Focus on Affordable Housing

Later today, in a busy schedule of meetings, Local Government and Planning Ministers (LGPMC) will conduct a joint meeting with the Housing Ministers Conferences (HMC). LGPMC and the HMC will also meet separately to make progress on a range of issues on their respective work programs. One of the main aims of the joint meeting is to follow up from the December 2009 Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting, which highlighted concern that housing supply has struggled to keep pace with recent growth in demand.

COAG noted that "...population growth is likely to mean continuing strong underlying demand for housing. Constraints on the supply side of the market need to be addressed if our cities are to adapt to projected population increases over the coming decades."

Responding to these challenges, COAG agreed to the development of a housing supply and affordability reform agenda led by Treasurers, through the Ministerial Council on Federal Financial Relations, for consideration in the first half of 2010. This will build on the reforms already implemented by LGPMC and HMC.

The joint meeting of LGPMC and HMC will explore ways of accelerating housing and planning reform to increase housing supply and to support the work of reasurers.

Progress report on Nation Building

The Australian Government has completed the latest Progress Report on the Nation Building Economic Stimulus Plan (the Plan). The Progress Report was issued by the Commonwealth Coordinator-General and provides an update to 31 December 2009 on the implementation of the Plan's programs: household stimulus; Building the Education Revolution; social housing; Defence housing; energy efficient homes; roads and rail; and the Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program.

The report confirms that the delivery targets for the component programs are being met: 71 per cent of the infrastructure stimulus projects are under construction, and across the entire Plan, nearly 50,000 projects have been approved, nearly 35,000 have commenced and over 8,300 are complete. 90 per cent of the 3,220 the Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program projects are complete, and a further 137 strategic projects have received milestone payments of around $250 million from a total of $550 million.

The report comments on factors that helped ensure the funding for the Plan components flowed quickly, and projects were delivered successfully: one example given in the report is "the streamlined planning processes put in place by states and territories."

The Progress Report is available here.

Councils concerned about potential planning power abuse

Premier Kristina Keneally has indicated that she will extend and make permanent special planning arrangements introduced as part of the federal government's stimulus package. The premier announced a review of the legislation that has allowed the speedy approval of hundreds of public housing developments and school projects funded with federal government money to combat the global financial crisis, reported Matthew Moore in the Sydney Morning Herald on 9 February.

"I would like to evaluate the benefits of applying the principles of this legislation to other significant infrastructure projects in NSW, such as major transport projects, significant commercial or even appropriate residential projects," Ms Keneally said.

Her remarks infuriated representatives of local government, who accused her of breaching undertakings given to them last year, when councils agreed to legislation to speed up approval of education and public housing projects as part of the stimulus package.

"We're extremely concerned that planning powers under the package might be abused by private developers if they are extended to commercial or residential developments," said the president of the Local Government Association, Genia McCaffery.

Quick approval of developments for schools had gone smoothly, but there had been serious community disquiet about the hundreds of public housing projects being constructed without consultation. Cr McCaffery stated that in their meetings with the Premier, they were assured that any changes to planning controls were restricted to developments under the stimulus package; this was the basis on which they supported it.

Aaron Gadiel, the head of the developer lobby group, Urban Taskforce, said that the forecast changes should speed up approvals for a host of residential projects. "The government's strong support for its public-sector projects has been great for creating jobs and boosting economic activity, but the private sector would be capable of doing so much more," Mr Gadiel said.

Stephen Albin, the NSW chief executive of another developer group, the Urban Development Institute of Australia, said the stimulus package was "one of the success stories" of the Federal Government and should be extended.

"If the review shows that arrangements worked for the stimulus package, then there is no reason that they can't be adopted more broadly."

But Cr McCaffery said the extreme measures were inappropriate for normal economic circumstances because communities would be excluded from input on planning decisions. "These new powers are the sort of far-reaching planning powers that undermine orderly developments," she said.

Women make up just over 50 per cent of our population. Women are an integral part of all our communities. Women contribute at all levels in our communities. No one would disagree with these facts.

Yet women are under-represented in local government. Only 27.3% of councillors are women. The situation is worse in senior management roles in councils where women fill only 20 per cent of the positions. The picture is worse again at the Chief Executive level in councils where only 5 per cent of chief executives/general managers are women.

