The administration of Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA) and the award of funding under the Safer Streets program was the focus of a public hearing yesterday by Parliament's Joint Public Accounts Committee.

The Commonwealth provides financial assistance to the States and Territories for urgent assistance to disaster-affected communities under the NDRRA.

The Committee heard from representatives of the Australian National Audit Office and the Attorney-General's Department, including Emergency Management Australia.

Committee Chair, Dr Andrew Southcott MP, said that the good administration of these arrangements is important to both the Parliament and the wider community, particularly given the significant amount of funding involved.

"The ANAO concluded that there were deficiencies in the NDRRA guidance available to states and territories, and that a more disciplined approach by Emergency Management Australia is required," Dr Southcott said.

The Committee will also examine the award of funding under the first round of the Safer Streets program, administered by the Attorney-General's Department.

The public hearing took place as part of the Committee's Review of Auditor-General's Reports Nos 34, 37 and 41 (2014-15). Further information about the Committee's reviews is available on the Committee's website at http://www.aph.gov.au/jcpaa.

Up to $30 million is available under the Aboriginals Benefit Account (ABA) beneficial grants across two funding rounds expected in the 2015-16 financial year with applications now open.

Funding is available to Indigenous organisations in the Northern Territory for projects that provide lasting benefits for Aboriginal people living and working in remote areas.

There are four categories under which organisations will be able to apply for ABA grant funding:

• supporting enterprises
• supporting community
• supporting land, sea and waters management and use
• supporting culture, language and leadership.

This includes projects that deliver on the Australian Government's key priorities of getting children to school, adults to work and making communities safer.

Applications close on 2 October 2015 at 2pm AEST.

For more information on the ABA, including on how to apply, visit the ABA website.

Applications are now open for service providers to deliver the Australian Government's new Nanny Pilot Programme.

The $246 million Nanny Pilot Programme will subsidise the cost of nannies for families struggling to access mainstream child care services and support around 10,000 children across the country.

The two-year pilot will formally commence in early 2016 when service providers begin matching nannies to participating families. It is expected that the take up of the pilot will grow over time as more nannies and families are progressively matched and care commences.

Service providers have until 2pm AEDT on 22 October to apply to deliver the pilot. Service providers will be selected by the Department of Social Services through an open competitive selection process assessing their capacity, experience and competency.

The Nanny Pilot Programme guidelines outline the application and assessment processes, and confirm funding arrangements, roles and responsibilities.

More information is available on the Department of Social Services website.

The Heart Foundation Physical Activity Consensus Forum was held at Parliament House last Friday to discuss and secure endorsement for a National Physical Activity Communiqué to be presented to the Australian Government.

The Forum was attended by eighty representatives from Federal and State Government health portfolios, public health agencies, national peak bodies, academics, and advisory committees and alliances with a role in physical activity.

ALGA was present at the Forum and reinforced the important roles that local government around the country currently plays in supporting healthy communities and enhancing overall wellbeing through the provision of well-located, well-designed and properly maintained community infrastructure. ALGA argued that more funding was required to enable local councils to continue to plan and deliver the adequate and appropriate community infrastructure that supports physical health and fitness activities.

Further work is now being undertaken to further refine the communiqué which will list actions and strategies under eight areas for government implementation and policy. It is envisaged that the communiqué will not be a comprehensive National Physical Activity Action Plan but rather provide the Government with a suite of potential programs and policies they can readily adopt prior to the next Federal election.

The Heart Foundation Physical Activity Consensus Forum is one of several ongoing approaches by the Heart Foundation in calling for a funded National Physical Activity Action Plan.

An announcement was made this week that Queensland councils will receive $2 million in funding as part of the RACQ Get Ready Queensland campaign to help them prepare ahead of the storm season.

Queensland Local Government Minister, Jackie Trad, encouraged councils in the state to focus on building community connectedness, educating locals on natural disaster risks and vulnerability, planning and preparing for disasters and improving local knowledge around available local resources.

