As speculation intensifies over what will be included in the 2014-15 Federal Budget to be handed down on Tuesday, 13 May 2014, ALGA in its submission to the Federal Government stressed the need for continued reform in the area of Commonwealth-local government financial relations to ensure the long term financial sustainability of local government; that funding for local government is vital for supporting and strengthening local communities.

The need for a more comprehensive review of Financial Assistance Grants (FAGs) program and  making funding for the Roads to Recovery program permanent were among key points highlighted by ALGA.

The full submission is available  on the ALGA website. Key points from the 2014-15 budget, and in particular what it means for local government will be available on the ALGA website  on Budget night.

Half of all Australian working mothers say they have experienced discrimination by employers, a groundbreaking report has found. In a survey of 2000 women on parental leave - the first of its kind in Australia - the Australian Human Rights Commission found workplace discrimination was prevalent at all stages of motherhood - during pregnancy, parental leave or return to work.

As part of the Supporting Working Parents: Pregnancy and Return to Work National Review, the Australian Human Rights Commission contracted Roy Morgan Research to conduct a National Survey to measure the prevalence of discrimination in the workplace related to pregnancy, parental leave and return to work following parental leave.

One in four mothers said they were discriminated against during pregnancy, almost a third experienced discrimination when they requested or took parental leave and more than a third experienced it when they returned to work.  The discrimination ranged from negative attitudes and comments from managers or co-workers to changes in pay or conditions, being threatened with redundancy or dismissal and a loss of career opportunities.

The major conclusion we can draw from this data is that discrimination has a cost - to women, their families, to business and to the Australian economy and society as a whole," Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick said.  More information can be found on the Human Rights Commission website.

Built Environment Meets Parliament (BEMP) is an annual conversation between parliamentarians and industry leaders that showcases the relationship between Australian communities and their built environment. BEMP offers an opportunity to explore the economic, social, environmental and governance issues that help shape national prosperity.

Australia’s cities are crucibles of national productivity. This year’s summit will turn the spotlight on a new generation of design solutions that will unlock waves of economic and social dividends in our cities. Great design unleashes creative solutions that accelerate opportunity.

BEMP 2014 will showcase design in all its facets. From 3D printing to the latest international thinking on infrastructure funding and urban policy, BEMP 2014 will explore how we can all boost productivity by design.

BEMP is a two-day event beginning with a dinner on Monday 14 July which incorporates the presentation of the Australian Award for Urban Design (AAUD) and the full-day BEMP summit on Tuesday 15 July.

Visit the BEMP home page for more information.

More than one million Australians over the age of 45 have both high blood pressure and high cholesterol - two major risk factors for heart attack, according to the National Heart Foundation of Australia. The Heart Foundation’s analysis of each state and territory, using data from the ABS Australian Health Survey, showed Tasmania and Victoria top the list of the nation’s worst rates for both high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

This means that a million men and women are at imminent risk of health attack and stroke, according to Mr Robert Grenfell, National Director of Cardiovascular Health at the National Health Foundation.  Every year around 55,000 people have a heart attack .  The more risk factors a person has, the higher the chance of having a heart attack and this new data shows at least a million of us are essentially ticking time bombs, Mr Grenfell said.

Other risk factors such as smoking, obesity. lack of physical activity, poor diet, diabetes and kidney disease all contribute to a higher risk.

The only way to find out if you are at risk is to have your blood and cholesterol checked by a health professional, and the National Heart Foundation is urging all people over 45, or 35 for Indigenous or Torres Strait Islanders, to make an appointment with their GP for a Heart Health Check and advice on what you can do to help prevent heart attack or stroke.

Last year's falls in the Australian dollar appear to have boosted tourist arrivals into the nation.  Figures from the Bureau of Statistics on overseas arrivals and departures show the number of short-term visitors coming to Australia rose 0.1 per cent in February, seasonally adjusted.

The trend figures, were up around 0.6 per cent for the month, with 562,600 short-term visitors arriving to the country - the ABS says this is a record for February.

Over the past year, the trend arrivals figure is up 9.6 per cent, which CommSec says is the biggest annual gain in 13 years.  CommSec's chief economist Craig James says China is accounting for a significant part of the increase, with a 15.9 per cent increase on a year ago.

However, the increase in inbound tourists and business travellers is still not enough to counteract Australia's tourism deficit - with 178,300 more Australians leaving on short trips than tourists arriving (seasonally adjusted figures), although it represents the smallest deficit in eight months.

For the past 10 years the National Water Commission has been the independent statutory authority providing advice to the Commonwealth on water policy, including monitoring and auditing programs like the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.  Senator Simon Birmingham, parliamentary secretary to the environment minister, would not confirm the Commission's fate, but told the ABC's AM that it was under review and flagged that future work may be done by consultants.

"As everyone appreciates the Government has a huge budget challenge to bring the budget back into a sustainable shape and we've made it very clear that all areas of government are under review for efficiency opportunities and of course, across the water portfolio we're looking at that," Senator Birmingham told AM.

