Concerns over funding model for disability insurance scheme

An entirely new model for providing supports and services for people with a disability is needed, according to a draft report released by the Productivity Commission. The draft report - Disability Care and Support - identifies the current disability support system as underfunded, unfair, fragmented, and inefficient.

The Commission recommends two new schemes - a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and a no-fault national injury insurance scheme (NIIS). The Commission is suggesting that funding of the NIIS could be linked to rates.

ALGA President Cr Genia McCaffery said she had serious concerns about how the NIIS scheme would be funded. "As a matter of principle local government does not support rates being used to raise general taxation revenue," she said. "A number of States have tried in the past to load up the rate system with additional charges and levies and local governments have opposed this. Rates provide revenue to fund local services and infrastructure and should not be used for welfare payments or income redistribution. Rates are an efficient tax given that they are levied on non-transportable property but rates are only paid by property owners and yet the benefits of such an insurance scheme would be across the whole community. This is generally a good reason to suggest that such a scheme should be funded through general revenue. We will certainly discuss this at our next Board meeting and be making a submission to the Productivity Commission."

Interested parties and individuals are encouraged to provide feedback on the Commission's draft proposals either by submission or attending its public hearings in April. The final report will be delivered to the Government in July 2011. Details at www.pc.gov.au. ALGA will be making a submission to the inquiry.

$1.4 billion fund for regional development announced

The Minister for Regional Australia, Simon Crean, has announced details of a $1.4 billion Regional Development Australia Fund.

Mr Crean released the application guidelines for the Fund and said applications could now be lodged with the first funding allocation to commence on July 1.

"The $1.4 billion Regional Development Australia Fund is a concrete demonstration of the Federal Government's commitment to furthering economic development in the regions," Mr Crean said.

The allocation of funding would be competitive, merit-based and only applications that have the backing of local Regional Development Australia (RDA) committees would be considered. Projects would be considered in two tranches - those seeking funding of $500,000 to $5 million and those for $5 million to $25 million (with the bigger projects requiring a commitment to matching funding). Applications would be accepted from local governments and community groups and the proposed projects must align with RDA Regional Plans. The Regional Plans themselves must be endorsed by relevant local councils.

Resources from the Fund would be allocated over five years. The Fund has been established as part of the agreement struck with the Independents.

Key criteria for the application funding guidelines include:

• Delivery of concrete economic and social benefits;
• Commitment to innovation and building capacity in local communities;
• Linking regional communities across traditional boundaries; and
• Ability to leverage additional funding across government and the private sector

The $1.4 billion allocated to the Fund includes $350 million that has been set aside for disaster relief in regional communities. This disaster funding allocation will be assessed on the same criteria as the rest of the Fund.

Mr Crean made the funding announcement at yesterday's opening address to the Regional Development Australia (RDA) National Forum held in Canberra. Representatives from all 55 RDA committees were represented at the Forum. The Forum was attended by ALGA Board member Alderman Kerry Moir who took the opportunity in discussions with Forum participants to reinforce the critical need for RDA Committees to engage fully with local governments. "It is essential that RDAs contact their local councils and engage them fully in the development of their Plans. There are significant gaps in the relationship between a number of councils and RDAs and this must be addressed. At the same time I urge any councils who have not had contact with RDAs to make contact with them as soon as possible" said Ald Moir.

Mr Crean also announced that each of the 55 RDA committees would receive grants of $25,000 to strengthen their capability to represent their local areas.

The full details of the guidelines and how to apply for the funding announced by Minister Crean will be posted shortly on the website.

ALGA President and Opposition frontbencher Don Randall discuss constitutional recognition

ALGA President, Cr Genia McCaffery, spoke at length to the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government, Don Randall MP, about the constitutional recognition of local government during a meeting at Parliament House in Canberra last week. As part of ALGA's campaign to engage widely with all politicians on the issue Cr McCaffery discussed ALGA's proposal for the financial recognition of local government which would allow direct federal funding of councils and remove any uncertainty about the Federal Government's powers in this area. Mr Randall, a former local government councillor, reiterated the Opposition's support for the proposal and his own commitment to programs such as Roads to Recovery.

Recently the ALGA Board met for a two-day Strategic Planning session. Amongst other topics, we discussed constitutional recognition for local government and the task of building broad community support to ensure a successful referendum result in 2013.

Foremost in our minds was the critical importance of bipartisan support. One of the main reasons the two previous referendums on recognition of local government failed was because they did not have bipartisan support. This time we have support from the Greens, the Opposition and the Government. Independent Andrew Wilkie has expressed support for a referendum in his agreement to support the Gillard Government. We also need to ensure the States do not actively oppose a referendum as they did in 1975.