Research by the Centre for Local Government at the University of Technology, Sydney, has indicated that there are lower proportional numbers of women working in local government than in other levels of government. Local Government, as the level of government closest to the people in our communities, should reflect the make-up of the general population and local government as a sector needs to address this issue. One of the best ways to ensure that councils remain sustainable into the future is to ensure that they can make the most of the enthusiasm and skills of everyone in the community.

The Year of Women in Local Government in 2010 is an opportunity to improve the current gender imbalance, to encourage women to stand as councillors, to help build women's capacity for senior positions, to raise awareness of these issues, and to provide better recognition of what women are already contributing to local government.

ALGA is working with other levels of government to implement change in this area, especially through work in the Local Government and Planning Ministers Council and the role of women in local government and politics in general will be explored during this year's National General Assembly of Local Government in June.

Improving the gender imbalance in local government and, through that, improving local government's representative and inclusive nature are not things that will happen overnight, but the Year of Women in Local Government is a strong beginning to positive change in this area.

Cr Geoff Lake
ALGA President

Briefs

Healthy Communities and local government

"Local councils are among those being encouraged to attend workshops on the development of the Quality Assurance Framework for the Commonwealth's Healthy Communities Initiative.

The Australian Government is providing $72 million over the next four years (2009-10 - 2012-13) for the Healthy Communities Initiative, through the National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health. The Healthy Communities Initiative will support Local Government Areas in delivering effective community-based physical activity and dietary education programs, as well as developing a range of policy environments to support healthy lifestyle behaviours. The Australian Government will support the implementation of the Initiative through the development and funding of 'soft infrastructure' including a Quality Assurance Framework. The Framework will ensure that the healthy living programs funded under the Initiative are of a high standard and quality, appropriate for their intended purpose and delivered by appropriate staff. More information about this project can be found here.

The workshops will be conducted by Communio Group which has been contracted by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing to develop the QA Framework. The upcoming workshops aim to give stakeholders the opportunity to provide feedback and to help shape its development. The workshops will be interactive and will gather consensus input to the Framework.

Please find the workshop locations and dates below. Although the Melbourne and Adelaide workshops have now passed, you can still contact Communio Group to find out how you can get involved in contributing to the development of the Framework. Please note Sydney, Dubbo and Perth workshops next week:

Sydney - Mon 15/02/10
Dubbo - Tues 16/02/10
Hobart - Thurs 18/02/10
Perth - Thurs 19/02/10
Canberra - Mon 22/02/10
Brisbane - Tues 23/02/10
Rockhampton - Wed 24/02/10
Darwin - Thurs 25/02/10 Hobart - Friday 5/03/2010

The workshops will run from 10.00-4.30pm.

Please register your interest by emailing Communio Group at cathie.oneill@communio.com.au or by registering your details through the project web page

Councils get Royalties for Regions pledge

The Western Australian Minister for Regional Development, Brendon Grylls, has confirmed his commitment to the Country Local Government Fund, which was axed last year.

The Government announced in December it was deferring payments of nearly $100 million from the Royalties for Regions program due to a revision in forecast revenue from mining royalties. Mr Grylls says the money will now be allocated in the 2010/2011 financial-year budget.

The Western Australian Local Government Association's president, Bill Mitchell, says that councils were disappointed to lose the funding.

"If you're cutting a program, it's better to cut all programs by 5 or 10 per cent and allow those programs to go ahead, rather than specifically 100 per cent cutting one," he said.

Mr Mitchell says there is still no guarantee the money will be available.

"The economy still needs to recover to the extent that that $100 million for the local government fund is available and that's still reliant on the royalties and the rate in the American dollar versus the Australian dollar," he said.

Disaster relief funds extended to some local councils

With an estimated one-third of the region's local government roads submerged in floodwater this week, Gladstone Regional Council is expecting a damage bill of more than of $1.5 million.

Gladstone Region Mayor George Creed said that council crews were assessing flood damage caused by ex-tropical cyclones Olga and Neville, and would carry out emergency repairs on a priority basis.

