Strong support for constitutional recognition

Leaders from all sides of politics this week declared their support for constitutional recognition of local government while addressing the Australian Local Government Association's National General Assembly (NGA). The significance of endorsements from Prime Minister Julia Gillard; Minister for Regional Australia Simon Crean; Opposition Leader Tony Abbott; and Greens Leader Bob Brown should not be underestimated. Referendums on recognising local government in the Australian Constitution have previously been put forward by the Whitlam Government and the Hawke Government but both have been defeated, mainly due to a lack of bipartisan support.

When coming to office last year, Prime Minister Julia Gillard agreed to a referendum on constitutional recognition of local government by 2013. This week, Minister for Local Government, Simon Crean committed to advancing this process by establishing an expert panel to lead national discussion on the issue. The Chair of the expert panel is Justice James Spigelman AC, the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The role of the panel will be to gauge community attitudes and provide advice to the Federal Government, with ALGA playing a large part in strategy development.

Managing climate change impacts on communities

During his address to this week's NGA, the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Greg Combet announced funding of up to $4.5 million to assist local governments in managing climate change impacts on infrastructure and critical assets. The funding will support 13 projects, selected from 38 proposals, in which local governments will work with utilities, industry and professional organisations on decision-making in coastal communities for adapting to climate change.

The successful projects span all Australian states and include an adaptation strategy for Townsville to manage future development in areas subject to coastal inundation from rising sea levels; planning for secure water and waste water infrastructure in Sydney under a changing climate; and preparing an economic analysis of adoption options in the Peron Naturaliste region of Western Australia.

A full list of the approved projects and more information about this initiative can be found on the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency website

At the same time, the Australian Government has partnered with ALGA to commission a study that explores legal liability for local governments in coastal areas. This study will shed light on how the issue is being approached in different states.

Congratulations to recipients of National Awards for Excellence

National Awards for Local Government were presented to 17 category winners during the NGA. Special presentations were also made to the 2011 National Winners, who were announced by the Federal Minister for Local Government, Simon Crean, during the NGA Dinner at Parliament House on 21 June.

The National Awards for Local Government recognise, reward and promote the innovative work of local governments across Australia. They are an important component of the Government's partnership with local government, showcasing unique local solutions to common problems.

Minister Crean congratulated the Frankston City Council and the Mid-Western Regional Council, which each received a National Award for Excellence.

"From a women's mentoring and training program, Inspire, Encourage, Enlighten, run by Mid-Western Regional Council in NSW to a shopping discount card for students in Frankston, Victoria, the work happening at local governments across Australia is inspiring," Minister Crean said.

More than 100 councils from across Australia participated in this year's awards and submitted 152 entries in 10 categories.

Information about the National Awards for Local Government, including the full list of 2011 category winners, can be found here.

Reflecting on another successful NGA

This week's announcement by the Federal Minister for Local Government, Simon Crean, that former New South Wales Chief Justice James Spigelman AC will lead an expert panel on constitutional recognition of local government is just one of the many positive outcomes of the National General Assembly (NGA).

Under the expert guidance of Justice Spigelman, the new expert panel will look into the level of support for constitutional recognition of local government and identify possible forms that recognition could take. The full membership of the panel is yet to be announced, however Minister Crean indicated that the panel will be expected to report back to the Australian Government and advise on the best way forward by the end of the year.

Including local government in the Australian Constitution will help to protect local infrastructure and services that we take for granted and ensure that councils have the funding to provide the level of services that local communities need and deserve. ALGA is proposing a simple and pragmatic change to the Constitution to allow direct funding of local government to continue. Such funding is currently provided under the Roads to Recovery Program and by any measure, this program has been an extremely successful example of the partnership between federal and local government. We will be putting this new strategy to the Expert Panel.

To discuss the best approach to raising awareness and understanding of the role of local councils in the federation, the NGA heard from James O'Loghlin, Jane Caro, John Hewson and Annabel Crabb, during a panel session. I have received a great deal of positive feedback about this panel session from Councillors who are grappling with how to highlight the services their local council or shire delivers and reinforce that councils are not just responsible for roads, rates and rubbish.

One of the key messages from the session is that a nationally consistent strategy for communication needs to be framed and agreed upon before individual councils consider implementing their own plans and tactical approaches for promoting constitutional recognition. ALGA is already working with state and territory local government organisations on this strategy and how it will support individual councils.

The NGA also saw a $17.1 million program to improve local government services announced by the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy. The Federal Government will provide the $17.1 million to assist local councils in the 40 communities to first benefit from the National Broadband Network (NBN), with the three year program providing grants of up to $375,000 to eligible local governments. The program is designed to help local councils take advantage of the National Broadband Network (NBN) through the development and upgrade of online service delivery to homes and businesses.

