 | |  ALGA President, Mayor Troy Pickard, met with the Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Warren Truss this week to brief the Deputy Prime Minister on some of the key issues facing the sector. The Deputy Prime Minister has worked with ALGA and local government for many years and has a background in local government. Mayor Pickard presented Mr Truss with the ALGA Federal Budget submission and outlined its key proposals including: - Immediately restoring the indexation of Financial Assistance Grants;
- Establishing a $100 million Strategic Regional Roads Program to ensure that first mile/last mile and freight connectivity issues are address to improve national productivity;
- Funding regional and community infrastructure at a cost of $300 million per annum for the next four years to stimulate growth over the longer term and build community resilience;
- Funding a disaster mitigation program at a level of $200 million per annum; and
- Providing $40 million over four years to support councils to undertake climate vulnerability assessment and develop adaptation plans.
"The productive working relationship between local government and the Commonwealth means we are well placed to continue to work together on these important issues. ALGA will strongly advocate for a greater investment in local government from the Commonwealth to ensure that the local services and infrastructure which contribute to national productivity continue to be delivered, and that councils and our communities receive greater funding in the face of the Government current fiscal constraints," Mayor Pickard said. You can access ALGA's Budget Submission here. | | | | |  ALGA President, Mayor Troy Pickard, this week met with the Minister for Justice, the Hon Michael Keenan to discuss issues relating to local government and in particular the Productivity Commission Inquiry into Disaster Funding Arrangements. The Productivity Commission submitted the final report of its Inquiry into Disaster Funding Arrangements to the Government on 19 December 2014. Although the Government has not yet formally responded to the PC Report, Mayor Pickard took the opportunity to reiterate the sector's position on some of the issues which the Commission flagged in its earlier draft Report. "ALGA and the local government sector have welcomed the suggestion that councils be given greater autonomy in how they respond to perceived threats and recover from adverse events. However we have concerns about the recommendations which would see the Commonwealth contribution to relief and recovery efforts reduced. "ALGA supports the proposal that the Commonwealth should spend more on mitigation - up from $20m to $200m per annum - but does not believe this should be made conditional on reducing relief and recovery support. I am also concerned that requirements for matching funding could disadvantage the poorer councils," Mayor Pickard said. ALGA supports changes to the National Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements to provide greater flexibility for councils using their own labor forces in recovery efforts. Mayor Pickard presented Minister Keenan with a copy of its Federal Budget Submission which specifically calls for funding for a disaster mitigation program at a level of $200 million per annum. | | | | |  Delegates at this year's National General Assembly (NGA) will be able to directly to engage with the Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Warren Truss, when he addresses the NGA. With portfolio responsibilities for local government, infrastructure and regional development, the NGA is an important opportunity for local government to ensure the Deputy Prime Minister understands the specific challenges the sector is facing regarding the freeze on the indexation of Financial Assistance Grants, our call for the permanent doubling of Roads to Recovery and the Bridges Renewal Programs as well as increasing community infrastructure and disaster mitigation funding. The 2015 NGA is being held at an important time, coinciding with the Government's potential reform of the Federation and of taxation through a process to develop two White Papers. Local government is an important partner in the development of a national consensus on any reform proposal, helping to shape this debate and making a strong contribution to the process. The NGA debate on motions and the associated discussions will help to inform the ALGA Board in formulating submissions to the Federation and Taxation White Papers, as well as guiding other important intergovernmental negotiations and activities during the coming year. Registrations for the 2015 NGA are now open. Information on the program and online registration is available here. | | |
| |  This week the ALGA Board met to discuss a range of issues facing local government, chief amongst them was the campaign aimed at ending the freeze to the indexation of Financial Assistance Grants (FAGs). The decision to freeze the indexation of FAGs announced by the Commonwealth in the May 2014 Budget will result in councils working with less funding this year and into the future. There are around 560 councils in Australia that employ about 190,000 people and have aggregate expenditure in excess of $32 billion per annum. Local government is critically important to Australia and Australia's communities. The Government's three-year freeze to the indexation of FAGs will cost councils an estimated $925 million by 2017-18 but will also result in a permanent reduction in the FAGs base by around 13%. FAGs are a vital part of the revenue base of all councils and they are used to help fund essential local services and infrastructure. Councils use this funding for roads, libraries, parks and community facilities. They use it to run community arts programs, support planning processes and provide a range of services to their communities. This funding is critical to our local communities, critical to all Australian communities and it is imperative that the Federal Government restore the indexation. With the Government’s