 | |  Next Monday heralds the start of the 2012 National General Assembly of Local Government (NGA), which will be attended by about 850 representatives from councils Australia-wide. A keynote address on the first day will be provided by the Minister for Local Government, Simon Crean, who will outline the Government’s priorities for local government and update delegates on the Government’s achievements in this area. The Minister will be discussing the importance of partnerships and creative funding solutions for local government infrastructure and the role the Government is playing to help regions diversify their economies to ensure a stronger, more sustainable footing. The NGA will also hear from the Leader of the Greens, Senator Christine Milne, who will canvass the role of the Greens in local government. According to Senator Milne, local government has a pivotal role to play in the greening of Australia and reducing the country’s carbon footprint: “Local Government’s unique ability to deliver services directly to the people will make a real difference to making Australia a clean green economy.”
“With over 100 Greens Councillors, including five Green Mayors and three Deputy Mayors, and being a driving force behind moves to recognise local governments in our Constitution, the Greens are right in the midst of driving change in areas such as climate change readiness and adaptation, container deposit schemes, bicycle and public transport infrastructure, expansion of parks and community gardens, storm water harvesting and nuclear free zones,” Senator Milne said. On the third and final day of the national conference, Opposition Spokesman for Local Government, Senator Barnaby Joyce will provide the Assembly with an overview of the Coalition’s aspirations for local government. Senator Joyce is calling for a new approach to local government that looks at empowering local communities and local decision-makers, who are best placed to make the best decisions. “The best model for Commonwealth assistance to local governments is one that lets local governments make the detailed decisions within broad, flexible and targeted guidelines,” Senator Joyce said. “The financing of local government will always remain a partnership between local and federal governments but I want that partnership to be based on mutual trust and respect not suspicion and an army of federal bureaucrats double guessing the decisions of elected local authorities on the ground,” he explained. “Councils have provided some thought-provoking and detailed responses to me over the last six months. I would like to get more feedback on these ideas at the ALGA conference and ahead of the next election.” To access the NGA program, click here or visit the ALGA website. | | | | |  Current ALGA President and long-term Mayor of North Sydney, Genia McCaffery has announced that she will retire from local government. After 17 years at the helm of North Sydney Council and having served four terms as North Sydney Mayor, Cr McCaffery has confirmed that she will not be standing for re-election in September. “It’s time,” she says of the decision. “I’ve had a few weeks to think about what I want to do and I’ve realised I’m ready to move on to other things.” “It’s been a difficult decision to make because I am passionate about local government and so much is still happening in the industry. But I believe its time for a new mayor and a new era in our community.” Cr McCaffery said she believed her legacy to North Sydney was 17 years of good governance, where North Sydney was well managed and a good place to live. She is proud of her record in creating and maintaining open space and in managing development in a way that has retained the character of the area. Cr McCaffery was elected President of ALGA in 2010 and is currently working on a range of issues including constitutional recognition of local government. Cr McCaffery will also be standing down from the ALGA Presidency. | | | | |  ALGA’s Vice-President, Felicity-ann Lewis attended the Prime Minister’s Economic Forum in Brisbane this week, which discussed issues such as Australia’s patchwork economy and the high Australian dollar. During a keynote address to a dinner on Tuesday night, Prime Minister Julia Gillard focused on Australia’s role in the global economy, and in particular in the Asian Century. The Forum – attended by about 130 business, union and community leaders - identified Australia’s economy as among the strongest in the world, with impressive growth, low unemployment, low debt and a record investment pipeline. The Forum discussed the need to maintain focus on productivity and growth and outlined progress on a range of key economic policy priorities, such as the Australia in the Asian Century White Paper, the Prime Minister’s Manufacturing Taskforce and the COAG Business Advisory Forum on deregulation. Mayor Lewis said the Forum reinforced the need for collaboration between all of the groups represented at the Forum. “One of the take-home messages is that if productivity is to increase, we must be innovative and invest in our human capital to ensure that both employers and employees are skilled in the areas of employment growth,” Mayor Lewis said. “While we hear much about the mining boom, there are indications that areas of the services sector, especially health care and aged services, are likely to experience growth that will exceed labour supply.” “The Prime Minister concluded the Forum by giving undertakings that issues raised by participants would be investigated in an effort to maintain the sound economic performance we are currently experiencing. | | |
