 | |  The Government and Opposition agreed this week to a policy proposal to direct the revenue from the first two years of the fuel excise indexation, which adds up to $1.105 billion, towards additional Roads to Recovery funding for local government. Over the next two years, local governments across Australia will receive an extra $300 million (in 2015-16), on top of the already doubled $700 million for this year and an extra $805 million (in 2016-17) in addition to the $350 million already scheduled. This decision was strongly supported and welcomed by ALGA, particularly given the recognition by all parties of local government's important role in developing local economies and creating jobs through projects funded through the Roads to Recovery program. ALGA extended its congratulations and thanks to the Hon Warren Truss, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Local Government, the Hon Anthony Albanese, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport and the Hon Julie Collins, Shadow Minister for Regional Development and Local Government, for their commitment to supporting councils to deliver essential infrastructure for local communities, create jobs and contribute to productivity improvements across the nation. Read ALGA's media releases here and here. | | | | |  Mayor Troy Pickard this week called on all tiers of government and all sides of politics to keep an open mind on options canvassed during the Reform of Federation White Paper process. Mayor Pickard said that a mature conversation was needed about the potential reform and the options presented around areas of responsibility and funding and now was not the time to rule out ideas. Mayor Pickard's statement followed Tuesday’s release by the Federal Government of a Discussion Paper which focused on the three major areas of inter-governmental concern (health, education and housing/homelessness) but was for the most part silent on local government. With the goal of Federation reform being to improve the standard of living and wellbeing of Australians through better services, the Discussion Paper proposed that any reallocation of responsibilities between governments should aim to: - deliver better services: recognising diversity as a strength of Federation, it should be easier for people to receive, choose and access high quality services
- drive economic growth: encourage a productive and efficient economy supporting growth in the standard of living for all Australians
- be fair: all Australians should be able to receive, choose and access high quality services, regardless of personal circumstances, location or socio-economic background
- provide clear responsibility: people should be clear which level of government is responsible for services so they can hold them to account
- be durable: arrangements need to stand the test of time and be adaptable and flexible enough to accommodate changes required over time.
Local government, as the tier of government closest to the community, must be duly addressed in this once-in-a-generation opportunity looking at serious reform which will improve the operation of the Federation and deliver better services to Australians. Read ALGA's media release at this link. | | | | |  The Prime Minister has unveiled his long-awaited vision for northern Australia, releasing a wide-ranging white paper setting out ambitious policy ideas for the next 20 years. New roads, studies of dam sites and changes to land-use laws formed major parts of the Government's development blueprint, which is designed to make the north an "economic powerhouse". The plan included a $600 million roads package, cash to upgrade airstrips and money to explore rail freight options, in addition to the $100 million beef roads fund and $5 billion concessional loans facility that were announced in the 2015-16 Federal Budget. Other policies outlined in the paper included: - the establishment of a $200 million water infrastructure fund
- a study of the river systems across the north to see if they can support dams, or other storage options
- a new $75 million Cooperative Research Centre on developing the north with measures to boost links with the broader Asia-Pacific region
- making the Northern Australia Strategic Partnership (the biannual gathering of First Ministers from the Commonwealth and northern jurisdictions) permanent.
- continuing the Joint Select Committee on Northern Australia for the life of the Parliament to ensure ongoing bipartisan support for developing the north
- shifting the Office of Northern Australia to the north to increase links between the north and the Commonwealth.
