 | |  Councils Australia-wide have submitted more than 100 examples of declining community infrastructure in need of replacement, maintenance or upgrades within about a week of ALGA's call out. Proposals submitted to ALGA's Community Infrastructure Ideas Register demonstrate that there is a clear need for community infrastructure to be renewed. So far, examples of community infrastructure requiring renewal have included community recreational facilities such as ovals, swimming pools and walking paths, and community facilities such as halls, libraries and senior citizens centres. ALGA is urging councils to continue to submit examples to support ALGA's case for Federal funding of $300 million per year over four years for a regional and community infrastructure fund. Councils can submit their examples in the Community Infrastructure Ideas Register. | | | | |  Minister for the Environment, the Hon Greg Hunt MP, and Minister for Small Business, the Hon Bruce Billson MP on Wednesday this week launched the Voluntary Waste Industry Protocol, which will give councils greater certainty on how to handle revenue collected before the repeal of the carbon tax in 2014. The Voluntary Waste Industry Protocol, developed collaboratively by ALGA and the Australian Landfill Owners Association and in partnership with the Government, addresses the uncertainty around handling of upfront costs charged by many landfill operators and councils that anticipated future carbon tax liability of deposited waste which decomposes and releases emissions over decades. Following the repeal of the carbon tax, the liabilities calculated during the two years of the tax were nullified. The Protocol will ensure that early-collected carbon tax revenue is either provided to councils for the community's benefit or directed towards emissions abatement activities. Individual landfill owners will have the option to accept to be bound by the Protocol and those who do will be identified on the Department of the Environment’s website. The protocol will not override contractual arrangements between landfill operators and their customers. More information about the Voluntary Waste Industry Protocol is available at this link. Read ALGA's media release at this link. | | | | |  Councils should have recently received a registration brochure from ALGA for the 2015 National Local Roads and Transport Congress. The 2015 Roads Congress is local government's opportunity to gather practitioners and elected members from across the country to discuss and explore issues that are core to the business of councils. This event has been central to the successful implementation and continuity of programs such as Roads to Recovery and the Bridges Renewal Program. Held in historic Ballarat, Victoria, this year's Roads Congress promises a program that explores the vast range of responsibilities as well as opportunities for local government in the infrastructure and transport arena, in both rural and urban settings. The 2015 Roads Congress will also likely be the last opportunity to influence the national agenda on transport and infrastructure before the expected 2016 Federal Election. The Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Warren Truss MP and the Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, the Hon Anthony Albanese MP have been invited to present and hear from you, and your councils, about your concerns and views as they develop the policies that they will take to the next election. Registrations are now open. Please click here for more information. | | |
| |  The launch of ALGA's Community Infrastructure Ideas Register (CIIR) has seen a strong response from councils. We've already received more than 100 examples of declining community infrastructure in need of replacement, maintenance or upgrades, and we're calling for more examples from councils. The response we've seen goes to show the critical need for more to be done to support local government in delivering adequate and appropriate community infrastructure and highlights local government's broader challenge of meeting the backlog and underspend in community infrastructure that has accumulated over the years. Appropriately maintaining community infrastructure needs millions of dollars of investment and councils need more support to do this. The impact of under-funding goes beyond the degradation of our important community infrastructure, it also limits the capacity of local councils to develop communities and contribute to local and regional development. The Australian Government's Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program made an important contribution in 2008-10 in assisting councils to meet the decades-long backlog and underspend on community infrastructure. However, this program also highlighted just how much more needs to be done as there is still infrastructure that is in urgent need of repair, including some built in the 1950s and 1960s. ALGA is calling on more councils to submit their examples of declining community infrastructure that would benefit their community through repair or renewal to the CIIR. These examples will be used to support ALGA's case for Federal funding of $300 million per year over four years for a regional and community infrastructure fund, which would enable all local councils to build community resilience by enhancing the sustainability and livability of their communities. Mayor Troy Pickard ALGA President | | |
| | ALGA News is interested in your views! Please complete our quick 5-minute survey to provide your valuable feedback on whether our newsletter best meets your interests. Your views will remain anonymous so feel free to be honest. Each person who completes the survey will have the opportunity to go into a draw to win one of three copies of Funding the Future: Financial Sustainability and Infrastructure Finance in Australian Local Government. This captivating book by Brian Dollery, Michael Kortt and Bligh Grant looks at the financial pressures Australian local government has faced for the past several decades. In attempting to maintain service levels, most local authorities have invested too little in local infrastructure maintenance and renewal. The main symptom has been a burgeoning infrastructure backlog, which now far exceeds the fiscal capacity of a majority of councils. The book explores other avenues that must now be pursued if Australian local government is to remain viable. The survey will be open until 3 August. Click on this link to complete the survey now. | | | | | A bulletin issued by the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) focuses on the role that local government plays in crime prevention. The Institute says that local government's significant role in developing and delivering crime prevention at the community level is not well understood, although councils have long been involved in helping to create safer communities. The bulletin says that there are many practical reasons for this, given