I was delighted to appear before the Senate Standing Committee on Economics last week on the National Housing and Homelessness Plan Bill 2024.
During the hearing, I highlighted that many councils are going above and beyond to address the housing crisis but we aren’t resourced to play a greater role.
One of the biggest challenges is a lack of funding for local roads, water and power connections needed for new developments, and we need to fix this to significantly increase housing supply.
Natural disaster reviews
We recently welcomed the release of the Independent Review of Commonwealth Disaster Funding (Colvin Review) and the Independent Review of National Natural Disaster Governance Arrangements (Glasser Review).
ALGA has consistently advocated for an increased focus on disaster mitigation and risk reduction, and it’s encouraging to see this was supported in both reviews.
We look forward to working with our members and the Federal Government on the review recommendations.
State conferences
I was honoured to speak at the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) annual conference on 22 October in Brisbane.
At the annual event, where I was also elected LGAQ President, I spoke about local government financial sustainability, affordable housing and returning ALGA to National Cabinet as a full member.
I will also be speaking at the Local Government Association of the Northern Territory (LGANT) conference in Alice Springs this week, and I’m looking forward to meeting with NSW councils at their state conference in Tamworth on 18 November.
Early bird tickets closing
Another reminder early bird tickets close at the end of next week (15 November) for the 2024 National Local Roads, Transport & Infrastructure Congress.
This year’s Congress – featuring high-profile speakers and an annual dinner at Leeuwin Estate Winery – will be held in Margaret River, Western Australia from 3-4 December.