 | |  A new report launched by the Minister for Cities and the Built Environment, the Hon Jamie Briggs MP, has found that city planning needs to take a three-pronged strategic approach, including finding ways to reduce or avoid travel, shifting to more environmentally-friendly transport and improving the energy efficiency of transport. The report, Delivering Sustainable Urban Mobility by the Australian Council of Learned Academies (ACOLA), shows that the cost of urban congestion in our capital cities will increase four-fold in two decades, reaching $53.3 billion by 2031, unless a new approach to urban transport is taken that prioritises people rather than one particular mode of transport. The report also says urban areas need to change from having a dense CBD with sprawling suburbs to polycentric cities with "nodes" which will bring people closer to places of work and recreation. Minister Briggs said: "This is an opportunity for the Federal Government to have a longer-term vision for what our cities will need to look like to ensure that they are productive, that they are liveable, and they are accessible in the future. "This report will add to the body of work that we need to use as evidence to work with state governments, local governments, urban communities, and the private sector to find solutions to those growing problems." The report makes 26 key findings and says there needs to be a focus on accessibility, technology and careful planning to enhance sustainable transport solutions. The report is available on the ACOLA website. | | | | |  Arts and culture Ministers from across the country recently met to discuss a number of key areas of national importance at the annual Meeting of Cultural Ministers (MCM). ALGA was represented by Vice President Cr Bill McArthur. A key issue that was discussed where local government has a significant interest was the important relationship between arts and culture and tourism. The Ministers acknowledged the significant contribution of the arts and culture sector to Australian tourism and agreed to harness opportunities for arts and tourism portfolios to work together towards mutually-beneficial policy objectives, recognising and highlighting the role and value of the arts, artists and arts organisations to Australia's tourism economy. It is important to recognise that arts and culture is not limited to structures (many owned and operated by local councils), such as art galleries and theatres, but that it can be much broader and more diverse. Arts and culture also includes the local festivals that celebrate the history and cultural mix of a community, including local Indigenous heritage and the ever-important local libraries. A vibrant arts and cultural community not only enriches the lives of those who live in an area, but is a significant draw to national and overseas visitors and helps boost the local economy. A communique reflecting the discussions at the MCM is available at this link. | | | | |  The International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR), held on Tuesday 13 October, encourages every citizen and government, including local government, to take part in building more disaster-resilient communities and nations. The day celebrates how people and communities are reducing their exposure to disasters and raising awareness about the importance of disaster risk reduction. This year's theme is 'Knowledge for Life' and it focuses on the use of traditional, indigenous and local knowledge to complement modern science and add to a community's resilience. The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction says that it is at the local level that capacities need to be strengthened urgently. It urges governments to empower local authorities, as appropriate, through regulatory and financial means to work and coordinate with civil society, communities and indigenous peoples and migrants in disaster risk management at the local level. It further states that, combined with scientific knowledge such as reports generated by meteorologists, local knowledge is vital for preparedness and ensuring early action is taken to mitigate the impact of both slow and fast onset disasters such as droughts, heatwaves, storms and floods. Stories have been published on the IDDR2015 website of examples of community and indigenous-led efforts to reduce disaster risk. In Australia, the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre will mark the day with a special public event in Perth at the Australasian Natural Hazards Management Conference. | | |
| |  During Anti Poverty Week next week (11 to 17 October), we will be reminded that poverty and severe hardship affects an estimated 2.5 million Australians and more than 600,000 Australian children who are currently living below the internationally-accepted poverty line. A 2014 report by the Australian Council of Social Service found that poverty in Australia has increased by a percentage point over 2003 to 2012 and the most at-risk groups in our communities include women, people with a disability, children and older people. As the level of government closest to the community, councils are in a unique position during Anti Poverty Week to help strengthen the community's understanding of the causes and consequences of poverty and hardship, and encourage discussion and action to address these problems, including action by individuals, communities and local businesses. Working with the Commonwealth, states and our communities, Local Government can help to address and fight poverty in Australia. It's not too late for councils across the country to organise or take part in an activity that aims to highlight or overcome issues of poverty and hardship for Anti Poverty Week. Resources can be accessed online to help organise an event and to promote Anti Poverty Week. There are also a range of ideas on how Local Government can become involved and examples of activities that other councils have organised in the past. I encourage councils to help fight poverty and hardship in Australia by supporting Anti Poverty Week this coming week. Mayor Troy Pickard