"The $2 million in funding for local councils is double the amount delivered last year and will ensure local councils can better educate residents about local emergency preparation and planning," she said.

Further information can be found here. 

The UTS Centre for Local Government (CLG) and the NSW Australian Local Government Women's Association (ALGWA NSW) have developed a unique program called "Empowering Women in Local Government" that will formally be launched next Thursday at the University of Technology Sydney.

The innovative program has been specifically developed to support existing women councillors, women considering nominating as candidates in the 2016 Local Government elections and women working within the NSW Local Government sector.

The "Empowering Women in Local Government" program is a six-day course comprising a mix of on-line and face-to-face learning, and will establish a strong peer-to-peer network of women working in local government.

CLG Centre Director, Associate Professor Roberta Ryan said: "This type of program has never been offered before and CLG commends ALGWA NSW for its visionary leadership in championing gender equity in local government".

The first course, hosted by Strathfield City Council, will commence on Friday 23 October with places on the program limited to 20 people.

To register for the "Empowering Women in Local Government" program, visit http://www.algwa.org.au/

Leaders from 13 cities representing almost 100 million people visited Sydney this week to workshop ways to improve energy efficiency, reduce emissions and tackle climate change globally.

Experts from cities including Tokyo, New York, London, Singapore, Johannesburg and Shenzhen will join forces at the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group's (C40) Private Building Efficiency network workshop at Sydney Town Hall. C40 connects more than 80 global cities committed to taking significant action on climate change.

The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, now in its 10th year, connects more than 75 of the world's cities, representing more than 550 million people and one quarter of the global economy.

Created and led by cities, C40 is focused on tackling climate change and driving urban action that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks, while increasing the health, wellbeing and economic opportunities of urban citizens.

To learn more about the work of C40, visit http://www.c40.org/.

Australian Citizenship Day was celebrated across the country yesterday, providing an opportunity for all Australians to reflect on the meaning and importance of Australian citizenship.

Promoted by the Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection, Australian Citizenship Day is celebrated on 17 September every year.

The Day celebrates aspects of Australia and our way of life that unite us as a nation, the Australian citizens who have shaped our nation, and what it means to be an Australian citizen.

More information about Australian Citizenship Day is available at www.border.gov.au/AusCitzDay

Queensland councils will unite to send a powerful message that family violence will not be tolerated in their communities.

Marches and rallies, led by mayors and councillors, will be held across the state on Sunday 11 October as part of a local government campaign, titled Safer Families, Better Communities, to publicly condemn domestic violence.

The campaign, which will use #SaferFamilies to spread the message via social media, aims to encourage state-wide solidarity in addressing domestic violence.

Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) President Councillor Margaret de Wit said: "As community leaders, we have a special role in all of this. We need to take a public stand against this all too common blight in our communities. Domestic violence touches all parts of society and all levels of income. More and more of us now know it is happening in our communities and now is the time to take positive and decisive steps to reduce it."

Details of marches and rallies to be held in regions throughout Queensland will be confirmed over the next two weeks.

Local councils are being more innovative in how they approach crime prevention with many undertaking to manage the issue through environmental design, community collaboration and tech-savvy methods such as CCTV.

The use of drugs is a particular issue that has taken centre stage over the past few months with numerous media reports highlighting shocking statistics. The National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre's annual survey of people who use illicit drugs found that, nationally, users reported a median of 20 days of ice use in the past six months, up from 12 days in 2013.

The increasing prevalence and use of drugs are a concern for communities and local councils are being proactive and taking the necessary steps towards spreading awareness. Councils play a vital role in implementing strategies to enhance crime prevention and detection to create safe and secure communities.

Akolade's upcoming 2nd Annual Holistic Community Safety Summit in Sydney will address the role of local councils in optimising safety within their communities by effectively managing resources and budgets, including methods to address the increasing use of drugs within communities.

Find out more about the Summit on Akolade's website.