More information on the White Paper and the Government's plans to unlock opportunities in the north is available here. | | |
| |  This week has seen a huge win for councils across Australia with an agreement made between the Government and the Opposition to boost Roads to Recovery funding over the next two years using revenue raised from reintroducing the indexation of fuel excise to inflation. The additional revenue will be around $1.1 billion and will bring Roads to Recovery program funding to around $1 billion for each of the next two financial years. What a fantastic result for local government! The announcement came on Tuesday morning with a press conference by the Opposition proposing the policy initiative, and the Government's agreement following shortly after. I noted that during Mr Shorten and Mr Albanese's press conference, they drew a direct link between this funding boost and its alleviation of some of the effects of the freeze to Financial Assistance Grants (FAGs) indexation. This is a strong indication that our FAGs campaign message, highlighting the impact of the freeze on councils, is getting through and it is a direct reflection of our hard work advocating and pushing this issue. It is also worth noting that this initiative comes hot on the heels of last week's National General Assembly of Local Government. The profile that our NGA gives to local government and the challenges we face, especially our financial sustainability, has an impact at the Federal level. That impact is reinforced and strengthened by the complementary advocacy of state and territory local government associations and individual councils with Ministers and local MPs during their time in Canberra. Our advocacy sends a strong and consistent message to our Federal representatives that local government can band together to stand up for the needs of their communities. It is for this reason that it is so important that local government is addressed and heard as part of the Reform of Federation and Taxation White Paper processes. This week the Government released a Discussion Paper on the Reform of the Federation, with the Green Paper yet to be finalised. I was disappointed that, for the most part, the Discussion Paper was silent on local government. The areas of focus in the Discussion Paper – health, education and housing/homelessness – encompass major reform opportunities but local government, and the delivery of a sufficient level of services and infrastructure to local communities, is also important. It is not clear what the outcomes of the Discussion Paper will be, but it is abundantly clear that the Federation White Paper should address how the needs of communities at the local level can be better met and we at ALGA will continue to drive this agenda in the development of the Green Paper. Mayor Troy Pickard ALGA President | | |
| | The Australian Human Rights Commission, with the assistance of the Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government, has released a comprehensive guide for local government to help build strong, socially cohesive communities. The fundamental role of local government in our communities makes it an ideal sector to work more closely with communities to respond to cultural challenges. The guide Building Social Cohesion in our Communities aims to support local governments to build cultural understanding in their communities by helping them to: - understand their communities and measure their strengths and weaknesses
- engage their communities and build partnerships between key stakeholders
- prevent and respond to incidents of racism or conflict between groups if they arise
- strategically plan for the needs of their communities now and into the future
- monitor, evaluate and share outcomes.
Structured around the five elements of building social cohesion based on international best practice, the social cohesion resource features case studies from local governments in Australia, tips for implementing good practice at the local level and links to useful resources. Get started with building social cohesion at this link. | | | | | The Government recently made two decisions to provide certainty for Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) clients and providers. Firstly, CHSP funding agreements will be extended for three years to 30 June 2018. This will correspond with the 2015 Budget decision to merge the CHSP and Home Care Packages programme from July 2018 to create an integrated care at home programme. Secondly, having taken on board community feedback and in light of the Budget announcement to put new home care arrangements in place from 2018, the Government also decided not to proceed with a mandatory national fees policy for CHSP from 1 July 2015. Instead of a mandatory fees policy, the Government will look to a fees framework that outlines principles providers can adopt in setting and implementing their fees. The Department of Social Services will work with the National Aged Care Alliance and peak bodies including the Australian Meals on Wheels Association to settle a principles-based fees policy for release in July 2015. In a separate announcement also this week, the Government committed $40 million to support aged care providers transition to the new CHSP and the consumer directed care (CDC) model of home care packages. This represents a funding boost of $20 million across more than 1,200 providers from four separate Commonwealth-funded community care programmes as they transition into the single, streamlined CHSP. Up to $20 million will also be allocated across more than 500 home care package providers to assist with the costs they have incurred in their transition to the CDC model of home care packages. The Department of Social Services said it will soon contact home care packages providers and CHSP providers with further details of the funding process. For more information on the CHSP, please visit the Department of Social Services website. | | | | | In his address to the National General Assembly of Local Government (NGA) last week, Minister for the Environment, the Hon Greg Hunt MP, outlined some key strategies and activities where local government could assist in improving environmental outcomes in Australia. Minister Hunt identified methods under the Emissions Reduction Fund that local government could use to take further action to reduce emissions on top of what many local governments are already doing including capturing gas from landfill or vegetation management activities. He gave a specific example around transport stating that councils are now eligible to reduce the emissions intensity of their vehicles by replacing vehicles, modifying existing vehicles, fuel switching, or improving operational or management practices. This could be done by: - training drivers of council vehicles to drive more efficiently in urban environments
- renewing a light vehicle fleet with more efficient vehicles including hybrid or electric vehicles, or
- using alternative fuels such as LNG, LPG and biodiesel in vehicle fleets.
