ALGA News will resume on January 29. A Merry Christmas to all our readers and advertisers.

Regards, Amanda Lynch (editor) and Zaman Khaliq-ul (IT Manager)

Climate talks at critical point

With the Copenhagen climate talks at a critical point and the world community expecting delivery, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says he is still hopeful that an agreement can be reached despite a general mood of pessimism. ALGA President Cr Geoff Lake (pictured with Climate Change Minister Penny Wong in Copenhagen) said he too was hopeful that a consensus would be brokered between the various interests and views of the world community. "Let's hope we can all take a big step forward towards dealing with a warming planet," Cr Lake said this morning. ALGA is working with the Federal Government on a range issues including water reform, renewable energy targets and climate change adaptation. ALGA's Board has discussed the need for an adaptation fund for infrastructure work in high-risk areas and a capacity-building program. These will be key inclusions in ALGA's Budget submission for 2010-11 which is currently being drafted.

Mr Rudd spent yesterday in meetings with delegations from Bangladesh, Ethiopia and the Maldives. "Responsibility for the next 24 hours is to work, work and work," he said. "And I will work as long as is necessary to try and bring about a strong agreement here for Australia and for the world."

Earlier in the day Mr Rudd addressed the conference, warning his fellow leaders not to get bogged down in the procedural arguments about which draft text they should be working from. "I fear a triumph of form over substance, I fear a triumph of inaction over action. Let us instead as leaders resolve to decide for the future, not simply to defer the future," he said. Mr Rudd says he hopes China is serious about reaching a deal in Copenhagen, despite yesterday's anonymous comments from a Chinese official saying the country sees no possibility of reaching an operational accord this week.

A new finance offer from the United States was welcomed by the delegates, with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declaring that America would play its part in a $100 billion a year fund by 2020 to help the developing world adapt to global warming. Mr Rudd says it is too early to say how much Australia would contribute to the fund. Ms Clinton also confirmed that President Barack Obama would be attending the talks today. The next scheduled climate change conference due to be held in Mexico late next year could be brought forward to June or July to speed progress towards a legally binding deal.

Aviation White Paper

The Minister for Infrastructure, Transport Regional Development and Local Government, Anthony Albanese, released the Aviation White Paper, Flight Path to the Future, on Wednesday. The White Paper sets out the government's policy in relation to aviation issues and will form the framework for its decision-making. It follows on from the Aviation Green Paper released in December 2008.

The main elements of relevance to local government in the White Paper are regional air services and airport planning.

Regional Air Services

The White Paper notes that while the major domestic routes continue to grow rapidly air traffic to smaller regional centres is static or even falling. The Government considers that assistance for regional and remote air services and airports can be better targeted at those routes that are unable to sustain commercial operations and will:

• re-focus the Airservices Enroute Charges Scheme onto the more remote routes;
• consolidate assistance provided by the Remote Air Services Subsidy (RASS) Scheme, the Remote Aerodrome Inspection (RAI) Program, the Remote Aerodrome Safety Program (RASP) and the Remote Aviation Infrastructure Fund (RAIF) into one overarching program; and
• work with state and local governments, as well as with local communities, to explore opportunities to improve services to remote communities through the RASS Scheme such as the development of potential service hubs.

The Government will consider options in the first half of 2010 with a view to implementation from 2010-11. The White Paper gives no indication of additional funding.

The White Paper also commits the Government to ensuring regional airlines' continued access to capital city airports, particularly Sydney where capacity is constrained, by retaining regional airlines' existing access slots and their current pricing arrangements.

Airport Infrastructure

The White Paper recognises that well-planned and regulated airports, and good planning around airports, are in everyone's interests - airport operators, airlines, fare-paying passengers and local communities and businesses, as well as all levels of government - and commits the Government to:

• Airport Master Plans being required to provide better transparency about future land use at airports, including for non-aeronautical purposes;
• New Planning Coordination Forums to improve planning coordination between major airports and all levels of government, including the implications of developments for local traffic and public transport;
• Major airports being required to establish Community Aviation Consultation Groups to give local residents and businesses a better say in airport planning and operations; and
• Continuing already introduced regulations to ensure that certain categories of development on airports which are likely to be incompatible with airport operations - such as schools and residential developments - are subject to thorough community consultation and assessment.

The Community Aviation Consultation Groups will address planning and development issues and a range of other operational matters, such as aircraft noise, which may affect airports' relations with their neighbours. In recognition of the variety of community and operational contexts of airports operate these will have the flexibility to define the scope and membership of the Community Aviation Consultation Groups, as long as core prescribed conditions are met.