| |  This week has been very difficult for me, having made the announcement on Tuesday that I will be stepping down as Mayor of North Sydney and President of ALGA ahead of local government elections to be held in New South Wales in September. The decision is not one that I have taken lightly, as I am passionate about local government and for the last 17 years have been proactively representing the interests of my constituents and fighting to ensure that North Sydney continues to be a great place to live. I have been committed to the North Sydney community for much of my career and it will be difficult for me to walk away. Similarly, in my role as ALGA President, I have been committed to ensuring that local government issues are represented at the national level. Constitutional recognition of local government is one of the issues that I have been working on for some time. Several days ago, I wrote to all councils and federal parliamentarians to update them on the progress of the constitutional recognition of local government and enclosed two copies of the final report of the Expert Panel, appointed by the Government to examine options for the recognition of local government in the Australian Constitution. When releasing the Expert Panel’s report on 22 December 2011, the Minister for Local Government, Simon Crean, said the Australian Government’s commitment to the recognition of local government was strong, and that it was vital to protect the Commonwealth’s ability to directly fund local government thorough programs such as Roads to Recovery. ALGA welcomed the Panel’s report. Minister Crean undertook to consider the community’s views and details of the report before responding in early 2012. At this time, however, local government is still waiting for the Commonwealth Government’s response to the Report. We are concerned that as time elapses without the Commonwealth taking leadership on the issue and addressing the two steps set out by the Panel for the referendum to proceed, the chances of success at a 2013 referendum will be reduced. The reluctance of the Australian community to agree to amend the Constitution was recognised and identified by the Panel when it suggested the two specific actions by the Commonwealth to ensure the referendum had a chance of success. I have urged every council to take the time to read the Expert Panel’s report and promote its findings to their communities. Each council has an essential role in the public awareness process and in reinforcing the important role and services councils provide. Almost 90 per cent of councils have indicated to ALGA that they are behind the campaign and the financial recognition option. At our imminent 2012 National General Assembly, to be held in Canberra from 17-20 June, Expert Panel Member Jim Soorley will talk more about the Panel’s work and where we go from here. This year’s NGA will hold special significance for me, as it will be my last as ALGA President. Mayor Genia McCaffery
ALGA President | | |
| | More than 20 local government representatives have been awarded in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours List. ALGA congratulates the efforts of the award recipients, many of whom have been acknowledged for distinguished service to their local communities. To access the Queen’s Birthday 2012 Honours List, click here. | | | | | The Centre for Housing, Urban and Regional Planning (CHURP) is exploring the role of Local Government in addressing homelessness. This research project aims to collect data on what Local Government is, or is not doing in homelessness and housing currently. CHURP is currently administering an on-line survey that should provide a comprehensive snapshot of the range of behaviours, actions and strategies being used by Local Government to address homelessness and associated challenges. Please work in partnership with relevant staff from your Council to complete the survey on-line. We have extended the deadline to Friday 29th June 2012. Completing the survey should take between 20 and 30 minutes and results will significantly contribute to the final outputs. Please access the following link to complete the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TheRoleofLocalGovernmentinHomelessness In July, CHURP is also facilitating a number of workshops with key stakeholders from the Local Government sector and State Government departments to present the interim findings and investigate the strategies, opportunities and constraints that are critical in this sphere. These workshops will play an important role in producing outcomes of value to Local Governments across Australia. A key outcome of this research is to develop a handbook of strategies that Local Governments can use to address homelessness and housing challenges. Please see the table below for details regarding the policy-maker workshop near you and contact Felicity to register your interest. | Host | Date | Location | Focus Group | | LGAofSA | Wednesday 4th July between 9am - 11am | LGAofSA Offices: 148 Frome Rd, Adelaide | Eyre Peninsula Room | | WALGA | Monday 9th July between 9am - 11am | TBA | TBA | | MAV | Tuesday 10th July between 9am - 11am | MAV Offices: L12, 60 Collins St, Melbourne | Room 1101 | | City of Ballarat | Wednesday 11th July between 9am - 11am | Ballarat town hall, 25 Sturt St, Ballarat | Committee Room 1 | | LGTAS | Thursday 12th July between 9am - 11am | TBA | TBA | | LGSA | Friday 13th July between 