ALGA News

Infrastructure Australia is developing its next infrastructure roadmap and wants to confer with interested parties on possible policy directions and reforms. The Australian Infrastructure Plan 2021 will set out IA’s advice on policy and reform (non-build) solutions to improve user and community access to and quality of infrastructure services as identified in the Australian Infrastructure+

Seventeen regional Queensland councils will share almost $3.5 million to fund priority infrastructure upgrades to better prepare for future natural disasters. Funding for the projects, which include upgrades on roads, drainage systems and power supplies, will be administered by the Queensland Reconstruction Authority. Queensland Treasurer and Minister responsible for the QRA Cameron Dick said the+

Councils that uphold or certify disability access standards for public buildings are being asked to take part in a scheduled review of the benchmarks. The Disability (Access to Premises – Building) Standards 2010 ensure people with disabilities (and their families, carers and friends) have equal access to public building,  and that building certifiers, developers and+

Disaster assistance has been extended to help communities in Western Australia’s Great Southern region recover from damage caused by heavy rain and severe flooding. Storms in early August dumped two months of rain in two days in the area, with the City of Albany and the Shire of Denmark both experiencing significant damage to their+

Single-use plastics, including straws and cutlery, will be prohibited in South Australia from early next year after Parliament passed new legislation last week. The Single-use and Other Plastic Products (Waste Avoidance) Bill 2020 bans the sale, supply and distribution of certain plastic products. But because of Covid-19 the ban will not come into force until+

Local councils owning and operating water and wastewater assets are being asked to take part in a voluntary national exercise to enhance cyber security resilience. The exercise, to be coordinated by the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), will test and strengthen arrangements for responding to cyber incidents. ACSC head Abigail Bradshaw says “a cyber disrupting+

Virgin Australia will stop flying to seven regional destinations as it emerges from administration under the new ownership of private equity firm Bain Capital. Services to and from Yulara, Albury, Tamworth, Hervey Bay, Port Macquarie, Mildura, and Cloncurry would be withdrawn “for the foreseeable future”, an airline spokesman said last week. Nine routes in all+

A scoping study assessing the feasibility of developing a National Heavy Vehicle Bridge Assessment System has been published by Austroads. Bridge assessment processes are a major constraint in delivering reliable and timely heavy vehicle access to the national road network, according to Austroads. The large range of vehicle types and masses on an equally diverse+

The Save the Children Fund wants young people involved in emergency planning at the local government level to ensure their needs are met. In a submission to the recent bushfires royal commission, Save the Children said youngsters’ needs were “systemically misunderstood and overlooked” in the responses to the fires, even though they are “uniquely vulnerable+

Tax or finance professionals working in local government are being asked to help improve the client experience of the Australian Taxation Office. The ATO recently formed a government relations group to explore the tax and super issues unique to government entities and to identify opportunities to support government at all levels in complying with tax+

A seasonal labour employment service is being expanded to enable regional fruit and vegetable growers to harvest crops and dispatch them to market. The Federal Government’s Harvest Trail Services (HTS) connects employers, growers, and farmers with workers to fill seasonal harvest jobs in major horticulture regions across the country. To address labour shortages created by+

Western Australia’s new container deposit scheme will have 200 refund points – including depots, reverse vending machines, bag drops, and pop-ups – when it is launched on 1 October. Announcing the details last week, Environment Minister Stephen Dawson said 35 per cent of refund points will be operated by social enterprises and not-for-profits, 15 per+

An outer Melbourne council is using traditional Japanese poetry as a vehicle for reflecting residents’ experiences of Covid-19 lockdowns. The Shire of Yarra Ranges has invited residents to write and display haiku – three-line poems capturing moments in time, moments of stillness, and fleeting observations – on their rubbish bins.  Notable examples will be featured+

Early bushfire detection could save the economy $8.2 billion over the next 30 years, according to Australian National University modelling. Research led by the ANU’s Centre for Social Research and Methods examined how much money would be saved between 2020 and 2049 under three fire detection scenarios: a 30-minute reduction in detection time for large+

Momentum for all homes built nationwide to incorporate livable housing design principles is picking up, with implications for local government. Advocacy group Livable Housing Australia (LHA) says the Australian Building Codes Board’s proposal to include minimum accessibility standards for housing in the National Construction Code (NCC) – together with aspects of the Aged Care Royal+

The Federal Government will end contentious buybacks of water entitlements from Murray-Darling Basin irrigators and subsidise water infrastructure on farms instead. Announcing the Murray-Darling Communities Investment Package last week, Water Minister Keith Pitt said upgrading infrastructure for farming irrigators will ensure  greater water savings than buybacks while maximising benefits for Basin communities. A recent review+

Public preconceptions about recycling are inhibiting the long-term development of climate-resilient water sources, the country’s peak water industry body says. The Waters Services Association of Australia has released a 68-page report, All options on the table: Urban water supply options for Australia, that finds the cost of purified recycling water for drinking is comparable to+

The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal has set the 2021-22 rate peg for NSW councils at 2.0 percent. The rate peg is the maximum percentage amount by which a council may increase its general income for the year. In 2020-21, it was set at 2.6 percent. The 2021-22 peg was calculated by taking the increase+

Legislation regulating the disposal of Commonwealth land to local governments and the acquisition of council land by the Commonwealth is being reviewed. While the Lands Acquisition Act 1989 (LAA) has not changed substantially since its enactment over 30 years ago, complex land acquisition processes involving compensation payments to landholders have become more difficult to finalise.+

Local government’s readiness to help reduce domestic violence is being stymied by inadequate state and federal government financial support, ALGA has told a federal inquiry. In a submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee inquiring into family, domestic and sexual violence, ALGA said it is essential councils receive dedicated funding to maximise their capacity+