He told the Gladstone Observer that a small number of roads within the region remain closed due to floodwaters, including Tablelands Road, at Baffle Creek (Essendean Bridge), Lowmead Road and Gorge Road. Other roads that remain closed include Raglan Station Road, Blackgate Road and Mattson Road.

"I urge motorists to drive with care on the roads as we assess the full extent of damage to roads across the region," said Cr Creed.

Disaster relief funding under the joint state and federal government natural disaster relief and recovery arrangements has been extended to include additional cyclone-affected local government areas.

"Whilst Gladstone has not yet been included on the affected areas list, council will be lobbying the State Government for inclusion and access to funding relief for the repair effort," said Cr Creed, acknowledging that despite the extensive flood damage throughout the region, the widespread rainfall was good news to many.

Workshops explain new council laws

Senior officers of the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) are touring the state teaching councils about new planning and code-of-conduct laws that come into effect this year.

A new Local Government Act comes into place in July. LGAQ executive director, Greg Hallam stated that the change will be significant, "particularly around long-term planning and requirements for councils, councillors' behaviour and how councillors, the mayor and CEO interact."

Mr Hallam says it is vital councils are up-to-date with the new changes and understand how they will be affected. "This is the most extensive training undertaken by Queensland councils on new legislation," he said.

e-Government Awards

The 2010 Excellence in e-Government Awards have now opened for nominations.

This year the Awards have been expanded to include categories across a number of ICT disciplines - Applications Development; Geospatial; Project Management; Service Delivery and Systems Architecture.

Guidelines are available online now at Excellence in e-Government Award (e-Award) - Department of Finance and Deregulation.

Councils are encouraged to nominate so that their great work in the ICT arena across Australia is recognised nationally. Nominations will close on 1 March 2010.

For further information, please contact the e-Government Awards Coordinator at e-governmentaward@finance.gov.au or phone 02 6215 3060.

Shaping Australia's Resilience

Shaping Australia's Resilience: Policy development for uncertain futures 18-19/02/10 at the Australian National University

The resilience conference next week will deliver a rich dialogue on resilience and its application to policy development. Both the speakers and the delegates will contribute to a conversation that will expand knowledge and understanding of resilience thinking.

The key note speaker has been confirmed as The Hon Peter Garrett, MP - Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts.

One aspect of resilience that seems to have slipped notice is that of economics/industry - a very important aspect of resilience. The economics and industry speakers include: Prof Quentin Grafton, Dr David Gruen, Prof Bob Gregory, Riane Eisler Mike Waller, Rita Parker, among others

There are a number of media interviews coming up with conference speakers - Saturday Extra with Geraldine Doogue this Saturday morning will speak with Johan Rockstrom & Ross Buckley on resilience and global financial governance at 7.45am; and Brian Walker will be interviewed on Alex Sloan's program on ABC Canberra radio on Monday 15 Feb at 11.30am. Australia Talks did a program on resilience to mark the first anniversary of the Victorian Bushfires and three conference speakers were involved in that discussion - to listen go to: www.abc.net.au/rn/australiatalks/stories/2010/2807733.htm

Contact Dr Lynne Reeder
Executive Director
Australia 21 Ltd
PO Box 3244
Weston ACT 2611
Ph) 02 6288 0823
m) 0431 608958
w) www.australia21.org.au

New laws for Tasmanian dog owners

The Tasmanian Government has reminded the state's dog owners that new control laws are due to take effect on July 1.

The changes include the mandatory de-sexing and restrictions on the breeding of dangerous dog breeds and noise restrictions on barking dogs. Councils will also be given the right to seize and detain dogs. The micro-chipping of dogs will be compulsory from next year.

Barking dogs

Of the almost 500 complaints about noise that Lake Macquarie residents made, 385 were about barking dogs.

A council report has acknowledged that with increasing population growth, complaints are bound to increase, and that they will work on improving the current noise control and reduction strategies, as well as promoting responsible pet ownership in a bid to tackle the barking dogs problem.

Wahroonga dog attack

It is an offence for a dog to attack, bite, harass, chase or rush at any person or animal. The NSW Companion Animals Act requires dogs in off-leash areas to be under effective control of their owners.

