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The Federal Election and our call to action is now upon us. To assist, the ALGA Board has authorised campaign materials for your immediate use to help you win a Fairer Share for your local community. ALGA has worked with state and territory local government associations to develop materials for use by every council in+
Posted 12 April, 2019 -
ALGA has advocated to establish a Local Government Climate Change Partnership Fund of $200 million over four years. Unfortunately, this request was not funded in the Federal Budget. The need for this support is re-enforced by the release of the 2018 International Energy Agency Status Report. The IEA says global carbon emissions hit a record+
Posted 5 April, 2019 -
The Australian Government has announced the appointment of Rod Hook to the Board of Infrastructure Australia (IA). Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, Michael McCormack said Mr Hook brought a wealth of infrastructure knowledge and experience to the Board. “Mr Hook will be an asset to IA thanks to his+
Posted 5 April, 2019 -
The Alcohol and Drug Foundation’s purpose is to prevent and minimise the harm caused by alcohol and other drugs in Australia. We work in partnership with others to support and create evidence-based policies and practice to achieve these goals. We co-design our evidence-based programs with communities, including local councils and government, and support them to+
Posted 5 April, 2019 -
Milparanga is run by the ARLF and is a cross industry leadership program with a focus on regional and remote Australia. The Australia Council is supporting First Nations artists and arts practitioners to participate in the program. Milparanga, meaning ‘watching over country and its people’ (in Mithaka language), honours Indigenous knowledge, philosophies and reclaiming of+
Posted 5 April, 2019 -
Last night the Federal Labor Opposition Leader, the Hon Bill Shorten MP delivered his Party’s Budget reply to Parliament. Further details are expected to be released during the election campaign but some of the issues in the Budget Reply of interest to local government include: Larger taxation cuts to lower income workers; Transport plans and+
Posted 5 April, 2019 -
Tuesday’s Budget announced the establishment of a new $3.9B Emergency Response Fund. The Fund will be established through legislation as a Commonwealth Investment Fund, and will allocate up to $150M per annum for natural disaster recovery and response initiatives above and beyond existing funding for severe and catastrophic disasters. The additional funding will not interfere+
Posted 5 April, 2019 -
This week’s Federal Budget includes an increase in next year’s base funding for the Roads to Recovery program from $400m per annum to $500m per annum from 2019-20, and also sees increases in the annual funding for the Roads Safety Federal Blackspots and the Bridges Renewal programs of $50m and $25m respectively. Regional Airports also+
Posted 5 April, 2019 -
Since 2002, the national Cycling Luminaries Awards have recognised Australian local governments and Councils who have created more liveable, attractive and active communities through the provision of bicycle infrastructure and programs. The call is now out to every Council to nominate and receive recognition for their efforts over the last year to make the choice+
Posted 29 March, 2019 -
A $15 million extension has been added to the Drought Communities Program, with 15 additional councils now eligible to apply for funding under the program. Minister for Regional Services, Sport, Local Government and Decentralisation Bridget McKenzie said the extension brought the total funding for drought relief projects in the worst-affected local government areas to $96+
Posted 29 March, 2019 -
ALGA is pleased to announce that Infrastructure Australia’s newly-appointed Chief Executive Romilly Madew has been confirmed as a speaker for NGA 2019. Her address will preview the organisation’s forthcoming release, the 2019 Australian Infrastructure Audit and what it means for local government. The Australian Infrastructure Audit is an independent, national and cross-sectoral review of Australia’s+
Posted 29 March, 2019 -
Fostering Indigenous well-being and prosperity is a key priority in ALGA’s federal election campaign. The ALGA President advocated for this and particularly funding for Indigenous housing at this week’s Joint Council on Closing the Gap meeting in Brisbane. We welcome the report on Indigenous Housing and re-enforces the need for ALGAs advocacy on this issue.+
Posted 29 March, 2019 -
National Shelter has released its latest report on Inclusionary Zoning. The report is available here. The report scanned recent literature, current inclusionary zoning arrangements in each state and territory and conducted a survey of over 350 respondents. The findings included that incentives are required to achieve social and affordable housing, there are inconsistent approaches to+
Posted 29 March, 2019 -
