MobileMuster, the not-for-profit recycling program of the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association, is proud to announce the winners of their 2014 Local Government Recycling Awards. 

Presented at the National General Assembly of Local Government, in Canberra, each of the five councils received their award for their recycling programs that keep old mobiles out of landfill.

The awards recognised the exemplary work of the following councils:

1. Top Collector Overall: Brisbane City Council, QLD
2. Top Collector Per Capita:  Hay Shire Council, NSW
3. Best Promoter: City of Mitcham, SA
4. Working with Schools: City of Ryde, NSW
5. National Excellence: City of Sydney, NSW

Rose Read, Recycling Manager, MobileMuster said, council support was integral to the success of MobileMuster's national recycling program.

"In the past 12 months 349 councils that work in partnership with our recycling program collected nearly 3000kg of old mobile phones and their accessories, a year-on-year increase of 25 percent. Without local council support as both a collection facility and as an educator to residents on the importance of e-waste recycling, MobileMuster wouldn't be the successful recycling program it is today.

For more information about the award winners and how your council can get involved visit MobileMuster's council pages.

The National Australia Day Council (NADC) has extended the deadline for their National General Assembly delegates competition until 11 July. NADC were at the NGA to raise awareness of the Australian of the Year Awards and Australia Day activities.  NADC is urging delegates to the NGA to tell them about someone in their local community who they would like to nominate for the 2015 Awards and why. Submit your entry here and you will go into the draw to win a trip for two to Canberra in January to attend the national announcement of the Australian of the Year Awards 2015.  

Councils can access a toolkit online to promote the Awards or can take a look at videos available on the nominations portal. For more information or assistance email awardsinfo@australiaday.org.au or phone 02 6120 0600.

The Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Centenary of ANZAC, Senator the Hon. Michael Ronaldson announced more than $2.36 million in funding for commemorative projects under the Anzac Centenary Local Grants Program, on Friday 20 June.

"There has been an outstanding response to the Anzac Centenary Local Grants Program with more than 1,650 applications received from all Federal electorates across Australia," Senator Ronaldson said.

"These grants will assist communities to find out more about their local servicemen and women through the display of military memorabilia, artefacts and historic photographs, the research and publishing of books, and the restoration and creation of memorials, avenues of honour, statues and remembrance gardens."

The 212 projects approved to date from 52 electorates include a number of unique projects such as:

• A research project involving 41 schools and their local communities in NSW, producing a piece of visual, performing, print or multimedia art representing their individual understanding of Australia's involvement in the First World War.
• A free, public, historical pageant through the centre of Parramatta, NSW on 30 August 2014 to commemorate the outbreak of the First World War and the service and sacrifice of the men of the 1st Light Horse.
• A re-enactment of a period infantry and light horse camp at Morphettville, SA and a uniformed march and commemoration ceremony.
• The establishment of a new war memorial at the Tim Neville Arboretum in Melbourne’s outer eastern suburbs to honour the memory of local veterans from the Knox district.

The Anzac Centenary Local Grants Program is a key element of the Australian Government's Anzac Centenary program, with up to $125,000 in funding made available for each Federal electorate to commemorate the First World War.

More information about the Anzac Centenary Local Grants Program is available at www.anzaccentenary.gov.au.

Paint the Town REaD Ltd together with Paint the Gong REaD and Paint Shellharbour REaD invites people skilled in early literacy and/or collective impact to submit abstracts for workshops, or poster displays for the Paint the Town REaD fifth national conference to be held in Wollongong in March 2015.

Paint the Town REaD (PTTR) Ltd is an early literacy collective impact charity whose aim is to encourage all levels of the community to support the development of children's early literacy skills from birth. Communities across Australia have found this the most exciting and innovative way to make these critical changes.

The conference aims to bring together professionals from a wide range of disciplines supporting families with children 0-5years. Conference organisers are calling for papers for workshops or poster presentations on the following sub-themes:

• Leadership/Champions in Early Literacy
• Collective Impact and Early Literacy
• Innovation in Early Literacy
• AEDI and Early Literacy

Submissions are invited for the following sub-themes in relation to early literacy within the following communities/sectors:

• Early Childhood Care and Education Services
• Library Programs/Services
• Vulnerable Communities/Early Intervention & Prevention Services
• Aboriginal Communities
• Multicultural Communities
• Schools
• Your Local Community

The closing date for papers is Friday 18 July 2014

Address all papers to Tracey Kirk-Downey conference@paintthetownread.info or www.paintthetownread.info

2014 marks the Centenary of Red Cross. It is a great Australian story about the extraordinary generosity and compassion of millions of everyday people helping people.

Red Cross is part of the fabric of Australian life, touching the lives of most people in some way. From helping someone caught up in an emergency or assisting an elderly person stay in their home, to saving a life with first aid or a blood donation, Red Cross has been there.

More than ever, Red Cross needs your support to continue our vital everyday work. Find out how you can get involved and help Red Cross change lives for the next 100 years.