Organisers of agricultural shows and field days who cancelled their 2020 events because of Covid-19 can apply for a share of $7.2 million in Commonwealth funding. The Supporting Agricultural Shows and Field Days program will provide a one-off reimbursement to affected agricultural show societies and agricultural field day organisers. Announcing the $7.2 million grant last+

Federal Government policy changes to improve the delivery of telecommunications services in new developments were announced this week. Designed to provide Australians moving into new apartment and housing developments with better and cheaper access to high-speed broadband services, the Telecommunications in New Developments policy “provides a modernised framework for the deployment of services while fostering+

While much of eastern Australia is experiencing wetter than average conditions, the national bushfire outlook remains problematic in many areas. Releasing its Spring Seasonal Bushfire Outlook this week, the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC said there was an above-normal fire potential for south-east Queensland as well as the state’s central coast extending north. Dry conditions+

A contemporary guide for designing walkable neighbourhoods in Queensland has been published by the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (Qld). Developed with input from across the sector, the Street Design Manual: Walkable Neighbourhoods “recognises streets as an important connector to multi-purpose social spaces in our neighbourhoods … [and] offers access options for active transport+

Organisations and individuals supporting young people are being invited to apply for funding under the Youth Action Projects Grant Scheme (YAGPS). This targeted scheme offers grants of between $5000 and $20,000 to help finance projects which respond to the social challenges facing those aged 15 to 24. Projects need to be either new initiatives that+

The decline in asset management capability in NSW local government risks undermining the sector’s ability to plan for, maintain and renew road infrastructure. The 2019 Road Asset Benchmarking Project released last week also indicates that deteriorating timber bridges on local roads risks further isolating already vulnerable local communities. To enable local government to maintain timber+

Clean-up efforts from the 2019-20 Victorian bushfires have finished, with 736 properties in East Gippsland and the state’s north-east cleared of destroyed and damaged buildings. In total, the 2020 Clean-up Program demolished, cleared and disposed of more than 2500 individual structures on 547 properties in East Gippsland Shire, 183 properties in Towong Shire, and five+

Cobar Shire Council Mayor Lilliane Brady OAM was named the inaugural winner of the NSW Minister for Local Government Award for Women this week. The award – which is part of the annual Ministers’ Awards for Women in Local Government – recognises a female councillor or staff member who has delivered quality outcomes in helping+

Nine Queensland local governments will receive a share of $10 million in federal and state funding to repair, rebuild and reinforce infrastructure damaged by the 2019 monsoon trough. The $10 million represents the final tranche of a $134.5 million infrastructure package supported by the Queensland and Federal governments, and will enable 12 betterment and recreational+

A road freight access and productivity plan two years in the making has been published by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR). NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto said the plan would assist Australia’s 425 road managers to coordinate their approach to addressing Australia’s growing road freight task. “The response to the pandemic has again shown the+

Eight Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hubs are to be established in regional Australia as part of the Commonwealth’s $5 billion Future Drought Fund. The hubs will support networks of researchers, farmers, agricultural businesses and community groups to enhance drought resilience practice, tools and technology. Federal Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management Minister David Littleproud said+

Last month, the Morrison Government said it would legislate to provide a Federal power of veto over arrangements between state and territory governments, local governments and universities and foreign governments. This legislation will cover an estimated 500 sister city agreements between councils and their overseas counterparts – as well as the 135 agreements that state+

Thirty proposed changes to Western Australia’s local planning regulations have gone on public exhibition. The proposals will, among other things, exempt small residential and non-residential projects from requiring development approval and introduce improved change-of-use and parking requirements for small businesses in certain locations. The proposed amendments to the Planning and Development (Local Planning Schemes) Regulations+

A project to build a new skatepark in Condingup, in WA’s Esperance Shire, has been approved for funding under the Tackling Tough Times Together Program. All up, 30 projects will share $1.1 million in funding being made available under Round 17 of the TTTT program, which is  run under the auspices of the not-for-profit Foundation+

A further $10 million is being made available for research into new processes and markets for waste plastics, paper, glass, and tyres. Research projects eligible for funding under Round 10 of the Federal Government’s Cooperative Research Centres Projects (CRC-P) grants program can also include other problem materials, such as building waste. The funding is part+

Victoria MacKirdy is replacing Queenslander Mark Crawley as the national president of Local Government Professionals Australia (LGPA). Ms MacKirdy is CEO of the City of Victor Harbour Council in South Australia, and has served as a national director on the LGPA Board for five years. She has over 27 years of experience in the local+

Almost 1.5 million homes were built in Australia from 2006-16 but the growth of housing stock in each state and territory was uneven, new AHURI research shows. Growth ranged from 26 per cent in Western Australia to just 12 per cent in NSW. Only the building boom of 2015-18 pushed NSW to reach supply levels+

Landmark legislation establishing a national industry relationship framework for recycling was introduced in Federal Parliament this week. The Recycling and Waste Reduction Bill 2020 (and associated provisions) will also authorise the progressive implementation of bans on waste plastic, paper, glass and tyre exports. Australia presently exports around 645,000 tonnes of processed plastic, paper, glass and+

A new program to help local councils identify and eliminate single-use plastics from their workplaces has been published. The Engagement for Plastic-free innovation and Change (EPIC) program was designed by Plastic Oceans Australasia (POA), and includes: a step-by-step EPIC program manual;   access to scientific research and documentaries on plastic pollution, including the award-winning film A+

Fifteen local councils have successfully applied for funding under Round 2 of the Murray-Darling Basin Economic Development Program. The program supports economic development projects in identified communities in NSW, Queensland, Victoria, and South Australia impacted by water recovery under the Basin Plan. Round 2 was open to 31 eligible communities, including those moderately impacted by+