the different governance arrangements and strategic priorities within the various jurisdictions. Overall however, the importance of local government as a key stakeholder and strategic player in making communities safer has often gone unrecognised or unacknowledged, has been misunderstood, is subject to inadequate or under-resourcing, and has suffered from a lack of coordination. Despite these difficulties, local government has continued to play a key role in crime prevention and community safety efforts for more than a quarter century. The bulletin particularly looks at the Victorian experience in promoting local community safety and working on preventing crime, noting that it is clear that most local government authorities in Victoria are committed to playing a significant role in developing, coordinating and delivering crime prevention and community safety policies and programs in their local area. Download the bulletin from the AIC website. | | | | | Commonwealth Minister for Justice Michael Keenan and South Australian Minister for Emergency Services Tony Piccolo this week announced more than $5.5 million of projects funded under the Natural Disaster Resilience Program to assist communities across South Australia to build resilience to natural disasters. The purpose of the Natural Disaster Resilience Program is to help reduce the impact of emergencies, develop appropriate emergency management capability and capacity and support volunteers. Mr Keenan said that the projects led by state agencies, local councils, non-government organisations and volunteer organisations are all designed to help communities better prepare and respond to natural disasters The funding will help deliver a variety of projects including: - $11,300 to establish a mobile large animal rescue capability and conduct associated volunteer training
- $100,000 to conduct a state-wide extreme weather and heatwave risk mitigation campaign
- $40,000 to directly support the social recovery of Sampson Flat and surrounding communities impacted by significant bushfire events in January 2015
- $74,000 to build resilience in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse communities through the development of volunteer education networks
- $49,500 to provide training to increase the number of Surf Life Saving SA volunteers qualified to conduct hoist rescues from the Westpac Rescue Helicopter
- $47,424 to better understand the challenges and opportunities for cross-functional volunteer recruitment and retention in the Limestone Coast region
- $71,280 for the development of a Community Emergency Plan for the Middle Beach settlement as a template for other coastal communities.
A complete list of projects can be found here. | | | | | Is there an environmental or conservation project in your region that would benefit from practical, on-ground support? If so, the Government's Green Army program is calling for 17-24 year olds interested in gaining practical training and experience while working on local projects to help protect Australia's environment. Potential project hosts and young Australians are invited to community information sessions throughout August to find out more about hosting a Green Army project or how they can join the Green Army as a participant. The information sessions will be at 22 locations across all states and territories. For the full schedule of information sessions and to find out more about hosting projects or how to join a Green Army team click here. | | | | | The National Children's Commissioner, Megan Mitchell, and 1800 Respect have extended an invitation to all councils to take part in an innovative online forum that will discuss the effects of family and domestic violence on children. The webinar is a unique opportunity to have your say, participate in the discussion, or simply listen and learn. The Commissioner will discuss her role and the development of her 2015 Parliamentary report into children’s rights, which has a substantive focus on how children aged 0-17 are affected by family and domestic violence. Participants will be asked to contribute to the development of this important report by providing a response to six questions around the impact of domestic violence on children. Find out more about the forum, including how to register to attend, on this online invitation. | | | | | The Government of WA has introduced a 'Working Away Alcohol and Drug Support Line' for fly-in, fly-out employees in WA as a practical step to further support the mental wellbeing of FIFO workers, their families and the communities in which they live and work. The 24/7 hotline is a confidential telephone support line and an information and referral service for those working away from home, their families and employers who are concerned about their own or another person’s alcohol or drug use or mental health and wellbeing. More information, including a flyer, is available at this link. | | | | | | | | | | The QLD Government has invited broader community input into the future of the State's resources sector and has established a Community Ministerial Roundtable to give local government and community groups a voice on QLD resource issues. The roundtables aim to enable collaboration between government and stakeholders to address challenges and capitalise on opportunities. The QLD Government has identified a key outcome to prioritise and deliver actions that provide enduring improvements for the resources sector for the benefit of both industry and communities. The Community Ministerial Roundtable is expected to meet for the first time in August. More information is available on the QLD Department of Natural Resources and Mines website. | | | | | Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash has launched a dedicated Youth Network that will help connect and empower young women and girls with disability. The Women with Disabilities Australia (WWDA) Youth Network aims to provide young women and girls with disabilities living in Australia with easy-to-understand human rights information, introduce young women and girls to the stories of inspiring women with disabilities living in Australia, and engage young women and girls to become empowered women. The Youth Network is an initiative by the WWDA, the peak organisation for women with all types of disabilities in Australia. More information about the WWDA Youth Network is available on their website. | | | | | The Settlement Council of Australia (SCOA) has invited council contributions to the August edition of its publication Settlement News. The topic for the August issue will be employment. The SCOA is the national peak body representing migrant and refugee settlement agencies across Australia and operating as a network of settlement service providers. Contributions should be emailed to eo@scoa.org.au before the deadline of COB Tuesday 4th August. | | |
| | |  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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