ALGA President | | |
| | ALGA president, Mayor Troy Pickard, will speak at several local government conferences this month including the Local Government NSW Annual Conference next week (11 to 13 October), the MAV Annual Conference in Victoria on 19 October and the 2015 LGA Conference and Annual General Meeting in SA (29 to 30 October). Mayor Pickard will highlight important national issues for local government and ALGA's priorities at these conferences such as restoring the indexation and improving the level of Financial Assistance Grants. More information about the conferences is available at the links below: | | | | | The Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) is a fund dedicated to the purchase of carbon emissions reductions from a wide range of sources. The ERF is underpinned by a series of "reverse auctions" where the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) will purchase emissions reductions from businesses, land owners and other organisations at the lowest available cost. Over the past few years, Ironbark Sustainability has looked into the ERF and whether there will be opportunities for councils to participate. Ironbark Sustainability said: "After the first auction in April 2015, it was clear that opportunities for councils are extremely limited. However, there is hope that some new methodologies and continued advocacy from the sector could still see councils rewarded for their projects into the future." With the second ERF auction taking place in early November 2015 and possibly a third in early 2016, Ironbark Sustainability has developed the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) Guide for Australian Councils. The guide: - discusses whether councils will be able to participate in future reverse auctions
- examines the types of local government projects that could be eligible such as buildings, street lighting and landfill gas projects
- summarises the best opportunities for councils
- examines the impact of new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on the ERF and other policies.
Grab a free copy of the guide at this link. | | | | | A new report into the benefits of anti-lock braking systems (ABS) on motorcycles in Australia has found that ABS could help in 93 per cent of crash situations. The report also indicates that ABS could provide a 36 per cent overall reduction in fatal and severe injury crashes. The report commissioned by the Australian and Victorian governments also sought to identify future trends of motorcycle and ABS fitment growth and the likely benefits in terms of future injury savings and the likely economic cost of the technology. Minister for Territories, Local Government and Major Projects Paul Fletcher said: "With motorcycles currently the fastest growing vehicle type, ABS could make a real impact on reducing the fatalities on Australia’s roads each year. "ABS has the potential to save over 70 of the more than 200 motorcyclists’ lives lost each year and reduce hospitalisations by around 4,000 each year when fully implemented throughout the motorcycle fleet." In line with the National Road Safety Strategy Action Plan 2015-2017, the Australian Government will develop a Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) to consider mandating ABS for motorcycles. Consultations will be held with motorcycle user groups and manufacturers about the report and the RIS. The report is available at this link. | | | | | The Government’s Green Army is set to roll out in communities affected by natural disaster and severe storm damage with Minister for the Environment, the Hon Greg Hunt MP, announcing the approval of 44 projects under the Natural Disaster Recovery Round. The projects, set to commence over the next two years, will tackle recovery efforts across 16 Local Government Areas in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. The projects will assist with vital environmental clean-up and rehabilitation works through re-establishing native vegetation, protecting threatened species and restoring aquatic ecosystems. Minister Hunt said the important projects will be undertaken in partnership with groups such as Landcare and local councils to help rehabilitate local areas affected by natural disasters while providing young Australians with an opportunity to gain practical skills and training. A full list of approved Natural Disaster Recovery Round projects is available on the Green Army website. | | | | | Australia has ended four years of decline in the latest World Economic Forum's (WEF) Global Competitiveness Report, moving up one spot to 21st in the latest global rankings. According to the report, Australia's performance remains strong across all categories of the index, particularly in education (9th in basic education and 8th in higher education) and financial market development (7th). The 2015-16 report highlights that whether economies get trapped in the new normal of higher unemployment, lower productivity growth, and subdued economic growth or harvest the benefits of the latest innovations for their societies will crucially depend on their levels of competitiveness. It states that policymakers, businesses, and civil society leaders must work together to ensure continued growth and more inclusive outcomes of economic development. You can access the report on the WEF website. | | | | | The