COAG Health Outcome Good for Local Government

Local government's interests have been acknowledged and accommodated as part of the historic agreement on health reform reached at this week's meeting of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG). The agreement will see the Commonwealth take over greater responsibility for hospital funding and full responsibility for primary care and aged care, and significantly increase its immediate funding of health. Importantly, the agreement includes a commitment to consult with local government on primary health care areas where local government plays a significant role in many jurisdictions, as part of the transition to new arrangements.

The new COAG Agreement also reflects the special circumstances that apply to the administration of the Home and Community Care (HACC) program in different states and the differing roles of local government across the country. As part of the COAG process ALGA helped to facilitate negotiations between the Federal Government, the Victorian Government and the Municipal Association of Victoria regarding the tripartite HACC arrangements that apply in Victoria to ensure that local councils interests were not overridden.

COAG Agrees to ALGA Input on Housing Affordability Agenda

ALGA made substantial progress in advancing local government's interests in the housing affordability debate at this week's COAG Meeting. COAG agreed to a request by ALGA's President, Cr Geoff Lake, that he participate in the Ministerial Council for Federal Financial Relations (Commonwealth and State Treasurers) consideration of housing policy work underway in other COAG forums. This is a significant outcome aimed at ensuring that ALGA has input at the highest possible level into the housing affordability debate.

ALGA has repeatedly stated that consideration of housing affordability issues should include consideration of both demand and supply issues and, along with a number of states and territories. ALGA has emphasised this point in various ministerial forums and ALGA President Geoff Lake welcomed the decision by COAG that the Treasurer's review of housing affordability will also include government policies which stimulate housing demand, including the First Homeowners Grant and taxation policy.

No tenders yet for first NBN sites

The five National Broadband Network first release sites are due to commence construction by July; however, in a sign of the complexities that lie ahead, NBN Co is still determining how it should issue tenders for the project.

The first release sites on the mainland include a part of Brunswick in Melbourne, Aitkenvale and Mundingburra in Townsville, Minnamurra and Kiama Downs south of Wollongong, Armidale in NSW, and Willunga in South Australia.

ZDNet.com.au has confirmed that NBN Co will run tenders for the first release sites separately to the remaining 200,000 kilometres of the National Broadband Network (NBN). NBN Co late last year requested from industry capability statements for the IT, active and passive network equipment and construction components of the eight-year build, reported Liam Tung of ZDNet.com.au this week.

Before releasing the tenders for delivering the network in the first release areas, thought is required. "We're still formulating a view on what approach to take in the design of the RFP [request for proposal]," NBN Co spokesperson Rhonda Griffith recently told ZDNet.com.au.

One of the issues NBN Co is believed to be assessing in preparation for its tenders is whether the network in each of the local council regions can be connected overhead or underground. Some councils, such as Moreland Council in Victoria - slated for the first release deployment - have an explicit policy outlawing overhead cables, while others, such as Townsville, do not.

Armidale's policy on underground telecommunications cabling is mixed: for new developments, multi-dwelling occupancies and sub-divisions, underground is required. But for existing households, it is whatever is currently there.

A bigger issue, according to Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) president, Geoff Lake, would be the requirement by NBN Co and its contractors to trespass on council-owned property and the risk of damage to that property.

"Regardless of whether it will be overhead or underground, it requires trespassing on public and council infrastructure. This isn't something that will be fatal, but it will need to be appropriately resolved between each of the 560 councils and NBN Co and various subcontractors that will do the work," Lake told ZDNet.com.au.

Lake said that councils would be fighting to have damages or the cost of replacement covered by NBN Co or its contractors rather than it being born by communities.

"Also disruption on neighbourhood streets. There needs to be appropriate warnings given to communities so that they are able to go about their daily lives and so that people can plan around local roll-out," said Lake.

Lake said that neither the NBN Co nor the Department of Broadband Communications and the Digital Economy had met with ALGA member councils recently, but he added that he was hoping to meet with NBN Co's Conroy-picked external affairs chief, Mike Kaiser.

