 | |  In welcoming the release of the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Local Government's final report this week, which recommends a referendum be held at the time of the September 2013 federal election, Local Government Minister Simon Crean noted the "issue of timing". The report reinforces the major recommendation of the Committee's preliminary report, released in January, that a referendum on the financial recognition of local government be put to Australian voters at the 2013 federal election. In a media release issued on Monday, Mr Crean said "the only dissent is whether there is time". Mr Crean said the Federal Government was committed to achieving constitutional recognition of local government but highlighted that this would still require support from both political parties and all states if it is to be successful. He has set a goal to secure that support in six weeks, which will allow face to face consultations with local government Ministers. "History shows that we need the bulk of the states on board as well as bipartisanship at a federal level or it will fail," Mr Crean said. "The task now is to secure that support in six weeks. This requires effort from all parties at all levels of government, including the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) and its constituent units. "I have already written to Premiers and Territory Chief Ministers and will be in discussions with them about the report and their views on supporting constitutional recognition." While ALGA and state associations of local government have been working with state governments to achieve constitutional recognition of local government, the lack of support from some states is troubling. Spokespeople for the Victorian Government and the New South Wales Government this week told the media that the states would not support financial recognition of local government in the Australian Constitution. The Tasmanian and Western Australian Governments have also ruled out their support. | | | | |  Minister for Arts and Local Government, Simon Crean this week launched Creative Australia, a new national cultural policy with sweeping reforms to Australian Government support for the arts, cultural heritage and creative industries. In launching Creative Australia Minister Crean described it as "a $325 million vision and strategy to place arts and culture at the centre of modern Australian life". "Creative Australia is about creating excellence, creating jobs, creating prosperity, creating opportunity and creating unique Australian stories - all vital to an outward looking, competitive and confident nation," Minister Crean said. Local government's support for the arts is given prominence in the policy document. It refers to the coordination of local government cultural activities through the National Local Government Cultural Forum, a partnership between the Australian Local Government Association, Global Cities Research Institute at RMIT University, and the Australia Council, to strengthen coordination and provide a firm base on which the National Arts and Culture Accord can build. It highlights the more than $1 billion investment each year in arts and cultural programs as well as the engagement of cultural officers to better facilitate events and improve relationships. Local government's primary responsibility in the past was for libraries and community centres, but like in many other elements, local government is expanding its support to things like travelling art exhibitions, sponsoring theatre and dance productions and promoting local culture and heritage. "Creative Australia, the first national cultural policy for nearly 20 years, recognises that we must update our strategies because of the major changes sweeping through the cultural sector with digital communication and because more and more Australians are actively participating in cultural activities," Minister Crean said. "The cultural sector-the arts, cultural heritage and the creative industries-must have the skills, resources, and resilience to play an active role in Australia's future. "Australia must be a creative nation that spurs innovation, creates jobs for the 21st century and shapes a future of prosperity and shared opportunity. "One of the five goals of the national cultural policy is to recognise, respect and celebrate the centrality of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures to the uniqueness of the Australian identity. "Through Creative Australia we will work to preserve the hundreds of languages used in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and provide support for traditional and contemporary forms of cultural expression." The focus on celebrating Australia's first peoples highlights the continued need for more work to support those communities in a range of ways. Many of which local government not only supports strongly but provides for, including housing and other social services. The value of cultural awareness and engagement between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians cannot be underestimated. Read the full suite of Pathways for Action and initiatives in Creative Australia: creativeaustraliaculture.arts.gov.au | | | | |  A Taskforce made up of national organisations, including ALGA, has called on the Federal Government to take a leading role in transport infrastructure, planning and pricing following the release of the Moving Australia 2030 report this week. The report and ALGA's involvement, focuses on initiatives for more active transport. "Australia's capital cities, major cities and regions are developing in a way that is ad hoc, unsustainable and risks our future quality of life and prosperity," Executive Director of the Bus Industry Confederation, Michael Apps said. "The current Government through Minister Albanese has made a good start by initiating federal government investment in public transport infrastructure, our cities and moving people. "The Taskforce is commending this report to all major political parties to assist in the development of transport policies and programs in the two decades to 2030." The report, Moving Australia 2030: A Transport Plan for a Productive and Active Australia, developed by the Moving People 2030 Taskforce, was launched by Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Anthony Albanese on Wednesday night. Some key recommendations of the report are: - Appointing a dedicated Commonwealth Minister to:
- integrate land use planning and transport at a national level
- oversee the implementation of Capital Cities Planning Criteria agreed to by the Council of Australian Governments
- oversee the delivery of an expanded Liveable Cities program funding and set of projects.