With an election in NSW on March 26, and elections in Queensland, ACT, the Northern Territory and possibly Western Australia in 2012, this means we have our work cut out for us to ensure the States understand that constitutional recognition does not threaten their powers.

ALGA is proposing a minor change to section 96 of the Constitution to allow funding to flow directly from the Commonwealth to councils and local government bodies as well as to the States. It's well past time to give the Federal Government the formal power to do what it has been doing for decades: providing federal grants to help fund local government managed projects. This is a practical, minimalist approach that brings the Constitution into line with contemporary practice.

Local councils will still be under the umbrella of the States. State Governments will have the power to dismiss councils, amalgamate councils, set rates if they so desire, and all the other powers they have currently. They will also continue to fund some local government services.

What will change is that some disaster relief payments, road funding and infrastructure funding will be able to be made direct to councils under the Constitution. There will be no legal doubt about the validity of some of these payments which have been under question following the recent High Court ruling after the challenge by States' rights activist Bryan Pape to the Stimulus payments to individuals.

We will be working closely with State Governments and Oppositions in coming months as we develop our messages and begin to engage directly with the Australian people on a public education program. We can not afford to repeat the mistakes of the past.

In 1979, Victoria and Western Australia became the first states to provide constitutional recognition of local government, followed by South Australia (1980), New South Wales (1986), Tasmania (1988) and Queensland (1989.)

It is time for the next step, recognition not only in the States' constitutions but in the Australian Constitution. We are well aware that despite the fact that over 60% of Australians support constitutional recognition of local government, we need to win over the majority of Australians in the majority of States. This will take a lot of hard work and a good start is taking the dialogue between the three tiers of government to an even more elevated level of cooperation and partnership.

Cr Genia McCaffery
ALGA President

Briefs

Population submission

ALGA has lodged its submission to the Australian Government's Our Cities Discussion Paper and the A Sustainable Population Strategy for Australia Issues Paper this week. ALGA has long held the view that it is legitimate and necessary for the Australia Federal Government to play a more active role in urban policy, and that local government would welcome the development of an explicit National Urban Policy and coordinated and sustainable approach to managing population growth. The ALGA submission provides an overarching comment on the many broad questions asked in the respective papers and highlights the specific expectations that local government would have of a national urban policy and sustainable population strategy.

The main points in ALGA's submission are:

• Urban policy and population management are highly complex in nature;
• A single level of government cannot solely address the complex opportunities and challenges facing Australia's cities and towns;
• The Commonwealth has a legitimate interest and responsibility to be involved in urban and sustainable population policy;
• Local government is seeking a clear mechanism to manage: a) ongoing interactions between levels of government; and b) coordination between federal agencies to respond to particular challenges in specific locations;
• ALGA welcomed the COAG initiative and the agreement of States and Territories to have in place by January 2012 Capital City Strategic Plans that are consistent with agreed criteria. This is a first step in providing a framework to guide Commonwealth, State and Local Government interactions to address the challenges and opportunities in major cities;
• More will need to be done to ensure successful implementation of any future national urban policy and sustainable population strategy, and local government must be part of such process;
• Furthermore, a clear mechanism needs to be established to address the complementary challenges of developing a sustainable population strategy and addressing the needs of our regional cities and rural communities and ensure agreed actions will lead to successful implementation; and
• To successfully manage Australia's sustainable population challenge and improve the governance and planning of cities more generally, ALGA agrees that the guiding principles for sustainable planning, decision making and investment include all of the following: adaptability, resilience, equity, innovation, integration, efficiency, place-based approach, value for money and subsidiarity, the latter being a long held and fundamental principle of any modern democratic society.

ALGA's submission concludes with the following requests that the Australian Government:

1. continue to engage local government formally in any future institutional arrangements relating to a national urban policy or sustainable population strategy;
2. ensure that in any future arrangements the three spheres of government enter into appropriate collaborative and integrated arrangements; and
3. ensure future funding programs understand the fiscal restrictions of Australian local governments and also have the ability to adequately address the deficiencies in local and regional community infrastructure because that infrastructure underpins the social, economic and environmental life of local and regional communities, and is fundamental requirement of sustainable populations.

Role and benefits of the National Broadband Network Inquiry

ALGA has provided a submission to the House of Representatives Infrastructure and Communications Committee that is conducting an inquiry into the role and potential benefits of the National Broadband Network. ALGA's submission draws on state and territory local government association experience and provides a range of practical examples of how councils can use reliable, affordable, high speed broadband services. Over the past decade councils have been innovative in the development of a range of web enabled services and approaches to digital applications. Submissions will be made publicly available by the Committee at a later date.