University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) has invited nominations from experienced government, research and public policy professionals to join the Industry Advisory Board of the UTS Centre for Local Government. The Industry Advisory Board has been formed to provide strategic advice to UTS on major activities and to provide an effective bridge for external engagement. UTS is intending to appoint a range of senior experienced government, appointed or elected leaders, or those who have relevant public policy and/or applied research experience in a related field, who are acknowledged as industry thought leaders and who have the capacity to influence debate in Australia’s inter-governmental system. It is not necessary for members to be currently serving in an elected or appointed capacity, and expressions of interest are invited from retired or former leaders. Expressions of interest close on 30 October 2015. If you are interested in submitting a nomination, please contact Associate Professor Roberta Ryan or Melissa Gibbs for further information. | | | | | The NSW State of the Beaches report was launched this week and rated 96 per cent of the state's ocean beaches as good or very good. The report provides ratings for 139 ocean beaches as well as estuarine beaches, lake and lagoon sites and ocean baths across NSW. The water quality of NSW beaches and other swimming locations is monitored under the NSW Government's Beachwatch programs to provide the community with accurate information on the cleanliness of the water. This enables individuals to make informed decisions about where and when to swim. Routine assessment also measures the impact of pollution sources, enables the effectiveness of stormwater and wastewater management practices to be assessed, and highlights areas where further work is required. The report is available on the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage website. | | | | | The Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning has supported 40 places for council executives and senior management to attend the training program ‘Enhanced Local Government Service Delivery’ in rural Victoria. More than half of the scholarship positions have been filled, but there is still time for council staff in rural Victoria to apply and attend the program with applications due by 20 October. The 5-day program will be run in Warragul and Wedderburn in November 2015 and will help staff develop a systematic way to review council services and operations and identify potential financial and operational efficiencies through effective service delivery review processes. More information is available on the UTS Centre for Local Government website. | | | | | Be Medicinewise Week 2015, a campaign by NPS MedicineWise (NPS) held from 12 to 18 October, promotes the safe and wise use of medicines by all Australians and raises awareness about how and when to use medicines safely and effectively across all life stages. Council services that work with pregnant women, breastfeeding women, children, teenagers, older Australians and people managing medicines can now access campaign material about being medicine-wise during these life stages. The helpful campaign toolkit is available on the NPS website and provides detailed information on the campaign to help councils get involved and find information to share during the week, including posters and fact sheets for each life stage. Find more information at www.nps.org.au/be-medicinewise-week | | | | | The role of the local government leader is now more complex than ever with more expectations placed on the role than just service delivery. Along with having a service-centric approach, today's local government leader must also provide inspirational direction to the myriad organisations and partners that provide services to their community. A key challenge faced by local government leaders is the ability to provide the imagination and inspiration to enable strong communities amid multiple challenges, including budgetary restrictions and a focus on operational optimisation in a role which usually transcends public, political and private spheres. The Australian Local Government Leadership Summit will discuss these challenges with the aim of exploring local government leadership excellence and the key competencies and behaviours required for leadership excellence in coming years. Emphasis will be placed on evidence-based leadership strategy and discussion will be built around real local government leadership situations, with a strong focus on proactive collaboration with peers and other councils. The summit will be held in Melbourne on 29 to 30 October and will include a presentation from ALGA President, Mayor Troy Pickard. More information is available on the summit website. | | | | | Our Watch has launched a national advertising campaign targeting young people to challenge and change the attitudes that excuse, condone or trivialise violence towards women. The 'You can't undo violence' campaign sends a clear message that there is no excuse for violence and highlights the lasting consequences. It addresses findings from research commissioned by Our Watch, which found that 1 in 4 young people hold attitudes that put them at risk of perpetrating, excusing or tolerating violence against women. The ad campaign encourages young people, parents and role models to visit The Line's website to find out about the facts, myths, types and impacts of violence and how they can take action to reject violence. The ad campaign is part of The Line, a national initiative that encourages young people to reject violence and develop healthy, respectful and equal relationships. | | |
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