Briefs
New Illawarra Regional Partnership Agreement
The Australian and New South Wales Governments and 17 Illawarra Aboriginal organisations have committed to work together to improve the lives of local Aboriginal people through a Regional Partnership Agreement.
A key priority under the agreement is to increase the number of jobs for Aboriginal people in the Illawarra. The community working party that drove the agreement has identified jobs in nursing, childcare, aged care and environmental services as potential areas for increased Aboriginal employment.
The Australian Government has 12 regional partnership agreements, including in the Murdi Paaki Region of NSW, Groote Eylandt and Bickerton Island in the Northern Territory, Port Hedland in Western Australia and the Western Cape region of North Queensland.
Solar Flagships Program
Seven applicants have submitted full applications under Round 1 of the Australian Government's $1.5 billion Solar Flagships Program. The Solar Flagships Program is part of the Government's $5.1 billion Clean Energy Initiative. The Program aims to provide the foundation for grid-connected solar power to play a significant role in Australia's future electricity supply, and to drive down technology costs. The seven applications received will now be subject to a rigorous assessment process by the Solar Flagships Council before a recommendation is made to Government. Based on this independent advice Government will make a final decision on the outcome of Round 1. The announcement of the Round 1 Solar Flagships outcome is expected in mid 2011.
Council involvement in fire ready communications
The MAV has been coordinating council participation across the state in the Fire Ready Roadshow, which began its 10-week tour of Victoria on Saturday 4 December. By mid February, the Roadshow will have visited 40 locations involving 28 councils, encouraging residents, holiday-makers and day visitors to have a Bushfire Survival Plan.
An initiative of the Department of Justice (DoJ), the Roadshow involves representatives from various state government departments, councils, CFA and Victoria Police. It features an interactive Fire Ready branded truck and provides a valuable opportunity for councils to promote their local fire preparedness messages to residents and visitors.
The MAV has also coordinated the participation of 17 councils in the DoJ mail-out of Fire Ready kits to residents of the 52 most at risk townships and/or the Fire Ready mail-out to 37,000 absentee property-owners.
Gender Equity Awards, leading the way in local government in Australia
Twenty-two councils from around Australia were awarded Bronze Awards in the ALGWA 50:50 Vision Councils for Gender Equity Program at the Women Going Places Australian Local Government Women's Association (ALGWA) national conference Gala Dinner on 26 November.
These councils are the first to achieve the Bronze Award and accreditation, and the MAV congratulates all municipalities that won, particularly Victorian councils Cardinia Shire Council, the City of Ballarat, the City of Boroondara and Nillumbik Shire Council.
The 50:50 Vision Councils for Gender Equity Program is designed to promote cultural and organisational change in councils - increasing the numbers of women in senior management roles and increasing the representation of women on councils.
All councils are encouraged to participate in the program, which was endorsed by the Local Government and Planning Ministers Council (LGPMC) in February 2010. Councils who do participate will be better able to compete for talent when recruiting, and will encourage greater participation of women on councils.
For more details go to www.5050vision.com.au or www.algwa.org.au
Free registration for conference
Sustainable Councils is Australia's national sustainability conference and exhibition, bringing local governments together to build a sustainable future.
Sustainable Councils 2011 will be held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, 5-6 September, and be co-located with EcoGen 2011, Australia's clean energy industry conference and exhibition.
Sustainable Councils 2011 is providing one free of charge registration to each local government in the country. This means that every local government will be able to send along at least one sustainability officer to get involved and be inspired. Further registrations will be competitively priced to maximise participation. register your interest soon to take advantage of this offer.
Scrap the cap, councils say
NSW councils are still calling for the removal of rate pegging, despite a new method of determining the rate cap limit.
The new rate peg of 2.8% was announced today by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART).
"For many years, the Associations have been calling for the rate cap figure to be based on a Local Government index and determined by an independent body such as IPART, so we're happy to finally see it today," says President of the Local Government Association Cr Keith Rhoades.
"This new system provides much more transparency and accountability, and produces a better outcome for Local Government in the long run. Despite this, the 2.8% rate cap still falls well short of the real cost increases facing councils making it difficult for councils to meet the growing service and infrastructure needs of local communities.
"We're the only state in Australia that is constrained by rate pegging, so it's time to get into line with the rest of the country," added Cr Rhoades.
"I encourage councils to apply for special rate variations - particularly for infrastructure maintenance and improvement projects, and we'll be waiting to see how these will be determined under the new system," he said.
Disability report for UN
The Federal Government has presented Australia's first report under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to the United Nations.
Finalising Australia's first report coincided with the International Day of People with a Disability. Under the Disabilities Convention, Australia is required to periodically submit a report on measures taken to promote the rights and freedoms of those with a disability.
Australia's report to the United Nations on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is available here.
Airport pricing, investment and services review
The Federal Government has asked the Productivity Commission to investigate airport pricing, investment and services as part of a major public inquiry into the economic regulation of major Australian airports.
The inquiry is being brought forward from 2012 in response to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) Airport Monitoring Report, which was released earlier this year. In that report, the ACCC stated, for example, that car parking prices at all monitored airports "are consistent with charges reflecting an element of monopoly rent."
The Government has asked the Productivity Commission to assess the effectiveness of current economic regulation of airports in supporting ongoing investment in aviation infrastructure while deterring potential abuses of market power. The inquiry will also review the provision and quality of land transport facilities for those wanting to access to our airports.
Airport operators, the aviation industry, users of airports and local communities are encouraged to engage with the inquiry and have their say on the future regulation of airports. Terms of reference attached [PDF: 263 KB]. For more information, click here.