decision to freeze indexation and deprive councils of a cumulative total of $925 million, the value of the grants received by local government will be $321m less than it would otherwise have been in 2017-18. By the following year, in 2018-19, the base will be around $335 million less. By the year after that it will be about $350 million less. That is the entire value of the Roads to Recovery Program (R2R). This cut makes our job, as Elected Members representing the interests of local communities, more difficult. We have fought to keep the R2R program but we now face the prospect of losing the full value of the program from our core funding. We must stand firm to ensure the indexation freeze is reversed. This week I took up this issue during meetings with the Deputy Prime Minister and a number of other Ministers and federal politicians. Given the importance of this issue, the ALGA Board has charged the ALGA Secretariat to work with the State and Territory Associations to implement a campaign involving every council to help us ensure the restoration of FAGs indexation. We will be writing to all councils shortly to seek your active participation in the campaign. Mayor Troy Pickard ALGA President | | |
| | The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) released its first quarterly performance scorecard at the Australian Trucking Association's national conference in Hobart this week, highlighting the hard work of the Regulator and its stakeholders in delivering for industry. Performance snapshot highlights: - 554 pre-approvals to facilitate "last mile" access on local council roads with 156 of these already lodged for gazettal to also remove the requirement for operators to obtain permits;
- 47 new access notices in place to drive down the initial demand for access permits;
- 2357 new PBS vehicle units certified with 584 safer, more efficient combinations on Australian roads;
- 90% of valid permit applications are now delivered to road managers within one business day;
- 93% of National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme requests resolved within 10 business days; and
- Reduced the number of documents that need to be carried in the cab.
| | | | | Commonwealth Minister for Justice Michael Keenan this week announced further disaster assistance for local councils affected by ex-Tropical Cyclone Marcia and that disaster assistance has been activated for 16 Western Australian councils following flooding this year. The assistance is being provided through the jointly-funded Commonwealth-State Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA). Assistance available under the NDRRA supports local and State Government agencies undertaking clean-up operations and to restore essential infrastructure, such as local roads, that were damaged by the flooding. Information regarding the assistance available can be found on the Western Australian Department of the Premier and Cabinet website and on the Australian Government's Disaster Assist website. | | | | | A new Report will be released by Austroads on 31 March dealing with the safety provisions for floodways over roads. There are as many as 20,000 floodways in Australia and New Zealand many of which rise over local and low volume roads. This Report finds that the vast majority of designated floodways do not meet the required design and hydraulic standards, have inappropriate signage and the depth gauges can provide misleading information. The Reports recommendations to improve safety on floodways include: - All signage should conform with Australian standards;
- A special floodways design supplement to the Austroads Road Design Guides should be prepared to highlight all design requirements in one document; and
- Criteria should be developed for when to implement active water level detection and advance warning systems.
For further information go to www.austroads.com.au. | | | | | A Bill, known as 'A Metre Matters' has been reintroduced to Parliament in Victoria to create minimum overtaking distance legislation for cars overtaking cyclists. The move has attracted widespread media attention, with Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews saying Victoria must do more to protect bike riders and improve road sharing. This follows a metre matters laws being trialled in Queensland, with South Australia and the ACT set to introduce safe passing rules, and Tasmania amending their road rules last month to allow motorists to cross unbroken lines when passing cyclists. | | | | | Waste operators will be in a good position to participate in the first auction on 15 and 16 April following the release of the Alternative Waste Treatment and Landfill Gas methods, targeted at reducing emissions from waste under the Emissions Reduction Fund. Are you a waste operator? By having already considered the business benefits of an emissions reducing project, you have a competitive advantage to participate in early auctions. This is an ideal opportunity if you are transitioning from the Carbon Farming Initiative or have an eligible project in the pipeline. Projects must meet some basic qualification tests and be registered with the Clean Energy Regulator to be eligible to participate in the auction. For more details about the Emissions Reduction Fund click here. | | | | | Community volunteers are being sought to join Regional Development Australia (RDA) committees in Chair, Deputy Chair and Committee Member positions in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, the Hon Warren Truss said RDA is a national network of boards made up of local people volunteering their time and energy to develop solutions to local issues. "We need people with the skills, experience and knowledge to build networks within the business community, education and local industry sectors and all levels of government to help drive regional economic development. Committee members will work with their communities to progress economic development and infrastructure projects which have been identified as priorities to support the long term economic