The Government will also address the impacts of aircraft noise by establishing a new Aircraft Noise Ombudsman; regulating to stop older, noisier aircraft flying over residential areas; and maintaining curfews at Sydney, Adelaide, Gold Coast and Essendon Airports.

The Aviation White Paper can be accessed here.

A national civics campaign a step closer

A new parliamentary report has recommended sweeping changes to how Australians are provided information before a referendum. The report recommended a national civics education program be developed to improve knowledge of the Constitution. This is in line with ALGA's submission to the Committee which is available on the ALGA website.

The Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee's report, A Time for Change: Yes/No?, found the written material provided to all electors before a referendum is insufficient, and that a greater range of communication is needed to properly inform the public. Currently a Yes/No pamphlet with arguments for and against the proposed constitutional change is sent to each voter.

The Committee has made 17 recommendations in this report, with the key recommendation being to establish a Referendum Panel prior to each referendum. The Referendum Panel would be independent of government and would be responsible for developing an overarching communications strategy for the referendum. The Panel would identify what material should be provided so that electors can make an informed vote.

The Chair of the Committee, Mark Dreyfus QC MP, says it is important to modernise how electors are informed given new communications technology.

In addition to civics campaign, the Committee also recommended that:

• The Yes/No Pamphlets be retained but should be sent to every household rather than every elector;
• Parliamentarians continue to authorise the Yes and No arguments;
• The Machinery of Referendums Act provisions be consolidated and harmonised with the Commonwealth Electoral Act.

The report is available here.

Christmas is a time for family gatherings, holidays and unfortunately the Christmas road toll. As we enter the holiday period for another year we will hear and see through the media the increasing toll of dead on our roads.

Most of us will not pay any great attention as the road toll is something which doesn't affect us directly. It is easy to forget that each of the digits in the mounting toll is a person whose life has been snuffed out prematurely. Each digit is a person who has now left behind grieving relatives and friends.

From experience we know the chances of one of the digits in the road toll being somebody we love is very low. The chance of winning Lotto is also very low but it does not stop us buying tickets and having whimsical thought about what we might do with the money.

It is a sobering to apply the same approach to the road toll and think about what we might do if one of the digits in the road toll represents somebody we love.

Roads safety is an issue for everyone in the community.

If you are travelling long distances this holiday period, please take extra care to drive patiently, courteously and safely.

Fatigue is major factor in crashes when driving long distances. If you are going to be driving long distances, please ensure you are rested before you leave on your journey and if possible share the driving. Take regular breaks and have a power nap if showing signs of fatigue such as yawning, droopy eyes or temporary losses of concentration.

I would like to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday period - whether you celebrate Christmas or not - and all the very best for a successful and interesting 2010.

Cr Geoff Lake
ALGA President

Briefs

Healthy communities program

The Heart Foundation, National Stroke Foundation and the Australian Local Government Association have welcomed the announcement by the Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon, to work with local government and health groups to deliver the $72m Healthy Communities program to help combat the rise of chronic disease in areas with high rates of obesity and social disadvantage. The organisations have welcomed the Australian Government's new program, saying that while it will initially involve some 12 local government areas in the pilot stage, it will expand over the coming years to include 92 sites across the country. ALGA President Cr Geoff Lake said local government was well placed to play a leading role in the struggle to combat the rise in chronic disease. "The Australian Government's investment in the Healthy Communities program is an excellent starting point. We're keen to expand on this initiative and see further investment in community infrastructure as well as initiatives such as further investment in the Healthy Spaces and Places program, which encourages all those involved in planning built environments to design more active, health-promoting communities," Cr Lake said. More information here.

Proposed changes to food laws

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has invited individuals and organisations with an interest in the regulation of food to provide information and comment on a number of possible changes to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. The changes under consideration include the approval of genetically modified (GM) maize, cotton and corn, erythrosine as a colouring for icing and a national food safety standard for the production and processing of raw milk products. Details of how to make a submission can be found on the FSANZ website. The closing date for submissions is Wednesday 10 February 2010, except for P1007 (raw milk products), which closes on Wednesday 24 February 2010. Details here.

New centre launches ambitious program to boost local government

Problems arising from fragmented governance and planning of metropolitan regions will be under the microscope as official business begins for the new Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government (ACELG), the first organisation of its kind in Australia.

Opened by the Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Anthony Albanese, the new centre will drive innovation, support best practice, facilitate policy debate and enhance capacity and career development in local government.

Based at the University of Technology, Sydney, ACELG is a partnership between the Australian Government and a consortium led by UTS, which includes the University of Canberra, the Australia and New Zealand School of Government, Local Government Managers Australia and the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia.

