Local government practitioners and academics took part in the Local Government Researchers Forum held last week at Adelaide University.  In opening the Forum, ALGA President and Mayor of Marion, Felicity-ann Lewis, talked about the value of work arising from the Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government research program and the practical nature of much of the research that is being undertaken across the nation.

Mayor Lewis spoke about the benefits of applied research to local governments and how modern councils are managing challenges through new mechanisms.

Research topics included local government finance and revenue; local government as a community facilitator; future workforce issues; local innovation; the application of climate change research; local demographics; planning and community wellbeing; and the shape, size and future of local government in Australia.

A summary of the plenary discussion along with completed papers and presentations will be available soon on the ACELG Local Government Research Network website: lgresearch.net.au

For further information please contact Stefanie Pillora, ACELG Program Manager, Research: stefanie.pillora@acelg.org.au or 9514 4897.

A sister-city agreement between country music meccas, Nashville and Tamworth, has been signed in Nashville.

Tamworth Mayor, Col Murray, and Nashville Mayor, Karl Dean, strengthened cultural ties between their two cities on Friday.

A delegation from Tamworth Regional Council and Destination NSW attended the ceremony, at Nashville's Country Music Hall of Fame, whose first inductee was the legendary Hank Williams in 1961.

The Nashville-Tamworth sister-city agreement is Nashville's seventh.

It also has sister-city arrangements with Edmonton in Canada (1990); Caen in France (1991); Belfast in Northern Ireland (1995); Magdeburg in Germany (2003); Taiyuan in China (2007); and Mendoza in Argentina (2009).

Karl Dean says he wants the people of Tamworth, and its musicians, to make the most of the cultural exchange.

"One of the great things about being Mayor of Nashville is when you tell anybody in the world where you're from they immediately think of music," he said.

"Nashville has benefitted from having several Australians who have done very, very well here and who live in this city and who have been great citizens of our community."

He says country music binds the two communities now and, hopefully, into the future.

A redevelopment of the Parkes Airport is expected to create more than 40 extra ongoing jobs.

The council has received $1.5m from the Regional Development Australia Fund for the project, which will include an expansion of the terminal and an upgrade of the runway lighting.

The redevelopment is expected to create more than 40 jobs during construction and another 40 positions once completed.

Mayor Ken Keith says work on the $3m redevelopment will be getting underway shortly.

"Work will start very soon, I'd imagine in the next financial year we'll see work undertaken because a lot of the planning has already been done," he said.

"They would like the funds expended by 2016 so I think over the next two years we'll have all that work done and completed.

"There's a few parts of the project, one is to renew the lighting on the runway and the second part is to actually expand and improve the terminal facilities including the baggage handling side of things and also to increase the size of the car park."

The Orange City Council also received $4m from the fund for its regional museum.

Mayor John Davis says the project will include exhibition space, a cafe and a tourist information centre.

"It's a hole that's been there for many years," he said.

"The museum people have been promised for a long, long time, many, many years that they would get a facility.

"I'm certainly very proud to be part of the council, with my fellow councillors, that have shown support for a museum and said that we would make sure that it happened."

Councillor Davis says it's exciting to have secured the extra funds.

The Federal Labor Government this week announced it would contribute $1.4 million to the $4 million redevelopment of the Alpha Aquatic Centre in Central West Queensland under the Regional Development Fund.

The redevelopment includes upgraded facilities and the replacement of the current 50 metre swimming pool with a sustainable, heated 25 metre pool with wheelchair access. The new pool will also have two extra lanes, allowing more people to swim at different levels.

Heating the pool will extend the club's swimming season, and allow increased use by other community groups in the Barcaldine region.

Good sports infrastructure strengthens communities and the upgraded aquatic centre will help cater for the region’s growing population.

I commend Barcaldine Regional Council for their successful funding application.

This project is a good example of the real benefits of targeted, long-term investment in regional communities.

Overall, the project will support 16 local jobs during construction and five ongoing jobs upon completion.

The project is expected to be completed by end 2014.

Funding is being provided through Round Four of the Regional Development Australia Fund.

More information on the Regional Development Australia Fund can be found at www.regional.gov.au

Torres Strait Island Regional Council Mayor Fred Gela says the Federal Government supports a long-term plan to secede the Torres Strait from Queensland.

Councillor Gela says he is working with governments to help the Torres Strait become a separate territory under the Federal Government in the next 15 years.