First meeting of reappointed Coast and Climate Change Council

On Wednesday 2 March, ALGA attended the first meeting of the newly reappointed Coasts and Climate Change Council set up to advise the Federal Climate Change Minister, Greg Combet, on coastal climate change matters. ALGA President Cr Genia McCaffery is a member of the Council, with local government also represented by Bundaberg Mayor Lorraine Pyefinch and Mandurah Mayor Paddy Creevey. The new Council is also tasked with engaging with stakeholder and raising awareness of coastal climate change adaptation issues. Important adaptation issues previously identified by councils include capacity building, legal liability, improved support for decision makers, including coastal mapping and consistent sea level rise parameters and better alignment of policies across the levels of government.

NT Parliament passes container deposit legislation

The South Australian Local Government Association has congratulated the Northern Territory Government on the passage of the Environment Protection (Beverage Containers and Plastic Bags) Bill.

LGA President, Mayor Felicity-ann Lewis said from a community and environmental perspective the NT legislation 'is the way to go' and it was time that other states followed suit. "South Australia introduced container deposit legislation (CDL) in 1977 and it has been a resounding success with more than 10,000 tonnes of containers recycled in the July/September quarter last year, according to Environment Protection Authority figures," Mayor Lewis said.

'In any 12 month period South Australians redeem almost 600 million beverage containers - removing them from landfill, gutters, waterways and sides of roads. Just imagine what an environmental impact there would be if the other, more populous, states introduced similar legislation. Since SA banned one-use plastic bags, in 2008, there are more than 400 million less bags tossed into landfill or blowing in the wind each year.

"I absolutely applaud the NT Government for introducing this legislation which in the Territory will bring recycling rates of eligible containers up to around 70% - currently only 10% of these containers are recycled. Territorians also toss around 40 million plastic bags each year - this is going to have an enormously positive impact on their environment."

Mayor Lewis said this type of legislation is unpopular in some quarters but 'we have to go the hard yards to protect our environment'. The NT legislation, which will be introduced later this year, will ban shops giving away or selling single-use, non biodegradable plastic bags and the CDL scheme will be introduced at 10 cents per eligible beverage container.

Productivity Commission land-use report

A draft report released by the Productivity Commission has identified wide-ranging differences in the ways all levels of government plan and zone land-uses and then assess development proposals.

In Performance Benchmarking of Australian Business Regulation: Planning, Zoning and Development Assessments - a report commissioned by COAG - the Commission examines the regulatory frameworks of each jurisdiction, the processes for supply of land, the bases for assessing developer contributions, compliance costs for business, and competition issues arising from planning decision-making. Governance of the various planning systems and matters of transparency and accountability are also explored.

The report identifies numerous leading practices which can contribute to smoother processes and improved outcomes, such as:

• putting the focus of effort into the strategic planning level, including a strong engagement of the community and resolving conflicting objectives at this level of city planning
• ensuring that local plans are more quickly brought up to date with the strategic city plans
• applying consistent and efficient criteria to determine the level of contributions of developers to infrastructure costs
• ensuring that certain practices, such as considering a new entrant's effects on existing businesses, are being eliminated as an appropriate planning consideration
• creating disincentives for appealing against developments by those seeking to delay or prevent potential competitors entering
• completing structure planning of rezoned greenfield/brownfield areas before development commences
• implementing electronic development assessments and impact-based assessment tracks.

Although each jurisdiction is home to at least one leading practice, the report concludes there are opportunities for all jurisdictions to improve the way they conduct planning, zoning and development assessment in order to reduce burdens on business, costs to the community, increase competition and improve the liveability of cities.

The Commission seeks comment on the draft report before finalising its report at the end of April. Details here.

Category D Relief to Queensland

The Queensland and Federal Governments today announced additional assistance in 33 Queensland Local Government Areas severely impacted by the recent flooding and Cyclone Yasi.

This extra support will allow eligible businesses, primary producers and not-for-profit organisations that have suffered extreme damage to access special concessional loans of up to $650,000, with a grant component of up to $50,000. The loans will be offered over a ten year period, the first two years are interest and repayment free.

The additional assistance is activated under Category D of the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA). The assistance covers all areas declared as Category C under the NDRRA, including areas impacted by floods between December 2010 and February 2011, and Tropical Cyclone Yasi.

More information about the assistance can be found here or via the Queensland Rural Adjustment Authority 1800 623 946 or here.

Meeting with Murray-Darling regional communities

Regional Australia Minister Simon Crean and the new chairman of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, Craig Knowles, have met with 11 Regional Development Australia (RDA) committees from the Murray-Darling Basin.

The meeting with Murray-Darling Basin RDA committees was held at Parliament House Canberra this week and was an opportunity to follow-up on previous meetings held in the regions in 2010.