Red Cross is collecting the personal stories of people who have shared a remarkable history: the power of humanity in action. Volunteers, members and supporters, people who have helped and been helped - you can tell your own story in your own words, in your own way. The story collection is the heart of this Centenary website.

You can share your story or the story of someone you know. It can be as simple as sharing a photo or writing a few words. You can share a longer story and add pictures, video or sound recordings. It's up to you.

For more ways to get involved visit redcross.org.au

The Lord Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore is to deliver the 47th Griffin Lecture at the National Press Club in Canberra on 16 July.

The Lord Mayor's lecture is themed Should Cities rule the world? The event will for the first time be televised. More information is available here.

On her two week 'Journey to Canberra', Janet Rice will cycle through regional Victoria before finally arriving at Parliament House on 30 June 2014. Canberrans are invited to join the Cycling Cavalcade, meeting Janet at the ACT border and escorting her on the home stretch.

Pedal Power Executive Officer, John Armstrong, hopes Rice's ride will get politicians talking about active transport alternatives at the federal level.

"Pedal Power may be apolitical but we welcome any initiative which highlights the use of cycling as a means of effective and sustainable transport. Real change can be driven from the top and it seems Pedal Power and other cycling advocacy groups have an ally in Ms Rice," said Armstrong.

From 24 June, eligible farmers in New South Wales who are experiencing financial hardship from drought can apply for a concessional loan under the Drought Concessional Loans Scheme to help them cope with the current conditions and recover when conditions improve.

Minister for Agriculture, Barnaby Joyce, and NSW Minister for Primary Industries, Katrina Hodgkinson, announced the roll out of the scheme in NSW today, demonstrating the commitment of the Australian and NSW Governments to ensuring loans will flow to where they are needed.

"Australia-wide we're providing $280 million for concessional loans to assist drought-affected farm businesses," Minister Joyce said.

Ms Hodgkinson said the loans have a concessional loan term of five years at an initial interest rate of four per cent, and they will be for up to 50 per cent of eligible farm business debt, to a maximum of $1 million.  

Minister Joyce said applications for concessional loans opened in Queensland earlier this month, and work continues to roll out the scheme in other jurisdictions.

"So far, we've given $200 million for Drought Concessional Loans to the NSW and Queensland Governments and we continue to work closely with Western Australia and the Northern Territory to finalise delivery arrangements in those jurisdictions," Minister Joyce said.

For information on how to apply, visit www.raa.nsw.gov.au or phone 1800 678 593. 

For further information on assistance available to farmers, visit daff.gov.au/assistance and www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/emergency/drought.

Small businesses in a dispute are set to benefit from the launch of Dispute Support, a new online dispute resolution information and referral tool, on 24 June.

There are a lot of dispute resolution services available to help resolve business disputes without going to court.

Dispute Support is a simple to use online tool to help small businesses to identify the most appropriate low cost dispute resolution service for their dispute.

The ability to effectively manage a dispute is an essential skill for good business management.

Dispute Support also provides information on understanding and managing disputes and tips to help avoid disputes in the future.

Dispute Support was developed by the Australian Small Business Commissioner in conjunction with representatives from state and territory governments, including the state Small Business Commissioners.

This initiative is a step toward transforming the Commissioner into the Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman with real power and a concierge function for dispute resolution.

Dispute Support is available on the Australian Small Business Commissioner's website.

A pilot training program will enable elected members in Western Australia's country local governments to build their skills and improve governance and decision-making.

Local Government Minister Tony Simpson said the $1.52million program, which will be rolled out this month to country local governments in Busselton and the Murchison, was funded through the State Government's Royalties for Regions program.

Training will be delivered by the Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA). Upon completion, elected members may progress to a Diploma of Local Government.

"One of the main principles of Royalties for Regions is local decision-making, and local governments have a critical role because of their direct links with the community," Regional Development Minister Terry Redman said.

"This training will ensure country local governments are equipped with the right skills to help guide $1billion a year in Royalties for Regions investment."

The country local government training will be free of charge and voluntary for elected members in non-metropolitan areas of WA.

In Australia, 12 per cent of people provide informal care to an older person or to someone with a disability or long-term health condition, according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

"We found there were 2.7 million people providing informal care in 2012," said Sarah March from the ABS, "and around 29 per cent of these carers are primary carers."

"The proportion of primary carers who were spending 40 hours a week or more providing care has also increased.

"At our last survey in 2009, 35 per cent of primary carers were spending 40 hours a week or more providing care, for 2012, this has increased to 39 per cent, or about two in five.

"We also found that one in five primary carers spent between 20 and 40 hours per week and almost two in five spent less than 20 hours per week." said Ms March.

Women were both more likely to be carers, and more likely to be primary carers.

The ABS found that there were 1.5 million female carers, and of these 536,700 were primary carers, compared to 1.2 million male carers and 233,100 male primary carers.

Carers were also less likely to be participating in the labour force (56 per cent) than those who do not have caring responsibilities (69 per cent).

Young people - between 15 and 24 - with a caring role were almost twice as likely to be unemployed than others without a caring role of the same age.

Further information is available in Caring in the Community, 2012 (cat. no. 4436.0) available for free download from the ABS website.