"As far as our involvement, not much has happened around providing further detail around the implementation of the NBN and what it will mean in terms of roll-out issues," Lake said, adding that Minister for Communications Stephen Conroy had given repeated assurances that councils would be consulted prior to any decisions being made.

COAG meetings are always challenging affairs, as Australia's political leaders come together to advance national reform, and this week's meeting in Canberra was certainly no different.

In an intense meeting, which for the first time extended over two days, COAG reached an historic agreement (except WA) on health reform aimed at delivering major improvements in health outcomes while securing sustainable funding arrangements into the future. Governments at all levels were committed to improving the performance of hospitals in the face of public demands but recognised that greater funding from the Commonwealth would be essential. The deal struck by leaders will see many billions of dollars of additional funding flowing to health in exchange for the retention and dedication of 30% of GST revenue.

Although Western Australia has not agreed to the GST arrangements, their Premier, Colin Barnett, supported the rest of the package and bilateral discussions between WA and the Commonwealth will continue with an aim of reaching an agreement. WA has a proud history of pondering national reform a little longer than other states (such as federation) so maybe it will happen later in the year!

Importantly, for local government, the Commonwealth and the states acknowledged the various roles played by local governments in primary and preventative health care and the need to consult with local government as part of the transition to the new arrangements. Many councils play particular roles in the delivery of health and aged care services and it is in the interests all governments to ensure the standards of service provided to the community are not adversely impacted by the reforms. This is particularly the case in the Home and Community Care (HACC) program in Victoria where local government is the main deliverer of services and plays an equal role with the state and Commonwealth. ALGA worked hard, and with success, to reinforce with the Commonwealth the need to engage the Municipal Association of Victoria in tripartite discussions on HACC arrangements in Victoria.

Although health reform dominated the COAG meeting, the important issue of housing affordability was also considered by leaders and I am pleased to say that the results were positive for local government. ALGA has long been concerned that the focus on supply issues alone when considering housing affordability was much too narrow and needed to be broadened to include demand side issues such as incentives and grant schemes and taxation settings. The housing market is very complex and factors such as the First Homeowners Grant, negative gearing and capital gains tax treatment, however justifiable, do have substantial impacts on house prices. It was very pleasing therefore to see COAG agree to a broader range of issues considered than just supply side issues, including the impact of the First Home Owners Scheme, Commonwealth policies and relevant Commonwealth and State taxation settings. COAG also agreed to my request that ALGA participate in the Ministerial Council for Federal Financial Relations review of housing policy work currently underway. There are several initiatives on affordable housing already underway in the Housing Ministers Conference and the Local Government and Planning Ministers Council and I am keen to ensure that ALGA is able to provide Treasurers with a local government perspective on the value of this work.

As I reflect on the outcomes of this memorable COAG meeting, I remain absolutely convinced of the value of ALGA membership of COAG and relevant ministerial councils. While it is true that many of the issues discussed are by their nature negotiations between the Commonwealth and the states and territories, there are a number of issues at each meeting where the local government perspective is both valuable and necessary. In a federation such as ours, the participation of all three levels of government in intergovernmental discussions is a natural prerequisite for securing the best outcomes for all Australians.

Cr Geoff Lake
ALGA President

Briefs

The National Broadband Network in new developments - councils can have a say

Councils are encouraged to provide their comments on a document released for public comment last week by the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy. The document outlines a proposed approach for the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Fibre Deployment) Bill 2010 framework to operate, once it comes into effect from 1 July 2010. The Bill was introduced into the Parliament on 18 March 2010 to give effect to the Australian Government's policy that fibre be mandated in new developments from 1 July 2010.

The document discusses what may be included as 'new developments' for the purposes of the legislation (by type such as urban renewal or infill developments, number and price thresholds) and when such developments must be fibre ready. There is also a discussion about the stage of the planning approval process at which the legislative obligations would be triggered (currently proposed as Stage 3).

The Australian Government has indicated that it is open to feedback and is prepared to consider alternative approaches where there is reason to do so.