"Everything is being considered and looked at carefully to ensure that we give taxpayers best value for their money", he said.

The Government would save around $30 million over four years, by abolishing the Commission.  Scientists have expressed concerns that there is still much work to be done and query the independence of advice of consultants as compared to an independent statutory body.

The City of Perth, which repealed its anti-begging laws after a recommendation by the Law Reform Commission in 2004,  is considering bringing back laws to make begging a crime, as numbers of beggars on the street increase.

A City of Perth council committee has decided to petition the State Government, urging the reintroduction of the laws. Perth's Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi said council had observed an increase in begging and had received complaints from businesses and passers-by about aggressive behaviour as well as concerns about the welfare of the beggars.

Begging is illegal in Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and Queensland, but laws are often not used to punish beggars, rather to encourage them to seek counselling, health checks and look at why they are begging on the streets.

The population of Logan City Council, has reached 300,667 according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics earlier this month, making it the 5th largest local government area in Australia.

Logan City's population has been growing at a rate of 2.1 per cent a year and Marsden recorded the greatest population increase. 

The top four council areas by population are Brisbane (1,131,191), Gold Coast (537,844) and Moreton Bay (408, 914) all in Queensland, and Blacktown in NSW (325,185).

A new James Cook University project is helping assess whether we are winning the war on informing people about plastic waste and its devastating impacts on the marine environment.  JCU researchers are conducting surveys to help gauge people's attitudes toward disposing of materials, plastics in particular, and its impacts on tropical ecosystems.

Associate Professor Mark Hamann, from JCU's School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, said marine debris was a threat to many species, especially marine turtles and a key conservation issue for tropical environments, and which has become an issue of concern for many government and non-government agencies around the world. 

He said the challenge is to find effective ways to change human behaviour with regard to the consumption and disposal of debris, especially plastics and has suggested social marketing as a way to encourage this kind of human behaviour change, saying social marketing has been proven to be more successful than solely information-based strategies.

The project is designed to help develop effective social marketing campaigns within the tourism sector in tropical Australia focused on wider aspects of environmental protection.  It will generate data that can be used in the development of more effective behaviour change programs in environmental protection.

As productivity and consumer buying continues to increase, the amount of plastic that makes its way into the marine environment also continues to rise at an alarming rate. As such, marine debris is now a ubiquitous problem worldwide, he said.  Although plastics have only existed for just over a century, by 1988, 30 million tons of plastic were produced annually, and their versatility has rapidly caused them to become a part of everyday life in developed countries around the world.

"Solutions to plastic pollution need to start with changes in consumer behaviours including selecting products with less plastic packaging, avoiding single use plastic items, and more careful disposal of rubbish."

The project involves three stages, starting with a survey conducted in key locations in the Townsville region to collect data from local residents and tourists.  The survey can be found at: www.jcu.edu.au/marinesurvey.

Nine of the world’s largest UN and non-UN organisations have joined forces to form the 'Medellin Collaboration on Urban Resilience' to help build urban resilience and to strengthen the social, economic and environmental fabric of the world’s urban spaces.

The collaboration was announced at the 7th World Urban Forum in Medellin, and the initiative supports cities to reduce their vulnerability by building on their capacity to respond to climate change challenges, disasters and economic shocks.  The new initiative aligns with fully in line with ICLEI's 'Resilient City Agenda'. 

The group includes UN-Habitat, UNISDR, the Wold Bank Group, Rockefeller Foundation, C40 Cities, ICLEI, 100 Resilient Cities, the Inter-America Development Bank and the Global Facility for Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery.   These groups, together, cover over 2,000 cities with more than US$2 billion of funding committed annually toward advancing resilient and sustainable urban growth and development.

The primary objectives of the collaboration are:

• Fostering harmonisation of the approaches and tools available to help cities build their resilience;
• Catalysing access to existing and innovative finance mechanisms, including risk-based instruments to reduce exposure and vulnerability to shocks and increase cities’ adaptive capacity;
• Supporting capacity development of cities, direct sharing of best practice and knowledge enhancement; and
• Forging alliances with urban networks, institutions, and the private sector.

Velo-city Global, to be held in Adelaide from 27 - 30 May 2014, is the world's leading international urban cycling planning conference. The four day event will host a program of over 170 presenters, social activities, cycling tours; offering delegates from around the world a chance to share the best practices for creating and sustaining cycling-friendly cities, where bicycles are valued as part of daily transport and recreation.

Running alongside to Velo-city Global 2014 is Velo-Fringe festival. Just like the famous Adelaide Fringe, but just about bikes. It will see the city filled with events and activities that are related to bikes and cycling; from bike tours, design competitions, bike rave's and much much more. Running from 16 - 31 May 2014, it will be a celebration of what's great about cycling in Adelaide.

For further information please visit www.velo-city2014.com or www.facebook.com/velocityconference