The Government has backed the initiative with $8 million in funding, announced by the Prime Minister in June.

Since then former Senator and Local Government Minister Margaret Reynolds has agreed to chair the ACELG board, of which ALGA President Cr Geoff Lake is a member, and the Director of the UTS Centre for Local Government, Professor Graham Sansom, has been appointed Director.

The ACELG has identified and committed to a wide range of other key deliverables in 2010, including:

• An Excellence in Local Government leadership program, as well as a national emerging leaders program for middle managers
• Producing a green paper on Indigenous employment in local government
• Initiatives to increase and support women's participation and gender equity
• Launching an Innovation and Knowledge Exchange Network to highlight and showcase best practice across the sector
• A new national research and policy development program, including initial projects on strengthening local democracy and options for more effective service delivery

More information here.

SA Mayors becoming increasingly vocal

Another nine South Australian Civic Leaders have joined their colleagues on the Local Government Associations State Election 2010 campaign website.

Forty Mayors, Chairpersons or their proxies are now sending their message to the next State Government that councils want greater collaboration and stronger partnerships with the next State Government.

"Each region of this great State has issues that are common to them," LGA President, Mayor Felicity-ann Lewis said. "However, there are many common threads that bind all of our communities together, water, climate change, transport and infrastructure, sport and recreational facilities, the economy and jobs.

"Our communities have made it clear that they want governments to work together for the future quality of our neighbourhoods and to keep our families and our kids in our communities. It's a simple message and we are making sure that it is heard. I encourage all South Australians to visit the website and view the messages," Mayor Lewis said. "We are serious and we will be heard."

The language of depression

beyondblue: the national depression initiative now has a number of newly-translated depression and anxiety-related information materials in Greek and Italian.

The new materials are available to print from the website or to order from the beyondblue info line 1300 22 4636.

National Broadband Network update

The third Interim report of the Senate Select Committee on the National Broadband Network, tabled in late November 2009, makes for interesting reading. Hansard reveals the extent of the divisions between the Coalition, which established the Committee, and the ALP, which although it forms government in the Lower House, has had to issue a minority report (in which it rejects all but one of majority's 12 recommendations, and was unable to prevent an extension of the Committee's Terms of Reference to continue until the end of April 2010).

Some of the concerns expressed by the Coalition Senators in the majority report include that underserviced areas in rural and regional Australia still have no guarantee that they will receive priority attention in the roll-out implementation plan, that the Australian Government should release details of the 90 per cent/10 per cent footprint as early as possible to enable wireless and satellite providers optimal planning capabilities, that the Australian Government's regional backhaul initiative does not go far enough to provide certainty to regional, rural and remote communities, and that the Australian Government should consult more with CSIRO, which is very active in this area.

Of note, the majority report observes that '[i]n December 2008, the State of the Regions Report 2008-09, produced by National Economics for ALGA, dedicated an entire chapter to the progress of achieving nationally equitable broadband' (p.31).

The Australian Greens have included some 'additional comments' in the report. They indicate that the report 'unfortunately reflects a tome of partisan bitterness and suspicion which reflects poorly on the collaborative and diligent way in which the Committee and its staff undertook the research, field trips and public hearings'. The full report is available here.

Death rates in Australia stagnant

Death rates in Australia have remained steady over recent years, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The standardised death rate was 6 deaths per 1000 people in 2008 - unchanged since 2005. Twenty years ago, the rate was 9 deaths per 1000 people.

There were 143,900 deaths (73,500 men and 70,400 women) registered in 2008.

There was a small increase (1.9%) in the number of infant deaths from 2007, but this reflects a higher number of births. The actual infant mortality rate has decreased slightly, from 4.2 deaths per 1,000 births in 2007 to 4.1 in 2008.

Infant mortality rates for Indigenous Australians were around twice the rates for all Australians.

Further details are available in Deaths, Australia, 2008 (cat. no. 3302.0) available for free download from the ABS website. Regional, state and territory information is also available.

Over 400,000 women available but not looking for work: ABS

There were 441,400 women not in the labour force who wanted a job and who were available to take up work but were not looking, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Of these women, 104,700 were not looking due to caring for children. The most common reason for these women was that they preferred to look after their children (55%), followed by cost (14%) and no available childcare (12%).

There were 66,100 women who had children 2 years old or younger who were not in the labour force and who wanted work, were available to start but didn't look for work.

There were 1.1 million adult Australians who were not in the labour force, who said they wanted to work. Of these, 728,700 were available to start work, although most of these (94%) did not look for work.

