and across Commonwealth, State and local governments. He stated that meeting these challenges' will require a new generation of public service leadership, a new standard of public service excellence and therefore a new era of public service reform.'

Mr Rudd has already nominated five key changes that he would like to see in a blueprint for reform. These include more forward-looking and creative policy advice, an emphasis on high quality programs and services that put citizens first, a continued culture of impartiality, fairness and honesty, greater flexibility and agility in responding to changing realities and government priorities, and the need to be effective and efficient in all its operations.

It is expected that the advisory group will be established and issue a discussion paper by the end of September 2009. ALGA intends to review the discussion paper closely.

A copy of the Prime Minister?s speech is available at www.pm.gov.au/node/6172.

The downturn bites

The world economic downturn really has started to show up in Australia's tourism figures. The Australian Bureau of Statistics this morning reported that on a seasonally adjusted basis, short-term arrivals of 437,700 in July were down 1.2% compared with June. This followed decreases of 2.4% for May and 4.2% for June. Though the number of tourists visiting the country is down, Australians have not been deterred from travelling overseas. During July departures at 560,400 were up 9.7% compared with June.

Quote of the week

"There is no spectacle on earth more appealing than that of a beautiful woman (or a bloke) in the act of cooking dinner for someone she (or he) loves" -
with apologies to Thomas Wolfe

International news  

Police in Paris are dealing with traffic anarchy after the mayors of two feuding suburbs declared the same busy street one-way - but in opposite directions.

There was chaos among bemused drivers at the point where the rival systems converged, with all traffic forced down one side road.

The confusion followed a decision by the Mayor of Levallois who wanted to introduce a one-way system to free up traffic through his borough.

Fearing an overspill into his district, the Mayor of Clichy, Gilles Catoire, brought in a one-way system running the opposite direction.

The local prefect, representing the French state, has issued a decree ordering the immediate return of two-way traffic in Clichy, accusing its Mr Catoire of provoking serious disorder.

Mr Catoire is refusing to back down, saying he will challenge the decision in court. (AP)

State of the Regions report 2006-07
Forthcoming events

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