Ku-ring-gai has more off-leash dog parks than any other New South Wales local government area. A recent savage dog attack at Golden Jubilee Oval at Wahroonga, where a Staffordshire bull terrier killed a smaller shih tzu, has led to Ku-ring-gai council warning dog owners to control their pets.

The owner of the bull terrier paid the $7,000 vet bill for the shih tzu, which died, after several operations.

Ku-ring-gai Mayor Ian Cross stated: "Our off-leash areas are very popular, but for the areas to work effectively, we need all dog owners to act responsibly and obey all the rules."

Local Government amalgamation

A review of local government services in the New England area has been ordered by the state government, following last year's collapse of the New England Strategic Alliance.

The alliance was formed five years ago by Armidale Dumaresq, Walcha, Uralla and Guyra councils. The councils cover 40,000 residents and 18,000 square kilometres.

According to Harvey Grennan of the Sydney Morning Herald, the four councils had promised savings of $1 million a year by sharing resources in an effort to ward of a forced amalgamation. With the announcement of the review, the fear of forced amalgamation has been revived.

A review last year that was commissioned by the councils and prepared by Forsyths Chartered Accountants recommended the councils amalgamate voluntarily. That recommendation was rejected.

The latest review will be conducted by a former head of the housing and planning departments, Gabrielle Kibble, who has resigned as one of the administrators of Wollongong Council. She has been replaced in that position by Richard Colley, a former general manager of Bankstown Council, who recently conducted an inquiry into Shellharbour Council.

The Minister for Local Government, Barbara Perry, said residents and ratepayers will be able to participate in the New England review through public forums and submissions.

"Extensive discussions with community groups, councils, individuals and government agencies will be undertaken as part of the review process," Ms Perry said.

Ms Kibble is due to report to the Minister by May 31.

Guidelines for community grants

New state government-mandated guidelines will help Logan City Council allocate community grants fairly, Local Government Minister Desley Boyle says.

Community groups sometimes questioned the objectivity of councils' methods in allocating grants, Ms Boyle said. "Sometimes community groups can think others are getting favoured," she said.

"These guidelines have been developed to give groups greater peace of mind and give councils direction in how to ensure they are open and transparent when allocating community grants."

The guidelines feature sample forms, such as a grants policy, funding agreement, community guidelines and their application. See www.dip.qld.gov.au

Women's work celebrated

Coffs Harbour City Council is one of a record number of NSW councils to receive grants from the New South Wales Government to help organise local community events for International Women's Day. The Minister for Women, Jodi McKay, said almost $130,000 would be provided to support 127 councils as they recognise women in their local community.

"International Women's Day is a time to celebrate the wonderful and varied talents of local women and the contributions they make to their communities," Ms McKay said.

"It is also a time to reflect on the hardships that many women around the world face, and this year's International Women's Day theme is Empowering Women to End Poverty by 2015.

"Currently 70 per cent of the world's poor are women and this year's theme acknowledges that empowering women can help to break the cycle of poverty." Ms McKay acknowledged the effects of poverty on women around the world, but also reminded us that it is a time to celebrate the enormous achievements of women.

"Contact your council, find out what is happening in your local area and help celebrate International Women's Day 2010," Ms McKay said.

2010 better for markets and economies

Well-known economist and presenter at our previous National General Assemblies of Local Government, Mr Chris Caton of BT Financial, gave another entertaining and insightful presentation for the Australian Institute of Management in Canberra this week. The theme was "the Global Economy and Market Outlook" and it provided an opportunity to compare and contrast the year that was with the year that might be.

Mr Caton said that 2010 is a better year for markets and economies than 2009. He observed that the global economic recovery is firmly entrenched, which is good news, and that the Australian economy performed resiliently over the past year, due to a combination of good luck and good management. He said that the Australian Government had acted early and effectively and that this helped Australia buck many of the downward trends experienced by comparative economies.

Torres Strait Islands being submerged

Nearly 5,000 people live in the Torres Strait Islands. The Islands also house some Federal Government agencies, such as the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service, Customs and Defence.

The effects of climate change are already threatening Torres Strait communities. Seventy-two-year-old Sheila Akiba Sam, who has lived all her life on Saibai, in the Torres Strait, knows things are changing and she worries about the future of her grandchildren.