Aged care system stretched
Australia's aged care system is "not well-placed" to meet future demands in its inefficient and heavily regulated state, the Department of Health and Ageing has declared.
In a report that steps up pressure for reforms in aged care, the department responsible for funding the $8 billion sector says "far-reaching innovation will be required if community expectations are to be met".
"It is unclear current business models can respond appropriately to this need," the department said in a submission to the Productivity Commission inquiry into aged care.
Nicotine replacement subsidy
Nicotine Replacement Therapy listing on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme will help break the vicious circle of smoking and poverty, says Action on Smoking and Health.
ASH Australia Chief Executive Anne Jones says the Australian Government's move to list NRT on the PBS will be a welcome development for people whose problem with smoking is compounded by their low income.
"We commend the Australian Government's commitment to fighting our number one cause of preventable death and disease. The next steps in this fight will be to support ongoing public education campaigns through the Preventive Health Agency, and to end all forms of tobacco advertising - including on the internet and on tobacco packets.
"The government has already begun to close these loopholes and we look forward to further reforms to ensure we don't become complacent and to maximise the effectiveness of the steps already taken."
Local government should be recognised in Constitution: Joyce
(The following is an editorial extract from a column by Senator Barnaby Joyce, the Federal Opposition's spokesman for regional development, local government and water, in 'The Canberra Times.')
Christmas is a time when we aspire to goodwill between all men and women, which I presume includes all political parties. It is therefore apt to talk about an issue which appears to have bi-partisan support for a referendum. Constitutional recognition for local government was said by Julia Gillard to be of "great significance in this term of government". This was also a policy the Coalition took to the last election. Australia has evolved much since Federation, but our system of representation has not. At Federation, there were 3.7 million people in Australia, for which we had six states and one territory. Although there were 1067 local councils they were not noted in the Constitution nor is there now the unambiguous capacity for a flow of funds direct from the Commonwealth to local government. At Federation the Northern Territory only had 4765 people and Canberra didn't exist. Sydney now has vastly more people than the total population of Australia in 1901...
Australia has changed since Federation and we must untie it from the historical perspective of what the nation was in 1901. The change, in the simplest form, would require adding three words "and local government" to section 96 of the Constitution. States may see this as a threat, as a loss of influence and a shift of power. That may well be the case, but isn't it the people's right to have a greater say in what they do. Australians should have a greater say via a tier of government that is closest to them which is local government.
Getting the family together for Christmas?
While many Australian families will be spending Christmas together this year, the shape of these families, and where they might be five or twenty Christmases from now, could be very different according to the latest report on Australian Social Trends released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
There will be many young faces around Australian Christmas tables this year, with more babies born to Australian women in the last half decade than in any other five year period.
Since dipping to an all time low in 2001 (at 1.73 babies per woman) Australia's total fertility rate has risen over the past decade, to 1.96 babies per woman in 2008 and 1.90 babies per woman in 2009. Age specific fertility rates were highest among women aged 30-34 years with 124 babies per 1,000 women, up from 108 in 1999. The Statistical Divisions of Australia with the highest total fertility rates were South West and North West Queensland (2.85 and 2.79 babies per woman respectively).
Australia's ageing population may mean that come future Christmases, there will be more older couple only and lone person households. It is projected that couples with children at home, currently Australia's most common family type (2.6 million in 2006 and 3.1 million projected in 2031), will be overtaken by couples without children at home over the next couple of decades. Couples without children at home, mostly older 'empty nesters', are projected to be the fastest growing family type, with a projected increase of 1.4 million (to 3.5 million) between 2006 and 2031. Lone person households, many being older widowed women, are projected to grow by 1.3 million (to 3.2 million) over the same period. More details on these topics are available in the December edition of Australian Social Trends, 2010 (cat.no. 4102.0), available here.
Health and education progress not determined by income
Long-term progress in health and education is not determined by national income, according to the findings of the 2010 UNDP Human Development Report.
Australian economist and lead author, Dr Jeni Klugman, presented the report's main findings at a public forum, hosted by the Crawford School of Economics and Government in the ANU
College of Asia and the Pacific. The report is available here.
GG launches Indigenous job initiative
Governor-General Quentin Bryce has launched a fresh job initiative to persuade corporate chiefs to direct a bigger proportion of the $1 billion devoted each year to philanthropy to Indigenous employment projects. The guide aims to assist donors to contact and work with Indigenous communities in both metropolitan and rural areas. (read more)
Cancun Climate Change talks - more productive than Copenhagen
Australian Industry Group Chief Executive Heather Ridout said: "If the disappointments of Copenhagen represented three steps backward in the progress towards international action, Cancun can be seen as taking two steps forward. There is now momentum again, but there is still a considerable way to go." The meeting accepted the world must cut emissions by anything up to 40% and that all states must report progress. Cancan established a $1 billion fund to help poor countries cope with climate change and agreed that the developed world should pay to prevent deforestation.
Quote of the week
"Age is getting to know all the ways the world turns, so that if you cannot turn the world the way you want, you can at least, get out of the way so you won't get run over" - Miriam Makeba
International news 
Hong Kong has confirmed its first case of bird flu in humans in seven years, with a 59-year-old woman in a serious condition after a visit to mainland China, health officials say.
The Government has raised Hong Kong's bird flu alert to "serious", meaning there was a "high risk" of contracting the potentially fatal disease, a spokesman for the Department of Health said.
Health officials said the 59-year-old woman tested positive for Influenza A (H5), a variant of avian influenza, after she was first diagnosed with pneumonia and she was now in a serious condition in hospital.
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