During the Assembly, I released a Best Practice Guide for Councils when initially dealing with NBN Co to help councils prepare for the rollout of the NBN and the Guide is available on the ALGA website.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the hundreds of delegates from local governments across the country for supporting the NGA and to congratulate the many recipients of National Awards for Local Government, which were presented throughout the Assembly. The 2011 winners are featured in this edition of ALGA News, as are more details of the many developments and announcements delivered at the NGA.

Mayor Genia McCaffery
ALGA President

Briefs

NBN rollout to benefit from agreement with Optus

The Australian Government has welcomed the announcement by NBN Co and Optus that they had entered into an agreement that will see Optus decommission its Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) cable network and migrate customers to the National Broadband Network (NBN). The Australian Government says that this agreement is proof that the NBN is recognised by Australia's major telecommunications companies as the future of industry.

According to the Australian Government, this week's announcements that both Telstra and Optus, which combined represent over 60 per cent of the retail broadband connection market, have entered into such significant agreements with NBN Co demonstrate that the NBN is welcomed by the majority of the industry.

New Infrastructure Finance Working Group

Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Anthony Albanese has announced the members of Infrastructure Australia's new Infrastructure Finance Working Group.

Establishment of the Working Group was one of a number of measures outlined in this year's Budget designed to strengthen Infrastructure Australia and its capacity to drive further lasting improvements to the way our nation plans, finances and builds the infrastructure it needs.

The Working Group will advise Infrastructure Australia and government on the implementation of the Budget measures as well as help identify projects which would benefit from private investment, the applicability of user charges and alternative financing models, and opportunities for further financing reform.

Latest statistics on regional population growth released

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released Regional Population Growth 2009-10, which includes estimates of the resident population growth of regional areas .

The data provides an overview of regional trends in Australia's population growth. Topics include growth in regions such as capital cities, outer suburbs and coastal areas, population decline, population change and population density.

The report highlights that the three most populous Local Government Areas in Australia are all within Queensland and had three of the four largest increases in population. Brisbane increased by 14,800, Gold Coast increased by 12,900 and Moreton Bay by 11,100.

For more information click here.

Funding for arts projects in regional and remote Australia

The Australian Government this week announced that $791,774 for the March 2011 round of the Australian Government's Regional Arts Fund will be distributed to 71 projects across regional and remote communities of the Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia.

President of Regional Arts Australia, Julie Boyd said: "The range of projects, averaging $11, 151 funding per project, reflects Regional Arts Australia's ongoing commitment to providing more opportunities for Australians to participate in the arts and supporting strong outcomes for arts and communities."

For the full list of funded projects, click here.

2011 National Award for Urban Design presented

Brisbane's SW1 South Bank Urban Village development has won the 2011 Australia Award for Urban Design, presented this week in Canberra.

The fully integrated mixed-use development, near Brisbane's CBD, is considered an example of how direct land can be transformed into attractive, habitable spaces. PIA National President Dyan Currie commended the project for linking South Bank to West End and creating a sense of community as well as connections to transport, shops, restaurants, commercial and residential precincts.

While South Bank Corporation and Cox Rayner Architects received the award for the SW1, the project involved input from Gamble McKinnon Green, Allen Jack and Cottier, Bureau Roberts, Hayson Architects and JMA Architects.

New Austroads publications released

A series of Austroads technical and research reports have been released and are available as free PDFs from the Austroads website.

The latest reports include Impact of Light Commercial Vehicles/Rigid Trucks in Urban Networks - Scoping Study (AP-R376-11); Innovative Road Safety Measures to Address Fatigue: Review of Research and Results from a Treatment Trial (AP-R379-11); and Effectiveness and Selection of Treatments for Cyclists at Signalised Intersections (AP-R380-11).

Take-home bowel cancer tests encouraged

Rural doctors are urging more rural Australians to undertake a painless, at-home bowel cancer test to help reduce deaths by cancer.

The call follows recent Cancer Council research which shows that although more than 80 per cent of people aged 50 and over are aware of the simple, at-home screening test for bowel cancer, less than half of those aware of the faecal occult blood test (FOBT) have actually done the test.

According to Dr Peter Rischbieth, Vice President of the Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA), 90 per cent of bowel cancer cases can be cured if found early.

"It is important that people over 50 take advantage of the FOBT - you can get it from the chemist, and it is free for those turning 50, 55 and 65," Dr Rischbieth said.