"We need to commence and start dialogue to have them form and establish and be fair dinkum about establishing an implementation committee, so we can start developing the journey, and mapping that journey forward, in terms of achieving the end result of being a territory within ourselves," he said.

He says it is a slow process but one that needs to happen.

"Autonomy is something that we've wanted for quite some time," he said.

"If there's anything that we've learnt it's that successive governments have only provided us with lip-service."

The Queensland Budget has laid out a total of $4.2 billion to rebuild the state after the January floods, and about half of that money will go towards rebuilding roads.

The Bruce Highway will receive $690 million, while $40 million has already been announced for flood-damaged infrastructure repair through a Betterment Fund.

The Federal Government will also contribute $40 million to the Fund.

In the Budget, there's $150 million to help councils carry out projects including water and sewerage upgrades.

CEO of the Local Government Association of Queensland, Greg Hallam, says there were no surprises, but he's happy with the allocations.

"There was a great deal of generosity by the State Government and indeed the Federal Government around the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements program. We will end up with a better road network as a consequence of that spending."

Under the Transport and Roads Investment Program, the Warrego Highway will have almost $316 million spent on it, the Landsborough $138.5 million and the Cunningham Highway $125.5 million.

The City of Sydney says it has saved enough power to run a small town by retrofitting old buildings with energy-efficient measures.

The council says it is saving as much as 50 per cent on power and water bills in government-owned buildings by installing LED lights and motion sensors, adjusting the voltage of entire buildings, and upgrading childcare, library and community facilities.

''We save a lot on … valuable resources and that, in turn, saves a lot of money,'' said Steve Castell, the council's property development co-ordinator.

The savings have been made under a contract with Origin Energy to cut electricity use in the city's buildings by 6.4 million kilowatt hours a year.

That is enough power to supply 870 households annually, saving an estimated $880,000 in annual power bills.

Lord mayor Clover Moore says cities are the greatest emitters of greenhouse gases and it makes good business sense to reduce their environmental footprint.

The council has set itself a target to reduce overall water and energy use by 20 per cent, and to reduce carbon emissions by 70 per cent, by 2030.

The Gympie Mayor says the Queensland Government needs to extend the contracts of recovery officers employed after this year's floods.

Two farm financial counsellors will finish working in Kingaroy and Gympie at the end of the month because the Government is no longer funding the service.

Ron Dyne says the region has been struggling since the 2011 floods and the officers are still desperately needed.

"It wasn't just in the Gayndah area and the North Burnett and Bundaberg areas that have had the impact," he said.

"We've had lucerne farmers who have been extensively impacted who haven't had an income for over three years, so I think it is ... premature at this stage to be withdrawing any assistance that they can provide."

Councillor Dyne says it is disappointing farmers are leaving the area and the Government needs to step in to support them.

"We need to keep these farmers on their properties," he said.

"A lot of them are younger people, so that's a positive because a lot of the farming community are a little more mature and we need to make sure these younger farmers remain on the land and are given every opportunity to remain on the land and succeed."

The $5.5 billion National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing (NPARIH) is on track to deliver housing targets, according to an independent review.

The release of the review’s findings comes halfway through the 10-year partnership, which is building new homes and refurbishing or rebuilding existing homes in remote Indigenous communities across the country.

It found as of 30 April this year 1,682 new houses and 5,436 refurbishments had been delivered nationally under the NPARIH and it was on track to reach 4,200 new houses by 2018, having already exceeded the original target to rebuild or refurbish 4,800 houses.

It also showed the National Partnership Agreement was having a significant impact on reducing overcrowding. 
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, contained in the review, showed the proportion of Indigenous households in remote Australia affected by overcrowding fell from 22.3 per cent in 2006 to 20.1 per cent in 2011.

The number of households impacted by severe overcrowding in remote Australia had also been reduced from 5.1 per cent in 2006 to 3.9 per cent in 2011.

The review also showed the program exceeded its 20 per cent target for Indigenous employment in the delivery of new housing construction in every State and the Northern Territory.

It found the National Partnership was delivering better property and tenancy management that helped ensure Indigenous people living in remote communities had the same rights and responsibilities as any other public housing tenant.

For more information, click here.

Refugee Week is Australia's peak annual activity to raise awareness about the issues affecting refugees and celebrate the positive contributions made by refugees to Australian society.  Refugee Week is always held from Sunday to Saturday of the week which includes 20 June (World Refugee Day).  In 2013, Refugee Week will be held from Sunday 16 June to Saturday 22 June.  The theme for Refugee Week this year is “Restoring Hope”.  Read more about the theme here.