 | |  President of the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA), Felicity-ann Lewis has welcomed Local Government Minister Simon Crean's intention to move a motion in Parliament later this month to establish a Joint Select Committee on constitutional recognition of local government and is urging councils across the country to be prepared to engage in any Parliamentary Committee process. "Several months ago, ALGA called on the Australian Government to establish a Parliamentary Committee as the next step towards a referendum on the constitutional recognition of local government, so we are extremely pleased that Minister Crean has provided a notice to Parliament of his intention to move a motion to establish the Committee," Mayor Lewis said. "If the motion to create a Parliamentary Committee is carried in Parliament later this month, ALGA intends to make a submission to the Committee highlighting the importance of having local government recognised in the Constitution and we will be encouraging all councils to do the same." "Prime Minister Julia Gillard gave an undertaking when coming to office in 2010 to hold referendums by the end of 2013 on both constitutional recognition of indigenous Australians and constitutional recognition of local government. Despite the Government's decision last month to defer a referendum on indigenous recognition, ALGA will continue to work with the Commonwealth on putting in place the conditions for a successful local government referendum, which will ensure that important federal funding for local communities can continue," Mayor Lewis said. ALGA has long maintained that the only way to protect direct federal funding for community services and infrastructure is to have local government recognised in the Australian Constitution and earlier this year, local government called on the Australian Government to establish a Parliamentary Committee to bolster bi-partisan support and consider the timing of a referendum and the wording of the constitutional amendment. "ALGA is seeking an amendment of Section 96 of the Constitution so that it would read: 'Parliament may grant financial assistance to any state or local government body formed by or under a law of a state or territory on such terms and conditions as the Parliament sees fit'," Mayor Lewis said. "The report of an expert panel, established by the Government to explore the need for acknowledging local government in the Constitution, recommended last December that our case for financial recognition was a viable option." | | | | |  With just under one month until the National Local Roads and Transport Congress, ALGA welcomes news that Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure and Transport, Catherine King will be representing the Australian Government at this year's Roads Congress. The Congress has again attracted a high level of political interest with the Leader of the Nationals, Warren Truss, and Senator Lee Rhiannon of the Australian Greens also addressing the Congress. This level of participation by federal politicians reflects the importance of the Congress, especially in shaping the initiatives and policies that will form part of ALGA's campaign document sent to political parties and independent candidates ahead of next year's federal election. Themed Delivering Your Agenda, the Congress will allow councils to focus on the key issues affecting the provision of road and transport infrastructure in Australian communities. Joining federal politicians in addressing the Congress is a number of international and subject matter experts including: - Matthew Lugg OBE, Leicestershire County Council, United Kingdom
- David Adamson, Chief Executive, Southland District Council, New Zealand
- Jeff Roorda, Jeff Roorda and Associates
- Norm Mcilfatrick, Secretary of the Tasmanian Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources
- Paul Hillier, National Technical Leader, ARRB Group
- Peter Godfrey, Past President, Engineers Australia
- Simon Dent, Superintendent Health, BHP Billiton Worsley Alumina
To find out more or to register your attendance at the Congress, visit www.alga.asn.au | | | | |  Caring for Our Country has been a vital program to support and foster better natural resource management (NRM) since it was first created in 2008. However, over a period of time, the relationship between local government and the Caring for Our Country program had weakened. As the program matured, strict conditions were included in the regulations that governed the program's mechanics. This led to councils who had been engaged either directly, or indirectly since 2008, reducing involvement or leaving the program. In fact, there was concern across the NRM community that Caring for Our Country might be wound back or end. The 2012-13 Budget contained a commitment that Caring for Our Country would be funded for five additional years to the tune of $2.2 billion. This announcement came in the middle of public consultations about the future of NRM programs and in the wake of a review into the existing program, which concluded in late 2011. ALGA provided a submission to that review which argued that considering the investment of time and resources that local government commits to NRM issues, local government needed to be re-engaged and used both as a facilitator for the program and a participant. The Government has listened and, from early in the consultation process, has been keen to