News & Events

A three-month trial at the Bathurst Regional Council to reduce clothing going into landfill has collected 1.6 tonnes of used textiles in just one month. In what is believed to be a first for regional NSW, the council partnered with Textile Recyclers Australia (TRA) for the trial, with TRA supplying bins to be set up+

Four new stories looking at the unique role the arts can play in the disaster management process have been made available as podcasts. In Season 2 of the “Creative Responders” podcasts, listeners will hear from council teams and participating artists as they examine what a community-led project looks like; why it is essential to centre+

South Australia’s new planning and design code will go live in metropolitan areas from 19 March, the State Planning Commission said last week. From that date on, all applications lodged will be required to be assessed against the new code, which replaces 72 Development Plans. Thirty-five metropolitan and major regional councils – which together handle+

The need for improved local and national adaptation measures to limit the growing fire risk in south-eastern Australia has been reiterated in another scientific study. Published in Communications Earth and Environment, the study also says adaptation measures need to be accompanied by ambitious global climate change mitigation effects to limit further increases in fire risk.+

Disaster Recovery Payments have been declared for eligible people severely affected by bushfires burning in the Shire of Mundaring and the City of Swan. The Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP) provides a one-off lump sum of $1000 for eligible adults and $400 for each eligible child under the age of 16. AGDRP is available+

Federal Politicians are urging eligible community groups and organisations to finalise their funding applications for Round 6 of the Stronger Communities Program. Round 6 will provide $22.65 million to fund small capital projects in each of the country’s 151 federal electorates. For this special round, grant funding will be up to 100 percent of eligible+

The Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils has called for a review of “disproportionate” private gains flowing from publicly funded infrastructure investment in Sydney’s west.  “We have already seen examples of enormous private windfalls from the land acquisition processes at Badgerys Creek [site of Sydney’s second airport],” WSROC President Barry Calvert said in a media+

Eight new commercial projects to process West Australian plastic and tyre waste are to get $70 million in joint funding from the Commonwealth and WA state governments. They include a facility in eastern Perth that will process plastic waste into high-quality flakes that can be used to make food-grade and non-food-grade recycled resin. The new+

Trials to identify better ways of delivering voice services in regional and remote Australia via the internet will begin shortly. As part of the Commonwealth’s $2 million Alternative Voice Services Trials (AVST) Program, NBN Co and two smaller telecommunications companies, ConceroTel and Zetifi, have been selected to conduct the new trials. NBN Co will deliver+

The Australian Taxation Office is reminding local government finance managers to renew their manual authorisation in RAM before their 12-month expiry date. Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM) is an authorisation service that allows you to act on behalf of a business online when linked with myGovID. To renew, the ATO says to log in to RAM+

Accessible Arts has developed a new workshop suitable for arts and cultural organisations in the local government sector. The arts and disability organisation says this would be suitable for councils looking to improve their online engagement with people with disabilities. The 90-minute online events workshop, developed with the support of the Australia Council for the+

Seven Queensland councils will share $8.9 million of additional funding for a range of projects to help drive economic recovery in communities impacted by last year’s bushfires. They include the Bundaberg Regional Council, Gympie Regional Council, Scenic Rim Regional Council, Somerset Regional Council, Southern Downs Regional Council, Sunshine Coast Regional Council, and the Toowoomba Regional+

The signing of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance half a century ago is being celebrated on World Wetlands Day on 2 February. On that date in 1971, an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands was signed into being in Ramsar, an Iranian city on the shores of the Caspian+

Local government should be supported to increase active transport options to help bolster Melbourne’s recovery from Covid-19, the state’s infrastructure adviser says. With the pandemic having led to more congested roads and crowded public transport in the city, Infrastructure Victoria says the state government is having to grapple with competing objectives such as transmission risk,+

Regional communities can take years to recover economically from natural disasters with the impacts often spilling over to nearby regions. A report released by SGS Economics & Planning and Suncorp Insurance highlights the importance of rapid insurance payments and the need to protect regions from future disasters. The report, Economic Recovery after Disaster Strikes Volume+

The Charles Darwin University Education and Community Precinct is scheduled to completed by 2024, the first Annual Progress Report on the Darwin City Deal shows. Work on the $250 million precinct, which is expected to attract more international students to Darwin and inject about $600 million into the local economy, began in October. The Annual+

Former Katherine Mayor Fay Miller was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to local government, tourism, and the community of Katherine on Australia Day. She was one of several elected and non-elected officials recognised in the Australia Day Honours for their services to local government. Ms Miller, originally from+

The Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation says “significant action across the supply chain” is needed for Australia to meet the 2025 National Packaging Targets. In a new report on the state of packaging in Australia and progress towards the 2025 targets, APCO said the volume of plastic “placed on market” in 2018-19 had declined by six+

The National Cities Performance Framework (NCPF) is being reviewed for the first time since its 2017 launch with a view to updating liveability indicators. The framework tracks the performance of 21 of Australia’s largest cities across key measures such as jobs, housing, and liveability – thereby enabling governments, industries and communities to better target, monitor+

Australia now has a nationally consistent approach to emergency warnings for bushfire, flood, storm, cyclone, extreme heat, and severe weather hazards. The Australian Warning System was a recommendation of last year’s Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements and was introduced in December. Developed with input from emergency services and hazard agencies nationwide, the new+

Nearly 100km of regional roads in Western Australia will be upgraded throughout 2020-21 under the Wheatbelt Secondary Freight Network (WSFN) program. Some $20 million is being invested in the second tranche of upgrades under the WSFN program, established in 2020 to increase freight efficiency and productivity, reduce vehicle-operating cost and improve road safety along strategic+