Mr Crean and Water Minister Tony Burke consulted extensively with communities in the Murray-Darling Basin last year following the release of the Guide to the draft Murray-Darling Basin Plan in October. Mr Crean said the meeting welcomed the decision to remedy the taxation issue associated with water infrastructure projects as announced by the Federal Government last Friday.

Mr Crean has requested each committee submit proposals that support economic diversity and deliver input to the Government over the human impact of increasing river flows in the Murray-Darling Basin by the end of next month and proposals that support economic diversity.

RDAs of the Murray-Darling Basin that were represented at the meeting included the Loddon Mallee, Murraylands and Riverland, Northern Inland, Riverina, Darling Downs, Grampians, Orana, Central West, Far West, Murray and Hume.

International Women's Day Centenary

Women all over the world will be celebrating the International Women's Day centenary on March 8.

Performer and social activist, Annie Lennox, will lead a mass march across London's Millennium Bridge for charity. In Washington D.C. over a thousand people will descend on Capitol Hill demanding a better world for millions of marginalized women and girls around the globe. A major international businesswomen's conference will be hosted in Sydney, Australia. Schools and governments around the world are participating in the day. Trade Unions and charities are campaigning. Global corporations are hosting conferences and distributing extensive resource packs. The United Nations Secretary-General delivers a formal message. The United States even designates the whole month of March as Women's History Month as officially proclaimed by President Obama on February 28, 2011.

International Women's Day is a global celebration of the economic, political, and social achievements of women past, present, and future. More information here.

Disability rates in decline: state and territory data now available

The overall fall in the Australian disability rate in the six years to 2009 is reflected in the disability rates for Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Between 2003 to 2009, the largest reduction in the disability rate at the state level occurred in Queensland, which dropped from 22.1% to 17.9%. Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia also had significant declines during this period. Victoria dropped from 20.0% to 18.4%, WA dropped from 20.6% to 17.4% and South Australia dropped from 23.8% to 20.9%.

Since 2003, the proportion of Australians disabled because of physical health conditions such as asthma and back problems declined. The four states with significant declines in disability rates were:

• Queensland - disability caused by physical conditions dropped from 18.3% to 14.7% including significant decreases in disability caused by arthritis (dropping from 3.2% to 2.3%), asthma (0.7% to 0.4%) and back problems (3.4% to 2.8%). Disability caused by mental and behavioural disorders also dropped, from 3.8% to 3.1%.
• Western Australia - disability caused by physical conditions dropped from 16.8% to 14.5%, including a significant decrease in disability caused by asthma (dropping from 0.8% to 0.4%). Disability caused by mental and behavioural disorders also dropped, from 3.9% to 2.9%, including a significant drop in disability caused by psychoses and mood affective disorders (1.3% to 0.8%).
• South Australia - disability caused by physical conditions dropped from 20.0% to 17.5%.
• Victoria - disability caused by physical conditions dropped from 16.8% to 15.4%, including a significant decrease in disability caused by asthma (dropping from 0.9% to 0.5%).

Four million Australians (18.5%) had a disability in 2009 and over a million Australians had a profound or severe core activity limitation (5.8%). Rates of profound or severe core activity limitation were highest in Tasmania (6.8%), South Australia (6.4%) and Victoria (6.2%), and lowest in the Northern Territory (4.0%) and the Australian Capital Territory (4.5%) reflecting the age structure of these regions. Find out more in (Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings, 2009 (cat. no. 4430.0)), available at here.

ABS launches most comprehensive health survey ever conducted

In the next few days, the ABS will commence the first Australian Health Survey (AHS), the biggest health survey ever conducted in Australia.

The AHS builds on previous health surveys allowing comparisons of health information over time such as obesity, smoking, health conditions and how we manage our health.

The AHS will collect new information about what we eat and drink, how active we are and biomedical measures. These new biomedical measures will reveal new insights into heart and kidney disease, diabetes and other chronic conditions by examining health risk factors such as cholesterol, glucose and sodium levels. The survey will be able to compare these biomedical risk factors with aspects of our lifestyle for those that are healthy and those who are not.

While the biomedical component of the survey is voluntary, the ABS encourages participation as this information will help Australians to be more knowledgeable and healthy as a nation, through better understanding of how our lifestyles and diets impact on our health.

The survey has been planned in consultation with a wide range of health stakeholders. The new components of the survey have been made possible through additional funding from The Department of Health and Ageing and the National Heart Foundation of Australia.

The first wave of the survey will be conducted over 2011-12 with results available in late 2012 and will be used by a wide range of health researchers, public health advocates, government, clinicians and community health organisations. The information will be used to identify health issues, design and evaluate new health programs and understand what affects our health.

Further information and detailed questions and answers are available on the ABS website.