work with local government to determine the most appropriate way for the goals of the program to be achieved while at the same time engaging local government in the most mutually effective way. This has led to ALGA's participation in a series of stakeholder discussions and forums, as well as direct engagement between ALGA and senior Commonwealth officials responsible for the development and administration of the new Caring for Our Country program, with its newly separated agriculture and biodiversity funding streams. In the past week, ALGA has been represented at two Ministerial roundtables, where Environment Minister Tony Burke and Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig were able to openly discuss the progress of the re-design and any concerns various stakeholders had about the future direction of the program. The views and needs of local government were sought, as ALGA was one of only four organisations present at both roundtables. All of this means that local government is being actively re-engaged in this program which touches on one of its most basic roles. More information about the redesigned program is available from http://www.nrm.gov.au/. Future funding rounds will be advertised shortly. | | |
| |  As highlighted in our lead article, ALGA is preparing for a potential Parliamentary Committee process after Local Government Minister Simon Crean provided a notice to Parliament of his intention to move a motion later this month to establish a Joint Select Committee on constitutional recognition of local government. While constitutional recognition is a major priority of the ALGA Board and we intend to make a submission to the Committee highlighting the importance of having local government recognised in the Constitution, the review of the Financial Assistance Grants (FAGs) is also a critical issue for the sector. We welcomed Minister Crean's announcement in August of a Commonwealth review of FAGs, as we have long called for a review and have argued for many years that the amount of funding provided by the Federal Government to councils has not been adequate. According to a 2008 report by the Productivity Commission, local government is very effective in raising revenue from its own sources, with councils raising on average around 90 per cent of possible revenue from their own sources. Councils can do little more in this area and the FAGs are very important to allow councils to meet their communities' needs. ALGA strongly believes that the correct level of FAGs is inadequate and that the indexation arrangements should be changed so that indexation more effectively reflects the actual cost borne by councils. The draft Terms of Reference for the review are constrained within the current funding envelope but ALGA will continue to highlight the need for greater funding. We have stressed the need for a broad review of the grants, given their importance to councils and local communities. I took the opportunity to raise the FAGs review during my meetings in Canberra last week with members of Parliament, emphasising particularly ALGA's concern with any suggestion that the FAGs might be tied to Commonwealth objectives. The FAGs have always been provided to councils so that they can use them to address local community priorities, not political priorities set by the Government of the day. I stressed to MPs that this would likely increase federal bureaucracy and compromise the ability of councils to meet the needs of their communities and I asked MPs to engage with their local councils on the issue. The review is due to report in December next year. Mayor Felicity-ann Lewis
ALGA President | | |
| | Moreland City Council has agreed to share its catalogue of Multicultural communications called CALDCOM [Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communication] storyboards and videos with other councils at no cost to your council from Moreland. To view the catalogue visit the Moreland website
The CALDCOM storyboards are designed to help newcomers to Australia and Moreland settle into our community. They are widely used by teaching institutions including Australian Multicultural Education Service [AMES]; TAFE and Neighbourhood House Networks. They have also won several Awards over the last two years including: - 2012 ALGA National Excellence Award
- 2012 ALGA National "Strength in Diversity" Award
- 2012 Best Accessible Communications Award
- 2010 Victorian Multicultural Customer Service Award
- 2010 Australian Multicultural Marketing Award
The CALDCOM catalogue covers a wide range of social and local government situations that non English speakers may encounter in society. They are intended as a guide to assist discussion in teaching, family and individual settings so that newcomers can understand our ways and become knowledgeable about your community. They have always been available as free downloads and now you can brand them for your own council. For more information about using any or all of the storyboards simply email Moreland Council agreeing to the information below: - Your council agrees to acknowledge the copyright of Moreland City Council. [E.g. of recognition on storyboard = ©MCC]
- Your council agrees not to commercially exploit or sub-license other commercial entities to use the CALDCOM Storyboards and videos.
- Your council agrees, should you create CALDCOM storyboards of your own, to share those with Moreland and other councils at no cost.