growth of regions," Mr Truss said. Expressions of Interest close 7 April 2014. The form and information booklet can be found at www.rda.gov.au. | | | | | Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, the Hon Warren Truss has this week announced appointment of Regional Development Australia (RDA) committee members in Queensland and Western Australia. Regional Development Australia consists of a national network of 55 committees designed to strongly focus on regional economic development and facilitate local projects that aim to make a difference in their local communities. Information about the Committees and their membership can be found at www.rda.gov.au | | | | | The Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government (ACELG) and Regional Capitals Australia (RCA) this week launched a report on local government's role in building strong and sustainable regional capitals and regions. The report Local Government Growing Regional Australia, launched at the RCA conference in Queensland, explores the factors underpinning strong and sustainable regional capitals and regions, and the vital role played by local government in this crucial national issue. The report finds that a new way of thinking about regional economic development, one that focuses on tapping under-utilised potential in all regions to enhance competitiveness. Regional economic development can be more effective when the approach works with other sectors and governments. This contrasts with the centralised approaches of the past that emphasise subsidies and compensation for regional 'disadvantage.' The report is free to download from www.acelg.org.au | | | | | Minister for Social Services, the Hon. Scott Morrison this week announced the Federal Coalition Government will provide $230 million to extend the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness (NPAH) for two years to 2017, with funding priority given to frontline services focusing on women and children experiencing domestic and family violence, and homeless youth under 18. "We have brought forward this announcement ahead of the May Budget to give providers of homelessness services across Australia more certainty, enabling them to get on with their work of helping some of our most vulnerable people. "States and territories will now need to match the Commonwealth’s commitment to homelessness funding under the NPAH, so we can continue to work together to ensure funding is going to frontline services. Accordingly I have written to State Ministers seeking their commitment to support this partnership and to advise them of the Government's decision," the Minister said. | | | | | While there is general acceptance that the Australian private insurance market has been able to meet the challenges posed by natural disasters over the years, recent events have highlighted the deficiencies in the existing market, prompting calls for a National Natural Disaster Insurance Program. The Australian Centre for Financial Studies recently commissioned Prof Andrew Worthington of Griffith University to prepare the report 'Natural Disasters and National Natural Disaster Insurance: An Australian Perspective' with the aim of providing an extensive review of Australia’s current activities in response to natural disasters. In the report Prof Worthington states that there is a "very specific role for government, mostly as a reinsurer". The full report is available via the Australian Centre for Financial Studies' Research Database which can be accessed here. | | |
| | |  As our dependence on Information Technology (IT) and complexity of IT are growing, tech-savy CFOs and CEOs require more advanced techniques to be able to : a) measure & analyse organizational 'value for money' delivered through IT capabilities and b) more effectively incorporate this information into the organizational planning, budgeting and forecasting cycle. IT VALUE FOR MONEY SCAN is a cost-effective and rapid approach used by leading local government agencies to improve transparency of their investments in IT and strengthen governance. It delivers: - greater objectivity through external benchmarking,
- advanced IT capability measurement aligned with trends pertinent to local government,
- reference data for strategic planning and budgeting,
- executive level IT capability dashboards,
Please contact service@tech-indicators.com or +61 2 9879 7115 to enquire. |
| | | | | |  FloodPlain Management Association National Conference Brisbane Convention & Exibition Centre
19 - 22 May 2015 The Floodplain Management Association Conference has been held annually for over 50 years and is the most respected floodplain industry event held in Australia. The 55th FMA Conference will again be a National Conference, this time being held in Brisbane, Queensland. Queensland's extensive floods, impressive response and recovery programs, and current flood mitigation projects provide excellent learning which can be applied across Australia. The theme for this year's conference is "Building a Flood Resilient Australia", which will focus on Building Resilient Communities and Flood Resilient Buildings and Infrastructure. Highlights of the 2015 FMA National Conference Include: - Keynote Speaker - Mr John Curtin, Environment Agency, UK
- Keynote Speaker - Professor Bas Jonkman, Technical University Delft, The Netherlands
- Flood Insurance Forum - industry representatives provide an interactive session covering issues of concern to Councils and Insurers
- State & Territory Presentations - current issues, challenges & opportunities
- Over 70 Oral Presentations
- Poster Presentations
- Pre-Conference Flood Workshop
- Australia-Netherlands Water Challenge
- Local Government Councillors' Session
- Local Field Trips
- Networking Events
"Early" Discounted Registration closes Friday 27th March 2015 - register today so you don't miss out! Further information on the conference please visit www.floodplainconference.com or contact amy@eastcoastconferences.com.au Ph: 02 6650 9800 |
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