10-12noon | LGSA Offices: L8, 28 Margaret St, Sydney | Board Room | If you have any further questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact the Project Leader, Professor Andrew Beer (andrew.beer@adelaide.edu.au), or his colleague Felicity Prance (felicity.prance@adelaide.edu.au). | | | | | ALGA extends its sympathy to the many communities that have received damage from repeated episodes of wild weather across Western Australia this week. SES volunteers from South Australia have arrived in Perth to help with the clean-up from the three storms, which at their peak on Sunday cut power to 170,000 homes and caused the most extensive damage ever to the state's electricity network. On Wednesday, Western Power was still working to restore power to residents who have been without electricity since the first front, which bore down from the north with winds of up to 125km per hour. One of the worst affected areas from the latest storm was the wine growing and tourism region of Margaret River, 270km south of Perth, where 6000 customers were left in the dark. Unlike Sunday, when nearly 800 powerlines were downed, only 30 wires appeared to have been brought down on Wednesday. The Bureau of Meteorology's Neil Bennett speculated that the damage was not as widespread this time because the trees more likely to fall were already felled on Sunday. "But certainly these winds are only experienced once or twice a year in Perth so it was a notable event anyway," he said. | | | | | Victoria’s Darebin City Council will receive a Federal Government grant for a $2.2 million dollar energy efficiency upgrade at the Reservoir swimming pool and leisure centre. The Council estimates this will reduce the centre’s energy use by 42 per cent, deliver savings of $151,000 a year to the council, pool users and ratepayers, and cut pollution by 53 per cent Darebin is one of 21 councils and community organisations across Victoria to receive the first round of national grants under the Community Energy Efficiency Program - part of the Federal Government’s Clean Energy Future Plan. “Communities in Melbourne’s northern suburbs are quickly gaining a reputation for being among the most energy smart in Australia,” Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Mark Dreyfus said. Darebin’s energy efficiency grant will help fund the installation of a co-generation system at the Reservoir swimming pool, upgrade lighting and improve heating and cooling controls. Darebin was one of 63 successful grant recipients in round one of the national $200 million Community Energy Efficiency Program. Round two will be announced later this year. | | | | | A new national rating tool designed to drive better planned, better designed and more sustainable communities has been welcomed by the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA). The rating will encourage the delivery of neighbourhoods, precincts and communities that prioritise environmental sustainability. PIA President Dyan Currie said the new independent national rating is an innovative idea that will encourage better planned communities. "This rating will become cherished by community developments in the future as it's awarded to projects that tick the environmental sustainability boxes," Ms Currie said. "To receive this rating, community planning and design projects will have to meet certain criteria in water and energy saving and reduction in the dependence on motor vehicles. It's a great incentive for the industry". The rating called 'Green Star - Communities' was released today by the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA). The rating tool was created after the cooperation of industry and all levels of government. It will benchmark community developments against a number of categories including design, innovation, economic prosperity and liveability. | | | | | A discussion paper by the Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government (ACELG) has revealed that the federal government’s Clean Energy Plan can reach further into residential and business communities by working with the local government’s key strengths. The paper, Local Action for a Low Carbon Future (June 2012), was prepared by the ACELG and the Council of Capital Cities Lord Mayors (CCCLM) to identify ways for the Federal Government to work more closely with local government in bringing about Australia’s move to a low carbon future. The paper sets out a policy position on the role local government can play in this, and the findings reflect a consensus view developed across a range of local government organisations. The research is a first step towards a national framework to promote ongoing consistent and concerted efforts by local councils, including provision of required information and guidance, and dissemination of best practice. One of the key messages from the paper is that local government can complement, supplement and amplify the actions of other levels of government in Australia’s transition to a low carbon future. In this way, the role and activities of local government role should be seen as part of a systemic community and economy-wide approach towards low carbon futures. Local councils can and do generate emissions reductions through more far-reaching actions such as working with private sector partners; community awareness and education, and, innovative urban planning and environmental design. The discussion paper is the first significant output following an ACELG co-convened National Local Government Roundtable on Climate Change in May 2011.