ALGA is preparing its response in liaison with its state and territory local government associations.

The closing time for written responses to the consultation paper is 5.00pm on 3 May 2010.

The paper and further information about the NBN can be found here.

New Study on Child Care, Education and Training needs

The Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Julia Gillard, and the Assistant Treasurer, Senator Nick Sherry, today announced that the Productivity Commission will research factors having an impact on the early childhood, schooling and vocational training workforces.

The Productivity Commission will look at current and future demand and supply within these sectors and investigate ways to structure and develop these workforces. The study will consider factors that have an impact on each sector's workforce, such as remuneration, working conditions, retention, training and support structures.

It will also look at what level of skills and knowledge these workforces need to deliver quality education in these sectors. The Productivity Commission will report on each workforce sector separately over the next two years, beginning with vocational training in mid 2011.

Research on the early childhood sector will be available later in 2011 and the report into schooling is scheduled for release in 2012.

The commission will consult with relevant professionals and interested parties as part of its research. The study will provide valuable input to the work of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) to strengthen Australia's education and training workforces.

Further information can be found at the Productivity Commission's website.

Delivering Digital TV to Remote, Regional and Blackspot viewers

The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, has announced a landmark agreement that will provide digital TV services to viewers in eastern Australia who cannot receive terrestrial digital TV.

More information here.

Wild Rivers flowing

Last week, the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee heard from a number of councils and Aboriginal corporations at hearings conducted in Northern Queensland as part of the Committee's Inquiry into the Wild Rivers (Environmental Management) Bill 2010.

The Bill was introduced as a private member's Bill into the Senate by Liberal Senator for the Northern Territory, Nigel Scullion. An identical Bill has also been introduced into the House of Representatives by the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott.

The Bill seeks to protect the interests of Aboriginal traditional owners in the management, development and use of native title land situated in wild river areas. It does this by requiring the agreement of traditional owners to the development or use of native title land in wild river areas regulated by the Wild Rivers Act 2005 (Qld), and thereby attempts to respond at the national level to the 'wild rivers' legislation amendments introduced earlier by the Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh.

Prior to the introduction of the Bill, Tony Abbott in a doorstop interview (12 January 2010) said "Like me, like my colleagues, Warren Entsch and Ian Macdonald, they are outraged by this attack on the rights of Aboriginal people and other people in Cape York to develop their land, to build a future for themselves and their families. It's outrageous that Premier Bligh has locked up these lands without any serious consultations with Aboriginal people. It's cowardly of Prime Minister Rudd not to get involved in this issue." It is said that the Director of the Cape York Institute for Policy and Research, Noel Pearson, is supportive of the Bill.

The Inquiry is chaired by Senator Crossin and is due to report on 9 May 2010.

Further information about the Committee and copies of the submissions lodged with it, can be accessed here.

Save a quarter of your water

Compost toilets can save energy and nutrients, reported the aptly named Michael Green in the last Sunday Age. We flush nearly one quarter of our household water down the toilet.

"At the moment there's this silly situation where we use high-grade water to flush our toilets," says planning expert, Professor Patrick Troy, from the Australian National University. "To cut down our consumption of potable water, we need to change the way we manage human body wastes."

Professor Troy, editor of Troubled Waters: Confronting the Water Crisis in Australia's Cities, said that composting toilets work with little or no water and are suitable for suburban and even multi-storey housing. "They can be fitted into standard bathrooms so they look just the same, except they don't have cisterns and flushes."

The Environment Protection Authority accredits commercial composting toilets before they can go on sale. The authority's code of practice for onsite waste management permits them to be used in both sewered and unsewered areas.

Hamish Skermer runs Natural Event, a business that provides composting toilets for festivals and events around the world. "People can have confidence that these systems meet rigorous standards," he says. "Composting toilet technology can work anywhere on any scale. If we can do it for 18,000 people at the Falls festivals, then a family of five can do it in their home." Compost toilets not only reduce water consumption, but also return valuable nutrients to the soil and cut the energy required to pump sewage.