- Reducing congestion in our cities through:
- staggering school hours
- increasing the span of operating hours and frequency of public transport services
- providing flexible work hours for all government employees.
- Developing a set of Moving People Infrastructure criteria to encourage Federal Government investment in walking, cycling and public transport infrastructure.
- Making regulatory changes and providing incentives to encourage car sharing through:
- amending Compulsory Third Party insurance premiums for car share vehicles to accurately reflect the risk of accidents
- integrating car share schemes with public transport ticketing
- replacing conventional parking spaces in new residential developments with car share spaces.
- Developing High Speed Rail along Australia’s east coast.
- Developing an Active Travel Strategy which includes walking, cycling and access to public transport.
- Developing a similar scheme to Fringe Benefits Tax for work related public transport trips.
The report states that to maintain our high standard of living in 2030, Australians will have to make almost a third of all trips by walking, cycling, buses and trains. The Taskforce Membership is made up of representatives from the Australian Local Government Association, Australasian Railway Association, Bus Industry Confederation, Cycling Promotion Fund, National Heart Foundation, International Association of Public Transport Australia and New Zealand, Planning Institute of Australia, and Tourism and Transport Forum. To access the Moving Australia 2030 report, click here. | | |
| |  This week's announcement by Local Government Minister Simon Crean that state and bipartisan support is needed for a local government referendum to succeed highlights the importance of inter-governmental relationships. Over the next few weeks, Minister Crean will be holding face to face meetings with Local Government Ministers and negotiating with the states and territories for their support for a 2013 referendum to recognise local government in the Australian Constitution. Final recommendations of the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Local Government and findings of the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Local Government reinforced the requirement for the federal government to liaise with states and territories, recognising that their support was one of the preconditions for a successful outcome. ALGA and our state associations of local government have been in discussions with Premiers and Chief Ministers and we are concerned about the lack of support from some states. Victoria, Western Australia, New South Wales and Tasmania have said that they will not support a 2013 referendum on financial recognition of local government in the Constitution. Minister Crean's goal to secure support in six weeks has been welcomed by ALGA and we will be working to assist in achieving this task, as we understand that support of states is crucial for the referendum to succeed. Mayor Felicity-ann Lewis
ALGA President | | |
| | A new national council is to be established to coordinate the risk management of damaging floods and make recommendations on projects to mitigate floods and other natural disasters. Announced by Prime Minister Julia Gillard, the National Insurance Affordability Council will also undertake other functions directed at reducing natural disaster insurance premiums. Ms Gillard said three priority areas of work had been identified for the Council to commence immediately. "This includes a $7 million contribution to building the Roma levy and $10 million to upgrade flood defences in Ipswich," Ms Gillard said. "The Government will make available up to $50 million over two years to any NSW Government proposal for flood mitigation in Western Sydney by raising the Warragamba Dam." She said despite a series of significant reforms to the flood insurance market, in flood prone areas affordability of flood cover remained a problem. "Minimising damage from flood and other natural disasters is the only sustainable way to reduce insurance premiums over time," she said. "Experience in Australia and internationally has shown that mitigation can sustainably reduce insurance premiums." | | | | | The Queensland Government has released an action plan to address housing affordability in mining regions. It says current planning systems are too restrictive and councils often do not have funding to provide infrastructure to develop new blocks of land. Queensland Infrastructure and Planning Minister Jeff Seeney says the plan will address those problems over the next two years with targeted initiatives for communities in the Surat and Bowen basins. | | | | | ALGA President and Mayor of Marion, Felicity-ann Lewis, has become an Earth 2013 Ambassador and is urging councils across the country to support Earth Hour 2013 and play a central role in helping the environment. Earth Hour will be held on Saturday 23 March, 8.30-9.30pm. But this year, Australians aren't just switching off the lights for an hour, they're making a pledge to switch to renewable energy. According to Earth Hour organisers, 1.5 million Australian households have already switched to renewable energy. Mayor Lewis said her community of