Under-insurance in northern Australia is a significant and growing problem, with around 40 per cent of properties in northern WA carrying no cover whatever. According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, rates of non-insurance in the Northern Territory are 26 percent, and in North Queensland 17 percent. In the final report from its Northern+

Heavy rain along Australia’s east coast in the past month has seen disaster assistance extended to over 30 local government areas in Queensland and NSW. In Queensland, assistance has gone to 16 local government areas, including the Burke, Cassowary Coast, Charters Towers, Cook, Croydon, Etheridge, Hinchinbrook, Kowanyama, Mareeba, Mornington, Palm Island, Tablelands and Whitsunday councils.+

Federal funding of $7.3 million has been announced for upgrades of Driver Reviver sites, including shelters, picnic tables, power and water facilities, barbecues, parking, and lighting. All site owners, including state and local governments, are being encouraged to submit applications for Round 2 of the Driver Reviver Upgrade Program. The Driver Reviver scheme is now+

The federal Agriculture Department wants local government’s help to eradicate khapra beetles detected in white goods and highchairs imported into Australia last year. The highly invasive beetles target stored grains and dried foods and are regarded as the world’s second most damaging insect pest. Last August, khapra beetles were detected in the packaging of a+

Applications for $50 million of federal funding to undertake critical flood mitigation infrastructure projects opened on 21 December. Federal Emergency Management Minister David Littleproud says the program will enable the Commonwealth to “contribute to, or fund, the maintenance, improvement, or construction, of flood mitigation infrastructure which will improve the resilience of local communities to withstand+

While Covid‑19 challenged the financial viability of many local governments, none reduced waste services and only a very few adjusted recycling collection schedules, the Australian Local Government Association has reported. Assessing the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on kerbside waste collection and recycling services, ALGA said that “while there was anecdotal evidence of increased kerbside+

Eligible local government agencies are being urged to finalise their applications for Round Five of the Building Better Regions Fund (BBRF). The Commonwealth is making $200 million available for Round Five. Of this, $100 million is being directed to a Community Investments Stream, with the remaining $100 million going to an Infrastructure Projects Stream focused+

The Australian Energy Regulator’s price comparison service has been improved to enable households and small businesses to make more informed energy choices. Energy Made Easy is a free and independent service enabling NSW, Queensland, South Australian, Tasmanian and ACT residents to find and compare electricity and gas plans available in their local area. The Regulator+

The Far North Queensland Shire of Douglas is getting than $10 million to repair, rebuild and reinforce infrastructure damaged by the devastating monsoon trough of early last year. The money for the projects is coming from the 2019 Betterment program jointly funded by the Federal and Queensland Governments through the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).+

The City of Parramatta Council has taken out the coveted Leadership City category at this year’s Smart Cities Awards Paramatta won the judges’ nod for implementing a suite of dynamic smart cities projects, including sensing network on a new 25-hectare development, a parking app which was enhanced in 2020 in response to Covid-19, and Floodsmart+

Disaster assistance has been made available to reimburse firefighting costs on Queensland’s Fraser Island as operations continue to manage ongoing bushfires. The bushfires started in mid-November and have now burnt about 80,000 hectares of the island. Nearly 100 firefighting personnel, supported by heavy machinery, dozens of fire trucks and multiple firefighting aircraft, are battling the+

Net overseas migration has slumped since March, with Australia expected to record its first net outflow since the end of World War II this financial year. The Federal Government’s first Population Statement says pandemic restrictions are also expected to affect household decisions about family size and migration between and within states and territories. “Covid-19 will+

A $50 million National Flood Mitigation Infrastructure Fund has been set up by the Federal Government to help communities to better prepare for extreme weather events and flooding. The program has been established under the Emergency Response Fund and aligns with recommendations of the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements, the National Disaster Risk+

A Bill allowing the Commonwealth to override arrangements entered by states, local governments and universities with foreign governments was signed into law this week. Under the Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Act 2020, the Minister for Foreign Affairs will have the power to prevent prospective foreign arrangements from proceeding, or cancel existing arrangements, where+

Some local governments struggle to implement green purchasing policies because of a lack of baseline/assessment of such procurement policies in the public sector. According to a new University of New South Wales (UNSW) Business School report, municipalities that track their green purchasing policies are more likely to elevate the importance of green purchasing in their+

The Australia Council for the Arts has advised that local governments can apply for funding to aid recovery in the cultural and creatives industries sector. The Federal Government is providing $2 million to the Reimagine: Sector Recovery Initiatives which the Australia Council for the Arts will administer. Recovery initiatives are offered in two streams: The+

A Federal Parliamentary committee inquiring into options for financing faster rail between major capital cities has suggested all three levels of government focus on value-capture mechanisms.  Chairman of the House of Representatives Infrastructure, Transport and Cities Committee John Alexander tabled the faster rail financing options report this week. “Before Covid-19, this committee saw funding faster+

Although flooding is Australia’s costliest natural hazard-related cause of disaster, a devolved model for floodplain risk management (FRM) has led to uneven outcomes at the local level. Some communities are well progressed towards holistic FRM, but others are at a less mature stage of working towards flood risk assessments and appropriate FRM plans. A new+

The Productivity Commission has published an issues paper as a prelude to its forthcoming inquiry into the costs and benefits of a right of repair. There is no single definition of a “right to repair”, but the PC says that “in essence it relates to regulations to maximise a consumer’s opportunity to repair their goods+