Further details can be found at www.abs.gov.au under Barriers and Incentives to Labour Force Participation, Australia, Jul 2006 to Jun 2009(cat. no. 6239.0).

Environment attitudes split generations

Generation Y is more likely to believe that humans are responsible for global warming but Baby Boomers are most vocal about there not being enough done to create new green jobs, according to additional information released today by Melbourne eco superstore, Neco from its "Dirty Money" research study.

The research study published this month draws on survey responses from almost 1800 general consumers and reveals some significant differences in attitudes between Generation Y and Baby Boomers. The most surprising of these are that while over 68% of baby Boomers were committed to personal change, only 59% of Generation Y felt the same way. The proportion of Generation Y who admitted "I see change is needed but I haven't done much yet" was double that of Baby Boomers.

However, it was Baby Boomers that were most critical of failures to create new green jobs with 79% believing that Federal and State Governments were not doing enough while only 59% of Generation Y felt this way. "It seems an odd paradox in the data" said Julian Smith, CEO of Neco, "but perhaps the best clue is that Generation, Y is more likely to blame humankind for Global Warming than the Baby Boomers are. Their responses were generally characterized by higher "indifference" scores when asked about government, government schemes and carbon trading."

The research says that 91% of respondents agree or strongly agree that humankind is responsible for Global Warming while only 79% of Baby Boomers believe this to be the case. In addition, while less than 9% of Generation Y disagree or are indifferent about humans causing Global Warming, over 20% of Baby Boomers disagree or are indifferent. The research is available here.

LGSA Water Management Conference - call for papers

The Local Government and Shires Associations of NSW (LGSA) are calling for papers for their 2010 Water Management Conference held from 12 to 14 September in Orange. What would you like to present or hear at the conference? Do you have a relevant project or initiative that others would like to know about? Closing date for papers is 16 April 2010. The annual Water Management Conference provides local government with a broad range of information on water management and issues associated with water supply and sewerage services provided by water utilities. It presents an opportunity for councillors, local government professionals, government representatives and the broader industry to tackle key water management issues and discuss emerging issues from a local government perspective. Further information on topics for the conference and how to submit a paper is available on the conference website.

Smoking deaths blow out insurance premiums

A major new survey of Australian insurance policies shows tobacco's massive toll in deaths, disability and disease - and on insurance premiums and payouts. The study just released by the Investment and Financial Services Association and KPMG Actuaries, based on over 8 million lives insured and 16,000 claims totalling more than $2b, shows:

• Females smokers are almost two and a half times as likely (248%) to be the subject of life insurance claims than non-smoking females;
• Males who smoke are 75% more likely to be a subject of death claims than non-smoking males;
• Trauma cover claims are 41% more likely from smoking than non-smoking, and 25% more likely from smoking than non-smoking females.

More information here.

Office buildings go green

A North Sydney office building will install five vertical wind turbines as part of an upgrade supported by the Australian Government's Green Building Fund that will reduce the building's environmental impact by generating energy in-house.

The owners of the Pacific building are among 30 applicants Australia-wide who have been offered a total of $11.6 million from the Green Building Fund's fourth round.

The next rounds for Streams A and B of the program will close on 12 January 2010. For further information on the Green Building Fund program click here, call the hotline on 13 28 46 or email the hotline at hotline@ausindustry.gov.au. A list of recipients is attached here.

Developer donations banned in NSW

The New South Wales Parliament recently passed legislation banning political donations by property developers to councillors, MPs, candidates and political parties. The provisions are contained in the Election Funding and Disclosures Amendment (Property Developers Prohibition) Bill 2009. The NSW Government has also established the ground work for a cross-party committee to inquire into donations and campaign funding. The committee has been given until the end of March 2010 to produce recommendations for the State Government.

Local e-government benchmarking study

The results of a study on the use of Web technologies in local government are in. Over 100 Australian and New Zealand local councils took part in a survey conducted by Technology Indicators.

The study analyses three key functions of local government websites - information delivery, transactional services and e-engagement. One of the findings of the study is a relatively low take-up of transactional council services. For example, only about 15% of local councils reported that over 20% of their resident rates payments are performed on-line. With respect to e-engagement, about a half of local councils participated in the survey reported that e-consultations make a moderate or significant impact on the councils' decision making process. However, the overall adoption of e-engagement techniques, including Web2.0, is currently low.

The report on the study findings can be ordered from Technology Indicators, service@tech-indicators.com.au

Emergency preparedness

Red Cross is working to ensure everyone is prepared for an emergency with the recent release of two guides developed in consultation with disability peak bodies, service providers, advocacy groups and consumers.