Talented women

In this, the Year of Women in Local Government, the relevance of following opinion is clear. Elizabeth Broderick is the Commonwealth Sex Discrimination Commissioner. She thinks that keeping talented women off boards of directors does not make economic sense.

She asks: why would the World Bank want women on their boards? Perhaps because of an abiding interest in sex discrimination? No - because of international competitiveness. She told the Financial Review on 8 April that no country, industry or organisation can afford to waste the skills of more than half its population. She pointed out the evidence of the strong correlation between more women in decision-making roles and increased corporate performance.

When experts from France, Spain, Norway, Iceland, Germany, Macedonia, Africa, India, Canada, Middle East, Britain and Australia met, they shared strategies and ideas to deliver greater gender equity in the leadership of corporations. Norway introduced mandatory quotas for women in board positions, and five years later, the quota reform is non-controversial. 'Women are there because of their competence. The quota makes sure their competence is seen,' said Norway's Minister for Women and Children, Audun Lysbakken.

In the United States, 15 per cent of women are Fortune 500 company directors. In Japan women make up only 5 per cent of board directors, which means it is falling behind Kuwait. Australia, at 8.3 per cent is at the lower end of the OECD countries. In the Middle East 1.5 per cent of board directors are women. But even they are interested in gender diversity at senior levels correlating with increased corporate performance argument.

Networking women

Small businesswomen run nearly a third of small businesses in Australia. They can benefit from the redesigned website of Australian Women's Mentoring Network, below, developed by Catherine Seton. Seton established the site when she discovered that a combination of mentoring and networking is a strong predictor of both career success and satisfaction.

"We have launched [the site] to provide all women with opportunities both to become a mentor and to receive coaching, and extend the reach beyond cities into rural and regional areas," Seton told the Financial Review on 20 April. She said that because the mentoring and coaching profiles are online, they were perfect for women living in rural areas, those running home-based businesses or those with no access to a corporate mentoring program.

Ms Seton's desire to appeal to women in areas beyond the major cities is shared by Pam Frazer, one of the founders of National Women's Journal, a subscription-based site that costs $157 a year. She and Narelle Redman and Lyn Lucas launched it for small businesswomen who wanted information, advice and networking opportunities.

Seton's site can be found here.

Fair Trade Fortnight

Fair Trade Fortnight (1-16 May) is Australia's biggest annual celebration of all things fair trade. With activities and events happening across the country, the Fortnight gives each of us the opportunity to celebrate and recognise the life-changing difference fair trade makes for millions of developing country farmers, their families and communities. This Fair Trade Fortnight Aussies across the country are being urged to make The Big Swap! Making the swap from your usual products to Fairtrade Certified ones is simple but it can help make a big difference to the lives of developing country farmers - giving them access to fair prices and money to invest in everyday things for their communities such as education and healthcare. It also promotes sustainable farming practices. So this Fair Trade Fortnight, whether it's your daily caffeine fix, afternoon cuppa or chocolate treat - make the swap to Fairtrade and help create a better and brighter future for farmers and their families.

To find out how to make your office a Fair Trade workplace or to convert your school, council or town, and to find out what is happening in your area, please click here.

Solar lighting in Randwick

Randwick is the first council area in NSW to trial a new solar-powered street lighting technology developed by solar-lighting company Point Energy Group Australia. The new-technology solar lights are being used in areas of the US and the Middle East and feature an ultra efficient solar film placed around the pole itself. This technology removes the need for the traditional solar panels now in use.

Efficient multi-LED lighting systems, with built-in intelligence, mean the solar collectors in the pole can provide light for as long as nine days without direct sunlight. Randwick mayor John Procopiadis said about half Randwick Council's energy costs came from street lighting, a trend experienced by most local government areas across Australia.