The Minister also spoke about Clean Air Champions, the Green Army and The National Landcare Programme and highlighted other strategies based around the four key pillars of clean air, clean land, clean water and heritage protection. You can read Minister Hunt's speech to the NGA at this link. | | | | | Round 1 of the Mobile Black Spots Programme has committed to invest $100 million in telecommunications infrastructure to address mobile black spots in outer metropolitan, regional and remote Australia. Round 1 of the programme will deliver 499 new and upgraded mobile base stations across regional and remote Australia - 429 Telstra base stations and 70 Vodafone base stations. The 499 mobile base stations will provide new and upgraded handheld coverage to 68,600 square kilometres of regional Australia. In addition, more than 150,000 square kilometres of regional Australia will receive new external antenna coverage and more than 5,700 kilometres of major transport routes will receive either new external antenna or handheld coverage. A number of local governments, businesses, community organisations and five state governments (NSW, Vic, Qld, WA and Tas) have agreed to co-funding arrangements with the successful applicants. This brings the total investment in new and upgraded base stations under Round 1 of the Programme to $385 million. A map of locations that will receive new or upgraded coverage under Round 1 of the Programme can be viewed on the National Map or downloaded as an Excel file. A further $60 million has been committed by the Government for Round 2 of the Programme, with funding to be available over two years from 1 July 2016. Round 2 of the Programme is expected to operate under similar guidelines as the first round of the Programme and will offer further opportunities to meet unmet demand and provide coverage to more locations around regional and remote Australia. The competitive selection process for the second round of funding is expected to commence in 2016, after allowing time for further locations to be nominated by members of the public. The locations to be funded under Round 2 are expected to be announced by the end of 2016. Further information about the programme is available on the Department of Communications website. | | | | | The government has this week announced the details of the approved projects from the Green Army Round 3 project call. These projects are now ready to start in urban, regional and remote areas across Australia. The project hosts for some of the winning Green Army projects coming out of the third round included Kiama Municipal Council (NSW), Alice Springs Town Council (NT) and the City of Burnside (SA). The first year target of 250 Green Army teams was recently exceeded, with the number of teams reaching 300 and more than 300 projects already commenced or completed. Green Army projects are underway in every state and territory with local communities continuing to benefit from the initiative's positive outcomes. More information about the Green Army Round 3 approved projects is available at this link. | | | | | An analysis launched by the Australian Council Of Social Service (ACOSS) has found that income and wealth are increasingly unequally distributed, with a person in the top 20 per cent income group having a 70 times as much wealth as a person in the bottom 20 per cent. The report also showed that over the past 20 years, the share of income going to those at the top has risen, while the share flowing to those in the middle and at the bottom has declined. While income inequality in Australia is above the OECD average, the good news is that Australia continues to do better than some of our overseas counterparts. This is in part because our tax system and our system of income support payments have been progressive and highly targeted, and our system of minimum wages had prevented the salaries of low income working households falling to the same extent as in the US. However, ACOSS warned that we should be concerned that despite more than 20 years of unparalleled economic growth, Australia has become complacent to the need to ensure the benefits of growth and prosperity are shared by everyone. The organisation urged Australian governments to make addressing growing inequality a top policy priority. Read the ACOSS report, Inequality in Australia: A nation divided at this link. | | | | | The Commonwealth and New South Wales Governments announced further assistance for storm-affected primary producers in the Hunter and Central Coast with clean up and recovery grants of up to $15,000 provided to farmers recovering from damages caused by severe flooding and storms. The grants, funded under the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements, are available in the local government areas of Dungog, Great Lakes, Maitland, Newcastle, Port