Emergency REDiPlan: Household preparedness for people with a disability and Emergency REDiPlan: Easy English (developed with assistance from Scope Victoria) both contain an assessment tool for individuals and/or carers, and a household plan for completion.

Other guides in the range include information and practical activities for households, children and seniors.

Red Cross Emergency REDiPlan guides are free for individual households and are available on www.redcross.org.au, by phoning Red Cross in your state or territory or by emailing rediplan@redcross.org.au.

Bushfire research program

Students from all over Australia and New Zealand will have the chance to investigate key issues for fire and land management agencies as part of the Bushfire CRC's latest postgraduate scholarship program. The Bushfire CRC is currently calling for outstanding postgraduate students to take part in a dynamic, multidisciplinary national research program, and is offering access to full scholarships of $28,000 per annum and top up scholarships of $10,000 per annum.

The scholarships are available for study at a range of universities, including University of Western Australia, University of Melbourne, Australian National University, Charles Darwin University, La Trobe University, RMIT University, University of Sydney, University of South Australia, University of Canterbury (NZ) and Deakin University. Students can also be based at Bushfire CRC partner agencies, such as fire authorities.

ABS review of CPI

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has announced a major review of its Consumer Price Index (CPI). The last major review was undertaken in 1997.

The Consumer Price Index is a main economic indicator, measuring the inflation faced by Australian households for goods and services. As part of the review process, the Australian Bureau of Statistics will consult widely, providing an opportunity for user involvement in the evolution of the CPI.

Organisations and individuals are invited to make written submissions on any aspect of the review. The ABS will also hold public hearings in capital cities early next year, to seek direct feedback from the community on the usefulness of the Australian CPI. These hearings will be announced on www.abs.gov.au and in press.

Councillors reject opportunity to grant themselves payrise

A south-west Queensland council has rejected a 3 per cent pay rise because it says it would be inappropriate in the current climate.

Earlier this month, the Remuneration Tribunal recommended that mayors and councillors be paid more from next January.

But Murweh Mayor Mark O'Brien says his councillors received a pay rise after the local government elections last year and they agreed another increase would not be fair on ratepayers.

"The increase on what we were previously being paid was very considerable," he said. It's reasonably tough times in rural Queensland for all sorts of reasons ... we haven't had decent rain since the end of last year and beginning of this year and for councillors to be taking another 3 per cent, we thought [that] was inappropriate."

Sport and Recreation Ministers meet in Melbourne

At the recent Ministerial Council for Sport and Recreation meeting in Melbourne, Commonwealth, State and Territory Ministers received a presentation from the Chairman of the Independent Sport Panel Chairman David Crawford on its recent report The Future of Sport in Australia.

Ministers set up a working party to respond to the structural recommendations in the report, including the reorganisation of the AIS and State and Territory sports institutes and the proposed National Policy Framework.

The Government will formally respond to the recommendations of the Independent Sport Panel in the new year. The Future of Sport in Australia is available here.

Nearly two-thirds of Australian households have broadband

As of June 2009, just over five million households had broadband, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

This is an increase of 700,000 households or 16% on the previous year - nearly two-thirds (62%) of all households now have broadband.

The Australian Capital Territory continues to have the highest proportion of broadband connections, with nearly three-quarters (74%) of ACT households now connected. Lowest is Tasmania, at just under half (49%).

There are 6.4 million households with a computer; 5.9 million of these have internet access. This is an increase of 4.8 million connected households since 1998.

Further details are available from 'Household Use of Information Technology, Australia 2008-09 (cat. no. 8146.0)' at www.abs.gov.au

Cyber safety

This week, the Australian Government released further details of its approach to cyber safety following its trial of internet filtering by Enex, and consultation with industry about the most appropriate way to improve safety online.

The Government has said that it will:

1. Introduce mandatory ISP-level filtering of Refused Classification (RC) - rated content
2. Establish a grants program to encourage the introduction of optional filtering by Internet Service Providers, to block additional content as requested by households.
3. Expand the cyber-safety outreach program run by the Australian Communications and Media Authority and the Cyber-Safety Online Helpline, to improve education and awareness of online safety.

The Government will also introduce new measures aimed at increasing transparency of the process for material being placed on the RC Content list, which has come under considerable criticism in the past. A discussion paper for this purpose was released on 15 December 2009.

The announcement has met with some criticism, including from the Australian Greens, which say the policy is misguided and that they will seek to move amendments in the Senate if the Australian Government does not amend its approach. The Coalition has expressed concern that the policy will be unmanageable and has also called for a full audit of the Enex report.

Further information on the Government's announcements is available here.