Marion will be participating in Earth Hour this year, with non-essential lighting in the city's buildings to be switched off. Communities with the highest number of pledges to switch to renewable energy will win solar power prizes. For more information, please visit www.earthhour.org.au | | | | | The Collaboration of Community-based Obesity Prevention Sites (CO-OPS Collaboration) provides support to community-based obesity prevention initiatives (CBOPI) by promoting best practice, assisting in knowledge translation and exchange amongst practitioners and stakeholders involved in CBOPI, and by establishing evidence quality and evaluation systems to increase the value and impact of CBOPI's and the provision of an ongoing knowledge transfer, support, resources, and dissemination services. The overall aim of this project is to create a robust national Knowledge Translation and Exchange system which links academic, policy and practice professionalsto ensure best practice in the promotion of healthy eating, regular physical activity and healthy weight as key factors to help prevent chronic disease. The CO-OPS Collaboration was originally funded by the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) for four years from 2007 to 2011. In July 2012, DoHA committed to funding a new and expanded version of the CO-OPS Obesity Prevention Network for three years. This expanded version of CO-OPS is collaboration between Deakin University, the University of Melbourne, the University of Sydney and Flinders University, withthe secretariat based in the Who CC at the Deakin Waterfront Campus. 2013 CO-OPS events - save the date! - needs assessment consultations across all states/territories to enhance our services and support to practitioners (March - April 2013);
- the 2013 CO-OPS National Workshop (free to attend - 2-3 May 2013, Melbourne);
- Obesity Prevention Short Course (31 Apr - 2 May 2013, Melbourne);
- state-focused professional development workshops based on needs identified (2nd half of 2013); and
- a national on-line survey to track our progress.
If you would like more information visit www.co-ops.net.au, contact admin@co-ops.net.au or follow us on twitter @CO_OPS. | | | | | A new Centre for Carbon, Water and Food has been officially opened at the University of Sydney. Prime Minister, Julia Gillard said the state-of-the-art teaching and research facility would help Australian agriculture meet the challenges of producing more food of better quality while using less water and putting less carbon into the atmosphere. "The Centre for Carbon, Water and Food will help tackle some of the country's largest environmental challenges, including those in the Murray-Darling Basin, issues around interaction between agriculture and mining, and the sustainable management of public and private rural land," Ms Gillard said. "The new Centre will also house an interdisciplinary team of world leading researchers, working to face the challenge of feeding a growing world population, and strengthening Australia’s potential as the food bowl of Asia. "As the Australia In The Asian Century White Paper notes, the growth of the Asian middle class - to 3 billion people by 2030 - will provide opportunities for Australian businesses including those in the food technology and production industries." She said a new milestone in Australian-Chinese collaboration had also been met with the Centre signing agreements with two leading Chinese agricultural research institutions. "An agreement with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science will result in a Sino-Australia Joint Laboratory for Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems housed at the Centre, with a mirror facility in Beijing," she said. "The Centre will establish a Sino-Australian Laboratory for Food Security, at the centre and in Nanjing in collaboration with Nanjing Agricultural University." | | | | | Nominations are now open for the inaugural National Preventive Health Awards. Managed by the Australian National Preventive Health Agency (ANPHA) the Awards reflect the Agency's commitment to improving health outcomes for all Australians in partnership with the national, state and territory governments and departments and agencies are welcome to nominate. They showcase current, practical and effective workplace programs that benefit the well-being of employees and encourage leadership in the area of preventive health to promote greater awareness of current health challenges. Chief Executive of ANPHA, Louise Sylvan said: "We know there are many people and organisations who contribute so much time and energy supporting prevention and better health and well-being around Australia," said Ms Sylvan. "These Awards allow us to recognise the invaluable effort of those promoting healthy lifestyles to enhance the quality of life for many Australians." She said four main categories were: the Healthy Workplace Awards; the Prevention in Medicare Locals Awards; the Preventive Health Translational Research Award; and the Excellence in Preventive Health Journalism Award. | | | | | The Queensland Government has advertised for "transfer managers" to oversee the de-amalgamation of the Noosa, Livingstone, Douglas and Mareeba councils. Four