When you email back your "agreement" to the above, Moreland will give you the contact details of the creative artists [Intellectual Property owners] so you can make changes and brand the storyboards and videos to suit your own council purposes and at your own cost. | | | | | A long awaited financial agreement between three central west councils and a local mine has been finalised. The Department of Planning and Infrastructure has split the eight million dollar contribution from Cadia Operations between the Orange City Council, Blayney Shire and the Cabonne Council. Under the agreement, Orange will receive four million, while Blayney and Cabonne will both get two million. The Mayor of the Blayney Shire Scott Ferguson says the council will receive half of the money upfront and the rest in instalments during the next 20 years. "The extra money that we get from the voluntary planning agreement will pretty much go into supporting our infrastructure our centre point, our indoor pool, some of the sporting facilities, just generally spread right through the community," he said. "In a small council like us, that sort of money will make a big difference." However, he says the council did expect to get more. Councillor Ferguson says it is difficult when there are three parties all trying to get the most out of the agreement. "Everybody was trying to maximise how much money they got, and I think it the end, we would have expected a little bit more. "But, I think in the end, we were just happy that after the three years or so it was resolved." He says the council will now be able to put the money into its budget and plan how it will spend it. | | | | | The Hobart and Launceston City Councils have signed an agreement which they hope will finally end 150 years of hostility. There have been several attempts at reconciliation between the two cities, dating back to 1936. Now the councils have signed a memorandum of understanding, vowing to work together to ensure the prosperity of both cities. Lord Mayor Damon Thomas says the cities cannot afford to keep fighting. "The two councils have come together with an endeavour on behalf of their communities to tackle retail, to look at population issues, to work with two cities advocating the position of cities in the Tasmanian and national context," he said. "The economic and social times demand an end to weird parochialism." Launceston mayor Albert van Zetten says the debate over AFL football will be at the top of the agenda. "What I would like to see is that we can have a vision of where together we'd love to see football going with Hawthorn, with North Melbourne." | | | | | A report by welfare organisation the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) has found one in eight Australians is living in poverty. ACOSS says that equates to more than 2.2 million people living below the poverty line in Australia and close to 600,000 of them are children. The report provides the most comprehensive picture of poverty in Australia since 2006. It shows people who are unemployed, children (especially in lone parent families), and people whose main source of income is social security payments, are the groups most at risk. ACOSS says despite 20 years of economic growth, poverty has increased in Australia. ACOSS chief Dr Cassandra Goldie says it is a national disgrace. "This is the first time this figure has been counted in six years and it is deeply concerning to us that there is no reduction in the rate of poverty in Australia," she said. "In fact it has slightly increased. "In a wealthy country like Australia, this is simply inexcusable." | | | | | The efforts of people working in Australia’s homelessness sector will be recognised with the second National Homelessness Services Achievement Awards, Minister for Housing and Homelessness, Brendan O’Connor, announced. “Both World Homeless Day and the Awards are an opportunity to raise awareness of the needs of homeless people, acknowledge the efforts of people working to support them and encourage others to help out,” Mr O’Connor said. The inaugural awards last year attracted more than 130 nominations. Nominations for the National Homelessness Services Achievement Awards close on Friday 18 January 2013. | | | | | Consultation on new biosecurity laws to replace the century-old Quarantine Act 1908 has been extended to 24 October 2012. The new legislation is intended to make Australia’s biosecurity system more streamlined, enabling the Australian Government to better manage the risks of animal and plant pests and diseases entering, establishing, spreading and potentially causing harm to Australian people, the environment and economy. It will focus on responsive regulation that enables management of biosecurity risks and promotes effective cooperation between governments, trading partners, industry participants and the community. The chapters of the draft legislation have been progressively released since 4 July 2012. All chapters of the draft biosecurity legislation have now been released for public comment. All interested stakeholders are encouraged to provide comments as soon as possible to allow time to consider and incorporate any changes as appropriate into the draft legislation. The consultation period closes 24 October 2012. People can also keep up-to-date with the latest news on Twitter by following #biosecurity. To find out more visit the consultation website: www.biosecurity.govspace.gov.au. | | | | | Sydney is now the seventh most expensive