State and territory councils are set to receive their untied Financial Assistance Grant (FAGs) payments for this quarter with an announcement of the latest round of payments earlier in the week.

Minister for Major Projects, Territories and Local Government Paul Fletcher said Victorian councils can direct the funds to any activities, programmes or services according to the needs of their local community.

"It is important for local councils to be able to independently choose projects that directly address key priorities within their community," Mr Fletcher said.

"This may be fixing local roads, investing in environmental programmes or funding new infrastructure such as building a new community hall - it's a decision that is for them to make."

More information about the FAGs programme, including funding being made to individual councils across Australia, is online at: www.regional.gov.au/local/assistance.

The Government has released the locations of the first 78 mobile base stations scheduled to be constructed by the end of June 2016 under Round 1 of the $385 million Mobile Black Spot Programme.

Nineteen mobile base stations have already been completed and the rollout schedule lists the new or upgraded base stations to be built in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania by the first half of this year.

The full rollout of the 499 new or upgraded base stations will be completed over the next three years and the rollout schedule will be updated half-yearly with the most up-to-date information from mobile network operators of the new base stations scheduled to be built.

Public nominations for black spots to be considered under round 2 of the Programme closed last month, with an additional $60 million in funding announced for in round 2 in June 2015. The new locations to be funded under round 2 are expected to be announced by the end of 2016, with a competitive selection process for the funding to be announced in the coming weeks.

More information about the Programme and the rollout schedule is available at www.communications.gov.au/mobile_coverage

Australia's population reached 24 million, at about 12:50am (AEDT) on 16 February 2016, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics' (ABS) population clock.

"The population clock is an indication of the current population, based on a projection calculated using births and deaths data (from the ABS) and migration figures (from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection)," ABS Director of Demography, Beidar Cho, said.

"We do not know who the 24 millionth Australian is: it could be a newborn or a migrant."

Since 2006, net overseas migration has been the driver of Australia's annual population growth. This peaked in 2009, with 66 per cent of the nation's growth being attributed to migration. The most recent data (June 2015) indicates net overseas migration contributing 53 per cent to Australia's total growth, with the remaining 47 per cent due to natural increase.

The ABS website has more information about Australia's journey to 24 million, the population's composition and the state-by-state breakdown

Three Canberra-based rural research agencies will relocate to regional Australia, in a move that will boost local economies and strengthen communities.

Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Barnaby Joyce, accepted proposals from three Canberra-based Research and Development Corporations (RDCs) to increase their regional presence, which will boost jobs and growth in Dubbo, Wagga Wagga, Toowoomba and other areas:

• Grains Research and Development Corporation will establish four offices outside Canberra: Dubbo, Toowoomba, Perth (with intent to move to Northam) and Adelaide. 
• Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation will relocate its core operations to Wagga Wagga. 
• Fisheries Research & Development Corporation will establish a regional office in Adelaide, to be used as a model for further offices

Minister Joyce said each of the relocating agencies has a strong rural focus, which would benefit from closer links with farmers and research experts in the regions.

"These three RDCs are focused on rural research - including grains, fisheries and aquaculture, and small and emerging industries - so it makes sense to locate them away from Canberra where the boots actually hit the dirt in their respective sectors," he said.

Read Minister Joyce's full media release at this link.

Green roofs, green walls and pop-up parks - and tools to help cities set urban greening targets - will be the focus of the new Clean Air and Urban Landscapes hub under the National Environmental Science Programme.

The hub was recently launched at the Koori Heritage Trust in Melbourne and will also conduct experiments in urban re-wilding and model carbon emissions from Australian cities under a range of different planning and transport scenarios.

As part of its work, the hub will forge research partnerships with the Indigenous community aimed at incorporating Indigenous perspectives into urban design and planning and making cities better places to live.

The Australian Government has allocated $8.88 million to the hub over six years.

The hub's research agenda for 2016 includes many projects that will deliver tangible results for Australian cities - new approaches, better data, and better methods for dealing with environmental challenges in urban spaces.

More information about the hub is available on its website.

With 75 per cent of Victorian councils committed to the State Government's 2.5 per cent rate cap, tough conversations with communities are occurring so councils can trim their budgets. 

The Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) President, Cr Bill McArthur, said the reality of the cap was now hitting home, with some councils reassessing whether they will continue to deliver services that are a State Government responsibility.

"Councils know the value of these services - they provide vital community safety and social equity outcomes," Cr McArthur said.

"The MAV has been chipping away to achieve fairer funding deals for councils for years, but these wins are sensitive to political cycles. We are hopeful we can get these services back to 50:50 arrangements, ensuring communities are not without the services they rely on."

Read more about the MAV's work at this link.

A new report published by the Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government provides a comprehensive review and appraisal of Australian local government international and sister city relationships.

The report - which includes a literature review, a quantitative Australian-wide survey, case studies, and guided discussions with stakeholders - characterises the current practice Australian local government engagement in international relationships, assesses their value to Australian councils and communities, and provides practical guidance for councils interested in establishing such relationships, or building on existing ones.

It is hoped that this research achieves its aim of defining and investigating the cultural, social, economic and structural dimensions of local government engagement in international alliances, and to assist local governments wanting to play an expanded role internationally.

Access the full report on the ACELG website.

The recent food recall involving lettuce is a good reminder for food businesses that a food recall plan is essential. Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) has prepared a food industry recall protocol that explains how the system works and what you need to consider in developing a recall plan.

The protocol helps food businesses plan for and respond to a need to recall potentially unsafe food by setting out:

• the roles and responsibilities of food businesses and government during a food recall
• the key steps in the food recall process
• the legal requirements for food businesses in relation to food recalls
• important elements of a food recall plan.

Download the full food industry recall protocol on the FSANZ website.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull recently launched Ask Izzy, an innovative new mobile website that connects people who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness, with more than 350,000 essential services.

Ask Izzy is a free, location-based, online directory that  helps the one in 200 Australians who are homeless each night find food, shelter, health and other critical support services.

"It is going to be an invaluable resource for those who support the people in need - case workers, social workers, volunteers," Mr Turnbull said.

"The dual benefit of the website is that the anonymous data it collects over time will provide a better, clearer picture of where, when and how much demand there is for services. That enables people on the frontline and it enables policy-makers like myself to deliver better targeted and more impactful practical services."

More information, including two-minute video, is available on the Infoxchange website.

This link also has a homelessness map which shows the distribution of homelessness across Australia's regions.