people will be appointed from April to December to help set up the new councils, which are due to start operating on 1 January next year. The ad calls for applicants with an understanding of local government and senior management experience in comparably sized organisations. The president of the Douglas Chamber of Commerce says resurrecting the Douglas shire will strengthen the far north Queensland region's brand. The chamber took a neutral position before Saturday's de-amalgamation poll. President Phoebe Kitto says there are still financial concerns to address. However, she says the split will be better for local businesses and tourism operators, who struggled to distinguish themselves from Cairns. "This is a good opportunity for us to really stand up and talk about what we want, what environmental policies, what planning policies, what brand we're going to have in our own community." "There have been some rumours that instead of being the Douglas regional council that we'd be the Daintree regional council. "I think that has got a lot of merit and that is something that I would like to debate, and that we really identify ourselves as a unique brand up here." | | | | | A proposal has been made to replace the super shire structure of local government in the Northern Territory. As part of their election campaign, the Country Liberals promised to reconsider the future of the shires, saying they were failing people in the bush. The proposal involves replacing the eight super shires with regional councils. He says these councils could be backed by local authorities made up of representatives of one or more communities. Chief Minister Adam Giles says it too early to say how many councils would be needed but local people would take part in the decision-making process. "It is up to the consultations to determine where people think their best boundaries are," he said. "The regional council structure will be smaller than a shire; it will be a new model of regional governance." There is also a longer-term proposal to have other stakeholders like miners and cattle producers involved. | | | | | A group of regional Victorian councils wants a $4 billion funding boost to improve infrastructure and key services. The alliance of ten of Victoria's biggest regional cities says the funding will help keep up with growth and ease pressure on Melbourne in the next 20 years. The group, which includes Wodonga, Shepparton, Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat, has released a report predicting the population in their municipalities could increase by up to 288,000 by 2031. Group chairman Mark Byatt, the mayor of Wodonga, says the extra funding is needed in areas of transport, health, aged care and education. "It pinpoints what investment needs to be done in those areas to grow and develop regional centres," he said. "Regional cities become a very real option for the growth strategy but they do require good planning and they will require a long term approach to investment," he said. | | | | | Non-metropolitan Regional Development Australia (RDA) committees in South Australia have successfully secured funding under the South Australian Government’s $2.7 million Regional Development Fund (RDF), which is designed to grow stronger, sustainable and competitive regions. The RDF allows non-metropolitan RDA committees to access funds to deliver programs that facilitate regional economic development. Each committee developed a program that was tailored to their region’s needs and supported the creation of new regional employment and attraction of new investment and/or reinvestment. The grants announced on 21 February 2013 will contribute to: - expansion of the vibrant economic and social base in the Yorke and Mid North region
- an economic development program for the Eyre and Western region
- realisation of the benefits of mining in a vibrant Far North region
- strengthening of the food and wine economy in the Barossa, Light and Lower North region
- sustainable growth for food and wine in the Adelaide Hills, Fleurieu and Kangaroo Island region
- economic diversification and support to small to medium enterprises for the Limestone Coast region
- smarter digital regions and a growth in primary industries for the Murray and Mallee region, and
The funds announced will be available from 1 July 2013. Further information is available at the Regional Development Fund website. Visit the My RDA - South Australia website to find out more about RDA committees in South Australia. | | |
| | |  A must-attend event for government policy and decision makers in the areas of infrastructure, transport, resources, logistics, planning and housing. The National Urban Policy Conference - Economic productivity and the city - will provide a platform for informed discussion about how federal/state/local government and the private sector can collaborate to realise the productivity dividend that can be unlocked from Australian cities. Join us in Sydney to hear from several expert speakers, but importantly, to actively participate in the conversation on the future of Australia's urban landscape. For further information and to register please visit www.nupc.com.au |
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