"With all the recent talk in the media of electricity costs increasing, it's important for councils to investigate ways of reducing their energy bills," Cr Procopiadis said. "Point Energy Group's remarkable new solar lights will be trialled along Randwick's coastline at Maroubra beach and Bicentennial Park, Yarra Bay," he said. "The trial is for a three-month period and the outcomes will be closely monitored with the results reported back to council at the completion of the trial. Point Energy Group marketing director, John Piggott, said that Randwick had been chosen to trial the "next generation" of solar lights as it demonstrated a commitment to sustainability.

Keep walking and running on those council paths

Older generations have pushed back the boundaries of middle age, with some people now in their eighties before they view themselves as elderly, reports Callie Watson in last Monday's The Advertiser. Many of Australia's ageing population have good health, as they get more exercise and eat in healthier ways.

University of SA social gerontologist, Dr Rob Ranzijn, said that as with other life stages, such as adolescence, the onset of middle age had been pushed back "at least another 10 years".

Hove retiree Rosemary Royal, 69, ran 10km through the city recently as part of an annual Greenbelt Half Marathon. "I've always been a walker and decided, by accident, to start running and it just makes me feel good," she said.

Car pooling?

Of all the alternative transport options, car pooling would seem the least flexible. But Northern Rivers Regional Development Board executive officer, Katrina Luckie, predicts that it will come into its own in future years. In 2036, an extra 70,000 people will live along the coast, but in Ms Luckie's opinion, reported in the Northern Star 19 April, the population will be too scattered for private operators to provide affordable cross-regional bus services.

However, Byron Shire Mayor Jan Barham said the cornerstone of public transport on the Northern Rivers remained on the train line - particularly in Byron Shire where nearly all the shire's towns and villages were built along the line. In the days before she was mayor, Cr Barham said she spent 10 years sitting on committees looking at a regional strategy with the State Government, and the train had always been a focal point for the region. "The State Government engaged independent consultants who identified the rail link as an important part of accommodating future population growth in the region," Cr Barham said. "That's why it was such as surprise (when the Transport Minister Michael Costa axed the service in 2004)."

The question of the line's future is likely to be resolved next March when NSW goes to the polls. The Coalition is maintaining its promise to introduce a commuter rail service on the Northern Rivers if it wins the election. The sitting Labor Government has no plans for the line. However, the train doesn't address the many communities off the line, including Ballina, which, with 56,000 residents, will be the region's second most populous shire after Tweed.

The obvious solution there is a bus service running up the plateau to Lismore and up and down the coast to Byron Bay and Evans Head. But Katrina Luckie said that service would not reach anything like the frequency or price of metropolitan commuter buses unless the State Government was prepared to invest, and lose, money on sustaining the service. The more likely public transport plan for the region's future was organised car pooling - something the Regional Development Association had already kicked off with its free Northern Rivers Carpool website.

Poor roads fear

Councils from the nation's richest rural areas have banded together to lobby for more federal funds because the roads which cover the "first food mile" are often too degraded to ensure that produce will always get from the paddock to the city plate, they told the Sydney Morning Herald (7 April).

"The food chain is as strong as its weakest link and if we don't improve the funding for that first mile, the whole chain will collapse," said Max Eastcott, general manager of Gwydir Shire Council which, with its neighbour Moree Plains Shire Council, is setting up a body to argue the case for more infrastructure. Twenty councils voted recently at a Canberra meeting to set up the Australia Wide Rural Road Group, based on a "100 Club" of the 185 rural councils which each generated over $100 million a year in agricultural produce, Mr Eastcott said.

Rail networks have been reduced, compounding a local government roads funding crisis, he said. Grain growers had broken contracts because they could not get wheat over wet roads and cattle producers had failed to send animals to market on time - a possible factor in pushing up meat prices, Moree's deputy mayor, Sue Price, said. "We've been building up our transport corridors and putting our money into ports and main highways, but the produce has to get from the farm to the main transport routes and councils are finding it difficult to fund the [feeder] roads."

The group will meet again in Canberra in June during the Australian Local Government Association National General Assembly.