Last week the MAV presented as a witness to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety in Adelaide, which provided the opportunity to reinforce our sector’s national position on the future reform of community aged care. The fifty-minute evidence covered key aspects of the MAV’s written submission which included contributions from the ALGA,+
Posted 29 March, 2019 -
The Government has announced a boost to road safety funding for Local Governments will be include in next Tuesday Budget. In total the Morrison Government will deliver an additional $2.2 billion for road safety over the coming ten years. The announcement will include: An additional $1.1 billion in funding for local governments under the Roads+
Posted 29 March, 2019 -
ALGA has been in discussion with the National Rural Health Alliance regarding opportunities for shared advocacy, research and partnerships on rural health and community wellbeing particularly related to access to health services. Access to health services is critical for attracting and retaining people in our rural and remote communities. ALGA is pleased to see that+
Posted 29 March, 2019 -
We have now had two weeks to process the awful events in Christchurch and to reflect on the lessons beginning to emerge, including the importance of social cohesion, both in reducing the risks of community discord and division and in helping to strengthen the resilience of communities in facing traumatic events. The outpouring of offers+
Posted 29 March, 2019 -
The 2019 NGA is fast approaching! With the NGA just around the corner, do not forget to submit your motions by 29 March to ensure your council has the opportunity to influence the national policy agenda. Resolutions passed at the 2018 NGA were progressed by the ALGA secretariat with the most appropriate federal ministers. Formal+
Posted 22 March, 2019 -
One of ALGA’s election priorities is to foster indigenous well-being and prosperity. Key to this is closing the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. Only modest progress has been achieved, with only one target met, and Indigenous Australians remain well behind on a range of indicators. Stable, safe and appropriate housing is fundamental to reaching+
Posted 22 March, 2019 -
Barcelona has long been a leader in the smart city movement utilizing innovative technologies to improve the daily life of its citizens. Joaquim Alvarez a leader in smart cities and who worked for the Barcelona City Council for four years, has been leading workshops around the country in conjunction with Delos Delta. 1.6 million people+
Posted 22 March, 2019 -
Shellharbour City Library has won the prestigious Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) Public Library Design Awards 2019. Governor of Queensland, His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC, presented the award at 2019 Library Design Awards Conference at the State Library of Queensland last night (Thursday 14 March). The prestigious awards recognised some of+
Posted 22 March, 2019 -
The Australian Local Government Associations Federal Election Initiatives included support for communities on their digital transformation journeys. This week has seen the Minister for Regional Services and Deputy Leader of the Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie announce a number of initiatives to improve mobile coverage. The first announcement included commitment to delivering 180 new base stations+
Posted 22 March, 2019 -
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has released Australia’s Future Population Policy. The Government’s population policy includes: 1. Reducing the migration cap by 15% and incentivising more new migrants to settle outside the big cities where there are jobs and services Reducing the migration ceiling from 190,000 to 160,000 places. Introducing two new regional visas for skilled+
Posted 22 March, 2019 -
ALGA is a member of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) which aims to promote and strengthen effective democratic local government throughout the Commonwealth, to build local government capacity and to facilitate the exchange of good practice in local government structures and services. The CLGF holds a conference every two years and ALGA has been+
Posted 22 March, 2019 -
We are pleased that Kate Fielding the Program Director of A New Approach, and an arts and cultural sector leader, advocate, and strategist will share the results of recently released research on investment in arts and culture by local government. This investment provides the building blocks of local and regional arts and cultural experience and+
Posted 15 March, 2019 -
Minister for Regional Services and Deputy Leader of The Nationals Bridget McKenzie has welcomed Telstra’s new communications investments, which will make landlines more reliable across regional and rural Australia. Telstra committed to undertake a dedicated program of work to improve the reliability of regional and remote landlines. The announcement comes after the release of an+
Posted 15 March, 2019 -