Since the Roundtable, ACELG has had further discussions with a number of key local government organisations, including ALGA, on how best to move forward and achieve the greatest impact. The paper is available for download from: www.acelg.org.au | | | | | The third annual report on the National Healthcare Agreement, released this week by the COAG Reform Council, shows that health outcomes are not equal for all Australians. Chairman of the council, Mr Paul McClintock AO, said the report shows that cost is a barrier to healthcare for some Australians. "Nationally, the proportion of people that delayed or did not see a GP due to cost has increased to 8.7 per centin 2010-11," Mr McClintock said. "More than a quarter of Australians report not seeing a dentist due to cost." "We are talking about more than filling cavities and cleaning teeth. Poor dental health can have major implications for a person's overall health and wellbeing." Mr McClintock said the figures were even worse for disadvantaged areas where one third of people did not see a dentist due to cost. The report also highlights the poorer access to health care outside the major cities. Australians living outside major cities wait longer to see a GP and for elective surgery, have higher rates of many preventable diseases, lower rates of cancer survival and poorer access to mental health care. The elderly in non-metro areas are competing for limited aged care places. The report shows that elective surgery waiting times have improved in South Australia, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. Nationally however, waiting times have increased, driven up by deteriorating performance in NSW. The report can be downloaded from www.coagreformcouncil.gov.au | | | | | During 2011, there were 55,382 motor vehicle thefts recorded by police, up 1.1 per cent from 2010, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Unlawful entry with intent also increased in 2011, up 0.6 per cent from 2010 to 218,193 incidents in 2011. A residential location was the most common place for motor vehicle thefts (43 per cent) and incidents of unlawful entry with intent (71 per cent).
Females were more likely to be victims of sexual assault (85 per cent), or kidnapping/abduction (60 per cent). The street or footpath was the most common location for incidents of kidnapping and abduction (46 per cent) and robbery (43 per cent). Females aged 15-19 had the highest victimisation rate for sexual assault (546 victims per 100,000), at a rate of more than four times the overall female rate of sexual assault (129 victims per 100,000).
Males were more likely to be victims of homicide and related offences (68 per cent). This was also the case for robbery (60 per cent) and blackmail/extortion (59 per cent). Male victims aged 15-19 had the highest victimisation rate for robbery (265 victims per 100,000 persons), more than three times the overall male victimisation rate for robbery (73 victims per 100,000).
Most incidents of murder (66 per cent), attempted murder (56 per cent) and sexual assault (59 per cent) took place in a private residential location.
More information on recorded crime in Australia can be found in Recorded Crime Victims, Australia (cat. no. 4510.0). | | | | | You can now view the full range of topics for the 7th National Housing Conference in the newly released program overview. From innovations in seniors' housing, smart and liveable housing design and setting rent policy, through to a number of entertaining and thought-provoking plenary sessions, the conference program will be relevant to anyone with an interest in the future of Australia’s housing research, policy and practice. You will have the opportunity to hear from an impressive list of national and international speakers, including Ms Liza Carroll (Deputy Secretary, FaHCSIA), Mr David Cowans (Chief Executive, Places for People, UK), Mr Magnus Hammar (Secretary General, International Union of Tenants, Sweden), Mr George Megalogenis (Senior Journalist and Political Commentator, The Australian) and Ms Jennifer Westacott (Chief Executive, Business Council of Australia). To view all the confirmed speakers, please visit the conference website. Early bird registration closes on Fri 29 June. Register now to secure your place at one of the special discounted registration fees. | | | | | The 2012 Australian Small Bridges Conference is shaping up to be the biggest yet. If you are responsible for, or work with small bridges, there is no better place to update your knowledge. The Conference will hear from 12 international speakers, with more than 50 presentations. For information about confirmed speakers and their topics, please click here. Small Bridges are located not only within road reserves but also occur on train lines, parks and gardens, national parks, mines, forestry areas, private property and in public areas such as zoos. Small bridges can be for vehicles, trains, pedestrians or even stock and wildlife. Structures such culverts, elevated boardwalks and viewing platforms also fall within the scope of the conference. This event will bring together councils, state government road managers, railways, government agencies and the private sector. Register online here to attend the Conference. To view the Conference registration fees, please click here. For more information phone +61 3 8534 5050 or email registration@commstrat.com.au | | |
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