Dignity for Disability candidate in SA Legislative Council

A young woman who was second on her party's voting ticket has been elected to the South Australian Parliament. Dignity for Disability candidate, Kelly Vincent, 21, will join the Legislative Council after South Australians voted on March 20. The party's lead candidate Dr Paul Collier died during the election campaign and votes then flowed to Ms Vincent as the second candidate. She paid tribute to Dr Collier as her win was confirmed.

"It is essentially because of Paul and his encouragement I am here today and I hope that with the support of the party and the faith of the disability community behind me I will be able to make Paul's vision become a reality for all people with disabilities in South Australia," she said.

Ms Vincent, who uses a wheelchair, says her party's efforts also have highlighted the issue of improving disability access at Parliament House. "Just the other week I was down at Parliament House and saw that some great work is already being undertaken to increase the accessibility of the building in general so, no, I don't have any real concerns and we're very glad that that work has been done," she said.

For the record, another 21-year-old, William Neilsen was elected in Tasmania in 1946.

South Gippsland Council and climate change

The South Gippsland Council has adopted planning measures that will require some landowners to acknowledge their properties are at risk of coastal inundation. The council had put on hold all building applications on land that could be threatened by rising sea levels, after the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal blocked a subdivision on the Waratah Bay foreshore.

Any owner of potentially vulnerable land that applies for a planning permit will now have to sign an agreement acknowledging the risk of coastal inundation on their properties. In the opinion of Mayor Jim Fawcett, it is an interim measure, until the state and federal governments provide more details about predicted sea level rises. "The Planning Department have been able to come up with what I think is a very practical way to resolve these interim issues that people are facing - giving them some certainty," he said. "We can now proceed and ask the State Government to really give us more definitive state guidelines and planning strategies to deal with."

Meanwhile, the East Gippsland Council will ask the Federal Government to provide more guidance on sea level rise issues. A federal parliamentary committee has made 47 recommendations on planning, infrastructure and liability issues relating to rising sea levels. The council's CEO, Steve Kozlowski, said that 11 coastal towns in the shire are threatened by sea level rises, and that the East Gippsland Council will join other coastal councils in asking the Government to adopt the parliamentary committee's recommendations.

"The council's not only speaking ... as an individual but also as part of that collective body that does have the ear of Government, so the council's very hopeful that the Government will make a response," he said.

National disability care and support scheme

Community Services Minister, Jenny Macklin, the Assistant Treasurer, Senator Nick Sherry, and the Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children's Services, Bill Shorten welcomed the start of the Productivity Commission Inquiry into a National Disability Care and Support scheme. Ms Macklin said the Inquiry forms part of the Australian Government's ten year National Disability Strategy being developed with State and Territory Governments and in consultation with the National People with Disabilities and Carer Council.

The Inquiry will examine a range of options, and consider whether a no-fault social insurance approach to disability is appropriate in Australia. It will also examine the implications of such a scheme for Australia's health, aged care, and income support systems, and potential interactions with injury insurance schemes.

"The Inquiry is an important opportunity to rethink how we support people with disability, their families and carers, so that they can participate in their community, get a job where possible, and live a happy and meaningful life," Ms Macklin said.

Parliamentary Secretary, Bill Shorten, said that the Inquiry had generated a lot of interest, not just among people with disability, but across the wider community. He said the Productivity Commission has already received a record 930 expressions of interest in the Inquiry.

To obtain a copy of the discussion paper or the terms of reference for the Inquiry and see the schedule of consultations, see www.pc.gov.au or contact Clair Angel at cangel@pc.gov.au or on (02) 6240 3239.

Flood-damaged roads

A south-west Queensland Mayor says it could be years before flood-damaged roads are fully restored, reported Chrissy Arthur on 14 April. Quilpie Mayor David Edwards says state and local governments have been focused on re-opening transport links but there is still much work needed on some smaller rural roads.

He says some graziers can not move sheep or cattle off their properties because of significant road damage.

"People are going to be looking to shift stock before too much longer," he said. "Stock trucks, triples or even road trains just won't be able to get to some parts of the shire. We estimate there's between $5 million and $6 million worth of damage to shire roads. I would say to have them fully restored to what they were will probably be two years."