A consultation process with people with disability and their families concerning draft Terms of Reference for a Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability, began this week. Minister for Families and Social Services, Paul Fletcher, said the commencement of this public consultation phase follows consultation last week with national peak+
Posted 15 March, 2019 -
Local Government Workforce challenges revealed One of local government’s most valuable assets is its workforce and councils across Australia employ around 189,000 across an amazing 394 occupations. Most of our employees are full time (68%), committed, long term employees with the unplanned turnover rate in our sector being a relatively low 8.3%. But we do+
Posted 15 March, 2019 -
The National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC), established by the Australian Government last year to improve housing affordability, is seeking greater engagement from councils which want to access its National Housing Infrastructure Facility. The Facility has $1 billion and has been set up to provide finance for eligible infrastructure projects that will unlock+
Posted 15 March, 2019 -
Mayors, General Managers and key staff from more than 530 Local Government Areas across the country are being invited to join a national conversation in Canberra – with the countdown now on for the Regions Rising National Summit on 4-5 April. Hosted by the Regional Australia Institute (RAI), the Summit will place regional issues including+
Posted 15 March, 2019 -
The Tourism Hub is a collaboration between the government and private sector to develop a central platform to access tourism research, news and opportunities. It supports a social community to connect tourism professionals to seek advice, and to share knowledge and solutions to common challenges. How can The Tourism Hub benefit our local council? When+
Posted 8 March, 2019 -
The Australia Council Awards offer an opportunity to reflect on the significant contribution of Australian artists and to highlight the inherent value of culture and its contribution to society. This year, three First Nations artists were among the impressive list of Australia Council Award recipients, including Rhoda Roberts who received the prestigious Ros Bower Award,+
Posted 8 March, 2019 -
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Federal Minister for the Environment the Hon Melissa Price MP have announced that the Government will invest more than $22 million to deliver practical environmental projects, giving communities new opportunities to protect and care for their local environment. The Communities Environment Program will provide up to $150,000 to each Federal+
Posted 8 March, 2019 -
As one of Australia’s fastest growing municipalities, Cardinia Shire Council has always been acutely aware of the need to provide the community with information on its operations. “With as many as seven new families calling Cardinia Shire home each day, it’s imperative that the Council makes smart decisions about resourcing to ensure residents get access+
Posted 8 March, 2019 -
Applications are now open for the 2019 Resilient Australia Awards. Now in their 20th year, the awards celebrate those in the community who show initiative in helping to create a more disaster-resilient Australia. Minister for Defence Industry, Emergency Management and North Queensland Recovery, Senator the Hon. Linda Reynolds, said this summer has reminded us that+
Posted 8 March, 2019 -
The National Library of Australia is calling for applications to the 2019 Community Heritage Grants (CHG) program. The program provides grants of up to $15,000 to community groups to help preserve and manage locally-held but nationally-significant cultural heritage collections. These collections include a range of materials from archival records, oral histories and textiles through to+
Posted 8 March, 2019 -
244 Local Drug Action Teams are now established across Australia to prevent and minimise alcohol and other drug-related harm in their communities. The Commonwealth Government and the Alcohol and Drug Foundation recently announced an additional 72 Local Drug Action Teams, to join 172 existing teams. The Local Drug Action Team Program supports organisations to build+
Posted 8 March, 2019 -
The National Rural Health Alliance CEO, Director Policy and Strategy Development and Director Communications and Media Liaison have initiated discussions with ALGA to explore possible areas of partnership involving their rural local government area members. Local government is playing an increasingly important role in health and wellbeing for local communities and there are many areas+
Posted 8 March, 2019 -
The NGA is an important opportunity for you and your council to influence the national policy agenda. The primary focus of all motions should be to strengthen the capacity of local government to provide services and infrastructure in Australia. To be eligible for inclusion in the NGA Business Papers, and subsequent debate on the floor+
Posted 8 March, 2019 -
Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton has recently announced that round four of the Safer Communities Fund will provide funding for security infrastructure and activity-based projects that aim to protect children from violent attacks and harassment. Almost $32 million in funding is available in the fourth round to assist organisations working with children that are+
Posted 8 March, 2019 -
We are living through an exciting time in history where gender equality has become an expectation, rather than a far-fetched ambition. The community is increasingly questioning its absence at the same time celebrating a whole new era of heroes (or heroines if you prefer). The tenacious campaigns during the early 20th century by the suffragettes,+
Posted 8 March, 2019 -
The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) will host another round of information sessions to support the heavy vehicle industry with the transition to recent changes to Chain of Responsibility (CoR) laws. NHVR’s A/Director Strategy and Stakeholder Relations John Gilbert said the information sessions would explain the changes to CoR, the impact on supply chain businesses+
Posted 22 February, 2019 -
The NGA19 preliminary program is now available online, with hard copies to be mailed to councils in the coming week. This year, NGA19 is Future Focused celebrating past achievements while firmly focused on the future. The theme acknowledges that change is constant, be it digital transformation, community activism, ageing demographics, population policies or even artificial intelligence. It is+
Posted 22 February, 2019 -
Shoalhaven City Council is entering into a long-term contract with Bioelektra Australia Pty Ltd to build and operate a new waste processing facility that uses state-of-the-art technology to provide an environmentally-sound solution to a landfill problem that all local governments in Australia are facing. The new Resource Recovery Facility (RRF) will be constructed on council-owned land+
Posted 22 February, 2019 -
The ALGA Secretariat in Canberra has been abuzz with preparations for the upcoming National Assembly of Local Government, which will be held on 16 – 19 June. At last year’s Assembly, the NGA encouraged you to donate coats to support our first partner charity – National Coat Day via Enormity – and we are excited+
Posted 22 February, 2019 -
The improvement of interoperability, ‘smart cities’ initiatives, and blockchain technologies entering smart water metering were the predictions of 2018. Now, in 2019, the continual ground-swell of interest in the Internet of Things (IoT) has brought many new opportunities for smart water metering. This year’s predictions will have a particular focus on Australia and the Asia-Pacific+
Posted 22 February, 2019 -
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has partnered with the Basalt to Bay Landcare Network in South West Victoria to produce simple tax facts sheets for all tax-registered primary producers. These fact sheets explain what farmers can claim in tax for undertaking Landcare works, agroforestry, and what to claim to prepare for a fire. Many rural+
Posted 22 February, 2019 -
A senior executive from the WA Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries has been appointed as the new CEO of the WA Local Government Association (WALGA). ALGA President Cr Lynne Craigie announced Nick Sloan has been appointed to the role and will commence in March. “Mr Sloan has extensive experience working in senior+
Posted 22 February, 2019 -
Australians’ ever-increasing appetite for data-hungry video services is transforming the communications landscape. This is a key finding of the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s (ACMA) Communications report 2017–18, which was recently tabled in federal parliament. The annual ACMA report examines the current telecommunication and media environment, including the latest in industry innovations and consumer trends. “Over+
Posted 22 February, 2019 -
Consultations are now open on Australia’s next national tourism strategy, with industry stakeholders encouraged to have their say on a draft report developed by the Beyond Tourism 2020 Steering Committee. Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham urged stakeholders, from local and state governments to peak industry bodies and individual tourism operators to have their say+
Posted 22 February, 2019 -
The Australian Airports Association has provided feedback to the Department of Home Affairs on its Aviation Security Roadmap for 2019, which outlines the proposed consultation and implementation time frames for a significant number of changes to airport security requirements. Feedback focused on ensuring the transition process minimises the burden on industry and is progressed in+
Posted 15 February, 2019 -
The Federal Government has announced $78 million in funding to support women and children escaping domestic violence. The funding includes a $60 million grants program for eligible organisations to provide new or expanded emergency accommodation facilities for those escaping domestic and family violence. The grant program will be structured to encourage contributions from other levels+
Posted 15 February, 2019