 | |  On 23 June 2015 the Australian Government announced that it will provide an additional $1.105 billion for the Roads to Recovery Programme using the revenue from the first two years of the re-introduced fuel excise indexation. The wheels are now in motion to provide the additional funds to local government. A variation was issued by the Australian Government this week to increase the amount specified for each council in the Roads to Recovery List 2014 by their share of the additional funding. The increases for individual councils are based on the recommendations of the relevant local government grants commission for the 2014-15 roads component of the Financial Assistance Grants. Payments of the additional funding is set to commence from November 2015. More information is available on the ComLaw website. | | | | |  ALGA this week made a submission to Infrastructure Australia in response to issues raised in the Australian Infrastructure Audit 2015 to be considered in the preparation of the 15-year Australian Infrastructure Plan. ALGA generally supported the findings in the Audit which looked at the future demand for infrastructure over the next 15 years and delivered an evidence base for further gap analysis, long term planning and future investment priorities. Although the Audit took a broader view of the infrastructure challenges in Australia, ALGA's submission focused only on transport matters given its high national policy priority and focus for local government. The key issues raised in ALGA's submission included: - local government transport and infrastructure funding
- maintenance and asset management
- first mile/last mile issues in both regions and cities
- funding and charging from a heavy vehicle reform perspective
- planning and governance
Each of the issues raised was accompanied by proposed strategies and solutions to assist councils in the efficient management of infrastructure and enable local governments to equalise infrastructure access across their communities. ALGA's submission is available on its website More information about the Australian Infrastructure Audit is available on the Infrastructure Australia website. | | | | |  More than 70 councils across the states and the Northern Territory have submitted nearly 350 examples of declining community infrastructure that are in need of replacement, maintenance or upgrades to ALGA's Community Infrastructure Ideas Register. The examples submitted so far include community recreational facilities (more than 80) such as ovals, swimming pools, walking paths and parks, and community facilities (more than 30) such as halls, libraries and community 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. | | |
| |  This week, ALGA made a submission to Infrastructure Australia responding to the Australian Infrastructure Audit 2015, which was finalised in April this year and which took a strategic approach to assessing our nation's infrastructure needs by examining the drivers of future infrastructure demand, particularly population and economic growth. The need to focus on resilience and improved maintenance was one of the key challenges for the future identified in the Australian Infrastructure Audit. The Audit noted that "most of the infrastructure that Australians will use in 2031 has already been built, but maintenance standards are often below par". Asset management is one of the key strategies that local government applies to address the major challenge of infrastructure maintenance and considerable work has been done in this area. An important example of this work is our National State of the Assets report that provides a detailed analysis of local government assets. Local government has non-financial assets which were valued at $354 billion as at 30 June 2014. The majority of these assets are local roads which are among the most valuable community assets and their maintenance ensures access to our workplaces, schools, health and social facilities and businesses. Together, local roads make up a large part of the nation's road network critical to national productivity, particularly in the movement of freight. ALGA's submission to Infrastructure Australia highlighted this fact and the commendable job councils are doing with limited resources in managing these community assets. However, with growing demand for goods and services, passenger and freight expected to double in the coming years, and investment in local roads not keeping pace with expanding demands, more needs to be done to further assist councils in the management of infrastructure. Strategies were proposed in the submission to further assist councils to understand and manage their local road networks, and improve the linkage between asset management plans and council financial plans. The management of infrastructure will continue to be a fundamental challenge for local government, which remains committed to effectively managing local roads and improving asset management. ALGA will continue to engage the Federal Government and Opposition and bodies such as Infrastructure Australia to highlight the needs of local government in this area. Mayor Troy Pickard
ALGA President | | |
| | The Government is calling for submissions on the proposed rules and regulations for the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) safeguard mechanism. The safeguard mechanism has been designed to ensure that emissions reductions purchased by the Government are not displaced by significant increases in emissions above business-as-usual levels elsewhere in the economy. The Department of the Environment has released exposure draft legislative instruments and associated explanatory statements which include feedback from businesses and community groups on the consultation paper released in March 2015. The Department has invited further comment from businesses and the community to finalise the arrangements of the safeguard mechanism. Submissions about the drafting of the safeguard mechanism regulations are due by 16 September 2015 and rules by 21 September 2015. The Government is aiming to finalise the rules and regulations next month with the safeguard mechanism set to start on 1 July 2016. | | | | | The National Transport Commission (NTC) has released a discussion paper that identifies how governments can work together, and with industry, to develop a national framework to facilitate collecting real-life operational data to better inform future heavy vehicle driver fatigue policy. The discussion paper proposes an agreed terminology, systems and processes that will enable a new framework to support comparable and accessible data across industry, governments and enforcement agencies. The NTC is seeking feedback on the development of the data framework, including the priority fatigue issues and proposed data collection and research activities. Submissions are due by 16 October 2015. More information is available on the NTC website. | | | | | The National Native Title Tribunal has announced it has passed the milestone of registering 1,000 Indigenous land use agreements. President of the Tribunal, Raelene Webb said this was strong evidence of proponents and native title parties successfully negotiating about matters in relation to native