Stephens, Singleton and to parishes of Branxton, Heddon and Stockrington. Oyster growers in Port Stephens and Brisbane Waters are also eligible. These grants build on shorter-term assistance and aim to help primary producers to repair or replace equipment, salvage crops, grain and feed supplies and to restore pastures. More information on disaster assistance can be found at www.emergency.nsw.gov.au and www.disasterassist.gov.au | | | | | The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute this week launched a report looking at security, continuity and support for people with dementia in our communities. The report states that, to date, insights into the role of housing in supporting people living with dementia and the planning and coordination of health and housing services has been limited. The research within this report aims to shed some light on these issues. The recurring themes in the report's key findings included: the importance of secure housing, which over time has become a familiar and comforting home, in enabling people with dementia to maintain quality of life; the importance of continuity in both the home environment and the care received in the home in reducing anxiety; and the importance of comprehensive home-based care and community support (including innovative respite services) in enabling people with dementia to retain independence and dignity as they experience decline in their cognitive function. The report, Housing priorities of people with dementia: security, continuity and support, is available for you to read at this link. | | | | | The Australian Government has reappointed Mr Noel Hart as a Commissioner with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Warren Truss announcing the two-year extension of Mr Hart's term this week. Mr Hart has held the position of Commissioner since July 2009 and his reappointment will take effect from 1 July 2015. | | | | | Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey and Assistant Minister for Employment Luke Hartsuyker announced the creation of the Ambassador for Mature Age Employment and the appointment of Susan Ryan AO to the position. As the Ambassador for Mature Age Employment, Ms Ryan will help drive greater awareness among employers of the business benefits of hiring older workers and help open new doors for job seekers. Ms Ryan, Australia’s current Age and Disability Commissioner, has been a strong advocate for mature aged job seekers throughout her career. | | |
| | |  Shared responsibility focus at AFAC15 Shared responsibility is a key focus within emergency management. It is often talked about, but not well understood, and hard to achieve. But AFAC15 lifts the lid, with experts opening up on what works and what doesn't. Utilising case study examples, shared responsibility will be a major topic for discussion at the annual AFAC and Bushfire & Natural Hazards CRC conference in Adelaide from 1-3 September. Shades of grey in the Blue Mountains during the major October 2013 bushfires, the challenges of a more culturally and linguistically diverse community, alongside an aging population and the role of youth - these key aspects of shared responsibility will be examined in depth in Adelaide. Local government has a key role to play with our emergency services and communities in sharing responsibility for emergency preparation, response and recovery, and AFAC15 offers a diverse program aimed to inform and assist local government to prepare and protect their communities. With over 100 speakers on the program exploring the conference theme New Directions in Emergency Management, AFAC15 is Australia's leading emergency management knowledge-sharing event. Be sure to take the opportunity to hear from some of Australia's leading experts, alongside international specialists. Hurry, early bird registrations close this Friday 26 June. For more information about the conference, including the full program, visit www.afac.com.au/conference. |
| | | | | | | | | | |  Providing a national overview of Asset Management Systems, to assist our members with making informed decisions. Choosing which Asset Management System (AMS) is best suited to an individual Local Government (LG) authority can be challenging due to their varied requirements. As a service to its members, ARRB identified a need for a comparative and independent technical review of AMSs commonly in use in the Australian marketplace. The aim of this review is to assist prospective LGs in assessing their AMS needs. The purpose is to ensure that ARRB's members are provided with the best advice to enable them to make well-informed choices in relation to the systems that will best suit their current and future needs. For more information please visit www.arrb.com.au/amsr. |
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