place to live in the world. Oslo, Zurich, Geneva, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Tokyo are the only cities with higher living costs, according to financial services firm UBS. The rankings, published in the annual Prices and Earnings report, are calculated by comparing the cost of an average shopping basket of 122 goods and services. It's not all bad news for Sydneysiders, because with high living costs come higher wages, UBS found. Sydney finished second in a table ranking the domestic buying power of its citizens. This ranking is calculated by comparing wages in each location with living costs. In 2010 Sydney was 12th on the list of most expensive cities and in 2009 it was 38th. "Sydney continues its storm to the top of our rankings, now holding seventh place," the latest UBS report said. "To some extent this development can be explained by the Australian dollar's continued appreciation against both the US dollar and the euro. "However, Sydney is just one of many cities that have seen a jump in their rankings." UBS found some US cities had fallen in the cost of living rankings, with New York slumping to 14th, if property rental is excluded. In recent years New York has been ranked in the top 10 of the most expensive cities. "This can be attributed to the general depreciation of the US dollar versus the world's other currencies," the UBS report added. London slumped to 15th place on the list, compared with 10th in 2010. Sydney is the only Australian city included in the latest UBS rankings. | | | | | In a first for Australia, if not the world, 35 industry partners will work together to determine the future vision for Australia’s electricity system. This vision will guide the expected $240 billion investment required by the sector over the next 20 years. The industry partners including electricity generators, distributors, transmission service providers, retailers, regulators, government and consumer groups will collaborate over the next twelve to eighteen months as part of the CSIRO facilitated Future Grid Forum. Dr Alex Wonhas, CSIRO Energy Transformed Flagship director said the forum will play an important part in providing a platform for Australia’s electricity sector to shape its future for the 21st century. “The sector recognised that a whole of system approach was required and that there is a need to develop a common view of the key options available, we have a huge energy transformation ahead of us. The industry will be very different in 50 years time. This forum aims to inform the decisions we need to make today that will shape Australia’s future electricity prices, our supply and the industry’s carbon emissions,” Dr Wonhas said. This project builds on past forums, including energy futures, future fuels and sustainable aviation fuels. All based on CSIRO’s proven forum methodology that centres on collaboration with industry to develop a clear road map for the future of energy in Australia. The Forum will draw on the expertise of forum participants and use sophisticated economic modelling technology to map out future scenarios. For more, click here. | | | | | World Mental Health Day, on 10 October, was an opportunity to raise awareness about mental health issues, combat stigma and encourage people in need to seek help.
Minister for Mental Health, Mark Butler, said community organisations had rallied behind this year’s message: ‘whoever you are or wherever you live, you’re not alone’.
“I encourage anyone who is experiencing a mental health issue, whether it is substance abuse, anxiety, depression or an eating disorder to discuss it and ask for help,” Mr Butler said. | | | | | The Human Rights Commission is holding a series of human rights forums for local government in November and December. Many councils have asked for more support, training and information to help in their efforts to implement the Charter, so these forums are geared towards developing skills to put human rights into practice in governance and service delivery roles.
The four forums will be held on: - 23 November in Melbourne
- 28 November in Wangaratta
- 5 December in Ararat
- 12 December in Mildura
More information - as well as online registration - is available here or at www.humanrightscommission.vic.gov.au/localgovforums | | |
| | |  2013 NEW RURAL TOURISM VISIONS CONFERENCE The Conference to be held in mid 2013 is to explain our strategy of linking a Rural Region direct to the Giant Overseas Tourist Wholesale Suppliers and to present every good idea arising in the preceding 12 months for Rural Towns, Councils, Rural Property Owners, and Rural Folk to increase their incomes from Tourists. Ideas such as converted Container Tourist Cabins, Property Hosted Dinner Parties, Community Vegetable Gardens, Farm Gate Enterprises, Training Rural familes to be film making tourist Photographers, Tourist Web Sold App Products and the preparation of 6 Hour Day , special interest,Tours. A Shire interested in being a Co Host is invited to Email their interest to visitorassist@netscape.net.or phone Marc Aussie-Stone on 0428 600120. For further information see www.ruralshirestourism.com and www.yestogether.com. Having the "vision" to progress Rural Tourism follows a 50 year global service commitment in Rural African, Asian and Pacific Villages, including 8 years with UN's World Tourism Organisation. For a full Rural Tourism CV for Marc Aussie-Stone see www.aussiestone.com/sitemap.html |
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