title. She said Indigenous land use agreements now covered more than 25 per cent of Australia from the remote Islands of the Torres Strait where 60 agreements were registered, to all parts of mainland Australia with most agreements being registered in Queensland. Indigenous land use agreements deal with subject matters as varied as pastoral access, mining and exploration, the exercise of native title rights in national parks and the sale of crown land. They have been used to enable the building of a radio-astronomy observatory in Murchison (WA), the creation of a dingo conservation centre in Chewton (VIC), the development of the Port Vincent Marina (SA) and the establishment of the Lily Hole Creek Community Living Area in the Northern Territory. For more information about Indigenous land use agreements and the National Native Title Tribunal, please visit www.nntt.gov.au. | | | | | An innovative solar energy project that uses Cloud Predictive Technology (CPT) to anticipate solar energy output has been launched in Karratha, WA, with $2.3 million in support from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). The project will answer questions about how CPT can make solar generation cheaper and more efficient by reducing or eliminating storage requirements. Because clouds can lead to a sudden drop in solar output, commercial solar power generation on a smaller network usually has costly storage requirements to ‘smooth out’ supply into the grid. Employing CPT reduces the need for this buffer, meaning solar generation can be installed and operated more cheaply. This project aims to satisfy network requirements with fewer batteries by enhancing storage effectiveness with cloud prediction, potentially opening the door for more renewable energy projects in the region. The Karratha Airport initiative is one of 232 projects supported to date by ARENA, of which 110 involve solar panel technology. | | | | | All batches of the Coco Joy Pure Coconut Milk Banana, Chocolate and Coffee flavours have been recalled from independent retailers in South Australia and Western Australia due to the presence of an undeclared allergen (dairy). Food Standards Australia and New Zealand has advised that consumers who have a dairy allergy or intolerance should not consume this product and should return the products to the place of purchase for a full refund. Click here for further information about the recall. | | | | | The International Conference on Traffic and Transport Psychology (ICTTP) has called for local government abstracts for its 2016 conference to be held on 2 - 5 August in Brisbane. Held every four years, the ICTTP has achieved a long-standing and highly-regarded reputation as the leading international gathering in the field of traffic and transport psychology. This will be the first time this conference has been held in the Southern Hemisphere, and only the second time outside of Europe, and it presents an exciting opportunity to showcase Australian leadership in transport safety. Submissions are invited for oral and poster presentations, symposia and interactive roundtable presentations in a range of categories including: - Road user attitudes and behaviour
- Driver distraction and inattention
- Vulnerable road users (e.g. motorcyclists, pedestrians, cyclists)
- Intelligent transport systems
- Sustainable transport
- Driver training, assessment and licensing
- Road infrastructure and design
- Public and commercial transport.
Abstracts can be submitted at this link. More information about the conference is available at the ICTTP website. | | | | | The Central Desert Regional Council in the Northern Territory has demonstrated the on-the-ground benefits of local governments working together to make effective service delivery a priority through a recent project on upgrading participating waste disposal sites. Despite a limited budget and many practical obstacles, the project greatly improved waste management, resulting in direct and ongoing positive results for local communities. Key achievements of the project included improved safety, less poisons and asbestos exposure, reduced need for new pits and equipment repair and maintenance, and cleaner and safer communities which are better serviced by waste management facilities. They are now spending less on pits and machine replacement and maintenance, freeing up funds to install the park and sporting facility infrastructure that residents value. Three neighbouring councils were involved in the project - Central Desert Regional Council, MacDonnell Regional Council and Barkly Regional Council – along with the Local Government Association of the Northern Territory and the Northern Territory Health Department. The project was awarded a National Local Government Award in the Boosting Productivity through Infrastructure category. The project’s collaborative approach to solving problems in small communities has proved highly successful and is leading to other partnerships. More information is available in the 2015 Winners Book on the National Awards for Local Government website. | | | | | The Australasian Railway Association (ARA) has announced the appointment of Danny Broad as Chief Executive Officer replacing long standing former CEO Bryan Nye OAM. Mr Broad brings to the role an extensive network of knowledge, experience and influence from within the rail industry, having worked in both the rail and construction industries for more than 25 years. He joins the ARA from his role of Executive Manager Rail at Ranbury where he was spearheading the expansion of the company’s Rail business, but is also well recognised for his 17 years with Downer Rail. Mr Broad will take up his new role on 1 October 2015. | | | | | The Australasian College of Road Safety, Austroads and the Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety - Queensland, have extended an invitation to local government to attend the premier road safety conference - the inaugural Australasian Road Safety Conference (ARSC2015). With a theme of 'Taking Action Together', the conference will be a multi-disciplinary event featuring representatives from all facets of road and transport safety including research, policing, teaching, practice and policy. Topics to be discussed at the conference include: - Road safety management and strategy
- Vehicle safety, including heavy vehicles
- Fatigue
- Road safety infrastructure and education
- Cycling safety
- Vehicle and signage technology.
The ARSC2015 will run from 14-16 October at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre. For more information, please visit the ARSC2015 website. | | | | | Public submissions will be closing in the next two weeks for the following Federal Senate, House and Joint Committee Inquiries: 10 September 2015 Environment and Communications References Committee - Threat of marine plastic pollution in Australia (Senate) 11 September 2015 Environment and Communications Legislation Committee - Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Standing) Bill 2015 (Senate) 13 September 2015 Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee - Decision to commit funding to the Perth Freight Link project (Senate) | | |
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