President's column
"End the freeze" and "restore indexation to Financial Assistance Grants (FAGs)" were the lines I took at a recent meeting with the Federal Local Government Minister, Senator the Hon Fiona Nash, at Parliament House in Canberra.
I explained to the Minister that the freeze of the indexation to FAGs is estimated to result in a permanent reduction in the grants base by about 13 per cent. This means that even if indexation is restored in 2017-18, the gap will continue to widen
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Additional disaster assistance for QLD communities affected by Tropical Cyclone Debbie
Minister for Justice, the Hon Michael Keenan MP, and Queensland Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services, Mark Ryan MP, have announced additional disaster assistance in response to Tropical Cyclone Debbie that has affected eight local government areas.
The assistance is being provided through the jointly-funded Commonwealth-State Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA).
Climate Change Review discussion paper released
The Federal Government has released a discussion paper for public consultation as part of the 2017 review of climate change policies.
The discussion paper follows the Government's commitment to review its climate change policies when it set Australia's target to reduce emissions by 26 to 28 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.
The review aims to ensure the Government's policies remain effective in achieving Australia's 2030 target and Paris Agreement commitments.
Around the nation: Financial Assistance Grants indexation freeze impact on Shire of Plantagenet, Western Australia
The impact of the Federal Government's freeze to the indexation of Financial Assistance Grants (FAGs) has been felt by councils far and wide across the country, both regional and metro, in varying degrees.
For the Shire of Plantagenet, a small rural council in Western Australia, the impact of the freeze is estimated to be $50,000 annually, which equates to around 1 per cent in rates.
Shire President, Cr Ken Clements, said the impact was felt across the board.
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Support ALGA's campaign!
ALGA has launched a campaign to end the freeze and restore indexation to local government financial assistance grants in the federal budget this May.
It is important that your council actively engages in supporting ALGA in this national campaign. ALGA can make the national arguments and make the national representations at the Federal level, but nothing gets the attention of politicians, the party room or party leadership better than local stories from the front line of local community governance - you.
Support ALGA's campaign by contacting your Federal Parliamentary representatives through our online campaign website: endthefreeze.com - it's your community and your call.
The team at ALGA has also prepared a council advocacy kit - available at councils.endthefreeze.com - that includes templates, background information and talking points to assist your campaign at the local level to ensure the Government keeps its promise to restore indexation to FAGs in this year's Federal Budget.