Suellen Hinde reports in the Sunday Mail that the low-lying islands in the region are combating major seawater inundation and erosion problems in the past few years, which have an impact on the inhabitants' crops, housing, infrastructure and cultural sites.

The absence of historical records of sea levels in the region means that we don't know by how much the water has risen. What we do know is the islanders want solutions, not yet another study.

Each year, king tides hit the islands during January, and the tides in the last few years have been gouging deeper and deeper into the tropical isles. One of the central Islands - Warraber - is a 38ha sandy coral cay fringed with extensive home reefs. Warraber Councillor Willie Lui fears for the future of his almost 300 constituents.

"It is frightening, especially when you live here," he said. "In the last three months, we have lost 10 metres of sand off the western side of the island. What usually happens is it comes back on the other side, but we are finding that the sea is taking much more than it is returning."

Torres Strait Island Regional Council Mayor, Fred Gela, says he understands that there is talk that the islanders should relocate. However, he states: "My people are connected to the land, the land is everything to us. We have been here since before Captain Cook arrived."

Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA) established a Torres Strait Coastal Management Committee in 2006, which found that the region requires some $22 million to carry out urgent work for a climate change adaptation program, such as upgrading of sea walls and protection of the island's water supply.

A delegation of islanders will attend the National Climate Change Forum in Adelaide mid-month. Once again, they will be asking for assistance from Australia's leaders. The invitation-only forum will be attended by Minister for Climate Change, Penny Wong.

What's their secret?

Shire of Kalamunda expenditure was 20 per cent under budget by the end of 2009, a fact stated in the Shire quarterly progress report, which was presented to the council general services committee on Monday night.

According to the Hills Gazette, revenue is also under budget, by 2 per cent. Shire business units attained 75 per cent or more of goals linked to the council's strategic plan for 2009-10.

Queanbeyan unemployment level half of Canberra's

Queanbeyan has emerged from the global financial crisis as one of New South Wales's strongest-performing regional centres, outstripping the ACT in the process. The Canberra Times' Michael Inman quotes figures published by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, which show that Queanbeyan's labour force increased by more than 10 per cent between September 2008 and September 2009.

Queanbeyan's unemployment rate rose from 1.2 per cent to 2.3 per cent during the period, far lower than the NSW figure of 5.9 per cent and the ACT at 3 per cent. Queanbeyan did better than Lismore (6.3 per cent), Tamworth (5.6 per cent), Wagga Wagga (4.3 per cent) and Albury (6.1per cent). Queanbeyan Mayor, Tim Overall, said the city's labour force continued to grow as Australia continues to recover from the economic crisis.

"This is a great sign for Queanbeyan, with the September 2009 figures showing that our labour force had grown from 22,687 to 24,968, and of that number only 579 were looking for work," Councillor Overall said, concluding that people who move to Queanbeyan will very probably find work, either there or across the border.

The ACT's unemployment rate has grown 0.3 per cent since March 2009. In September 2009 there were more than 6,000 people out of work. The 2006 census showed the majority of Queanbeyan's labour force (18,889 at the time) were employed in the ACT, while almost 5,000 worked in Queanbeyan. It also showed that almost 3,500 ACT residents worked in Queanbeyan.

Councillor Overall said that the figures showed Queanbeyan continued to offer attractive employment options. "Queanbeyan ... has proven to be an attractive city to work in for people living in Queanbeyan or the ACT and even as far afield as Yass and Goulburn," he said.

Maleny unemployment rate not so good

Has Maleny become too green for its own good? This is the question Kathleen Donaghey asks in last week's Sunday Mail. As the children of a generation of tree-changers begin their working lives, Maleny is discovering that being green is no protection against that scourge of rural communities: youth unemployment.

While other towns can rely on mining or agriculture to provide job opportunities, Maleny's young people are increasingly forced to desert the Sunshine Coast hinterland to find work, leaving behind them an ageing population.

Community concern has become so acute that even local greenies are calling for drastic action and putting out the welcome mat for new industry.

In the town that famously opposed Woolworths, business leaders, families and greenies are now united in their calls for a light industrial precinct in order to increase employment. Such a precinct could attract anything from brick making to glass fabrication, but would have to meet local environmental guidelines.

However, under existing council plans, there is no land set aside for industrial growth in Maleny.

Young job seekers currently have to compete for the few jobs at the town's biggest employers, Supa IGA and Woolworths, which both have workforces of about 100. Latest census figures show Maleny has a median age of 42, compared to 36 for the whole of Queensland.

Maleny Commerce president Stephen Dittmann said green activists had traditionally held sway in the town but there was now recognition that some development was necessary.

Newcastle Gardens

There is a community gardening boom in the Hunter district of New South Wales. Thousands of residents are joining community gardens or seeking approval through councils to establish new community gardens.

Several gardens now have waiting lists. Newcastle City Council's Community Greening co-ordinator Col Bartley said the number of volunteers in the local government area had jumped from 30 in 1993 to 1,046 this year.

Mr Bartley said there was increased interest in everything from community gardens to dune care projects. "Community gardens are very much a social activity," he told Donna Page from the Newcastle Herald. "Participants learn to grow vegetables or flowers and the produce is shared."

Participants learn gardening techniques, attend social activities, swap produce with other gardeners and sell plants in an effort to raise funds for the garden. People from 30 to 80 get involved and enjoy the friendship and community feeling.

The March Street garden sells herbs and seedlings on Saturday mornings for $2 as their part in fundraising.

Record number of travellers

The total number of international arrivals and departures reached a record high last year, according to recent Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures.

There were 12.4 million overseas arrivals and 12.3 million departures in 2009, making a record of 24.7 million international movements across Australia's borders. This is an increase in overseas movements of nearly 60 per cent.

The cost of collisions

A report issued this week by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) shows that road crashes cost Australia almost $17.9 billion in 2006.

The BITRE report examines the economic and social cost of the estimated 653,853 road crashes that happened in 2006, including fatal crashes, crashes where people were injured, and crashes that merely caused property damage.

The $17.9 billion cost of the road crashes was almost twice the amount that all of Australia's governments spent on roads in 2005-06. Major components of the cost included workplace and household losses caused by injury or death ($5.7 billion), repair costs ($4.2 billion) and disability related costs ($1.9 billion).

The report estimates that 42,697 trucks were involved in crashes in 2006, with 197 involved in fatal crashes, 16,000 involved in crashes causing injuries, and 26,500 involved in property damage crashes. The estimated cost of repairing the trucks involved in these crashes was $834.4 million.

The report gives the following grim statistics: "Nearly 200,000 people were killed in road crashes in the twentieth century. This is more than double the number of Australians killed (nearly 90,000) in the four major wars in which Australia was involved in the twentieth century: First World War, Second World War, Korea and Vietnam".

The BITRE released a second report this week tracking the number of road deaths in Australia from 1925 to 2008. The report shows that annual road deaths rose to a peak of 3,798 in 1970 before falling to 1,465 in 2008.

This decline over the past few decades is positive, of course, but as the report points out, car crashes continue to impose a huge burden on the community.

Speed main cause of car crashes

Speed is the major cause of car crashes throughout New South Wales and was a factor in 46 per cent of fatal crashes last year. Fatigue was a factor in 18 per cent of fatalities.

Highway Patrol and other operational police urge motorists to plan ahead when anticipating long trips and to set aside plenty of time for rest breaks during the journey. As the police say, remember: it's better to arrive home late than not to arrive at all.

Free public transport after the pub?

Providing free public transport for people leaving clubs late at night could help prevent alcohol-related violence, a Queensland inquiry has announced. The Queensland parliamentary committee is searching for ways to tackle alcohol-related violence.

Clubs Queensland chief executive, Doug Flockhart, said that a common sense approach was needed to stem violence, not new regulations and laws. He claimed that governments and councils need to treat each night of entertainment as a special event.

In his opinion, free transport from football matches and adequate amenities in the vicinity of entertainment venues would go a long way towards improving public safety.

"Safely and efficiently moving people on are matters that are taken into account for a Broncos match or Riverfire, yet the large crowds that are congregating in places like the Valley, or Cavill Avenue on the Gold Coast, are largely ignored."

Flockhart said many community clubs were struggling financially and would be burdened by any new regulation.

The inquiry continues.