News & Events

Thirty-six projects supporting drought-affected communities in rural and regional areas have won a share of $1.2 million in federal government funding. They include upgrades to the agricultural hall in Aldersyde, WA; funding for the Gunning Arts Festival in NSW; a theatre, gallery and community hub in Monto, Qld; beehives for Students of the Air in+

Councils are being invited to take part in a joint Monash University/RMIT project to identify research priorities to advance active transport in Australia. University researchers funded by the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation are undertaking two related surveys to develop a list of critical questions that need to be addressed to advance active transport in Australia.+

Researchers assessing the wellbeing of people who responded to the Black Summer bushfires want to draw on the experiences of local government staff. Many local government authority staff played important roles in responding to the fires, and University of Western Australian (UWA) researchers are inviting them to participate in a study to help ensure the+

The Building Ministers Forum (BMF) expects to settle a position on the inclusion of minimum accessibility standards in the National Construction Code early next year. After a meeting, last Friday, state and federal ministers said a national shortage of accessible residential housing in Australia has implications for the 4.4 million Australians living with disability, older+

A service system reoriented towards early prevention could help Australia reduce and end homelessness, says a new Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) report. In the absence of a national homelessness strategy, Australia has a highly fragmented service system, with over 1500 specialist homelessness services (SHSs) funded by all government, charities, and other organisations.+

Councils have been advised that they can apply for Commonwealth grants to build safe havens for threatened native wildlife species. The $6.78 million Safe Havens Grants Program was announced in May as part of the Federal Government’s Environment Restoration Fund, the objective of which is to reduce extinction risk to nationally listed threatened species by+

Tasmania’s recycling industry will receive up to $16 million in new investment over the next four years under a national partnership agreement signed last week. Under the agreement, the Tasmanian Government will provide up to $5.5 million in grants, with the Federal Government matching this dollar-for-dollar through its Recycling Modernisation Fund. The grants will be+

A new report has identified how councils can invest in renewable energy, urban greening, and climate action to drive local economic recovery. Published by Cities Power Partnership (CPP), the Clean Jobs for Communities report says towns and cities can play a crucial role in helping overcome Australia overcome its climate and health crises. “Local governments+

Administrative shortcomings in NSW’s waste levy regime may be putting waste diversion and recycling targets at risk. NSW Auditor-General Margaret Crawford said in a report last week that although the levy helps divert waste from landfills, a lack of timely data means recycling targets for municipal solid waste and commercial and industrial waste “are unlikely+

For local government, there is no more vital – or rapidly evolving – task than effective asset management. As the owners of infrastructure valued at more than $345 billion, Australia’s 537 councils comply with laws and regulations governing engineering standards, work health and safety, and electromagnetic radiation, etc. Now, however, they are also having to+

Telstra, Optus and TPG are getting $13.2 million in federal funding to improve back-up power at 467 mobile phone towers across the country. Money for the upgrades – which will ensure a minimum of 12 hours of back-up power at towers in the event that mains electricity is lost – is being provided under Stage+

A report setting out a “pragmatic and inclusive” approach to national urban water reform has been made public a year after being handed to the Federal Government. Commissioned by the Urban Water Reform Committee (UWRC), the report sets out how reforms in the areas of institutional arrangements, planning, service delivery, regulation and information, can be+

Stakeholders met in Townsville and Toowoomba this week to discuss the next priorities for Queensland’s northern and southern Roads of Strategic Importance (ROSI) initiative. Federal Assistant Minister for Road Safety and Freight Transport Scott Buchholz said both meetings were productive affairs that enabled local representatives to have their say and to put their ideas forward+

Australia’s climate is being influenced by La Niña event, but fire remains a concern in NSW and Victoria as grasslands dry out in the warmer weather. The Australian Seasonal Bushfire Outlook: December 2020- February 2021 reports that above-normal fire conditions now exist in “large parts of NSW west of the Great Dividing Range face, as+

Hybrid technology able to transform sewage treatment plants into low-emissions operations capable of generating energy has earned its developer a Eureka Prize. University of Technology Sydney researcher Dr Qilin Wang received the 2020 Prize for Outstanding Early Career Researcher for his work in creating a closed-loop system for hydrogen production from waste-activated sludge (WAS). His+

A council that was recently vying for the 2020 National Award for Local Government has been named as one NSW’s most progressive and innovative councils. Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council was awarded the 2020 A.R. Bluett Memorial Award (metropolitan/regional) at the annual conference of Local Government NSW (LGNSW) held this week. Bellingen Shire Council took out the+

The Commonwealth Treasury has begun consultations on options to accelerate the take-up of electronic invoicing by businesses and other commercial entities. Having adopted the Peppol framework as the national standard for e-invoicing in 2018, the Federal Government recently mandated all its agencies to adopt e-invoicing by 1 July 2022. The state and territory governments, and+

By SHARMILA FALZON It often takes place behind closed doors but violence against women is a complex problem the whole community must address. The Parramatta City Council (PCC) recognises it has a key role to play in driving change and we have worked extensively over the past six years to empower the community to take+

Australians overwhelmingly want to live locally in walkable neighbourhoods close to parks, a new Heart Foundation study has revealed. The survey also found that a sense of safety is high on the priority list for Australians when deciding where to live. The foundation surveyed 2895 Australians on “what matters most to them in making neighbourhoods+

Communities and businesses in bushfire-impacted regions of NSW now have till 28 January to apply for grants under the $250 million Bushfire Local Economic Recovery (BLER) fund. Federal Emergency Management Minister David Littleproud said the deadline extension would enable as many communities and businesses as possible to access BLER funding provided by both the Federal+

The Commonwealth Health Department has widened its public consultations to inform a whole-of-government approach to suicide prevention. It follows “Interim Advice” provided to Prime Minister Scott Morrison in August by the National Suicide Prevention Adviser, Christine Morgan. The advice, released this week, comprises 13 “in-principle” recommendations to improve the whole-of-government coordination and delivery of suicide+

Councils across Queensland have been involved in various campaigns and initiatives aimed at promoting awareness and prevention of domestic abuse.  In the City of Gold Coast, there have been campaigns via internal and external marketing platforms.  Residents have been provided with safety information cards and given the “Purple book” containing information about abuse and where+

Virgin Australia and Alliance Airlines have received authorisation from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to work together on 41 regional routes. The cooperative arrangement will allow the two operators to share information, and to agree on service capacity, schedules and potentially revenue sharing on the routes on which they operate, including for new routes+

Plans to introduce a road user charge for electric vehicles in South Australia have been criticised as likely to slow the take-up of EV technology nationally. State Treasurer Rob Lucas said the Government’s proposed charge would include a fixed component and a variable charge based on distance travelled, and would raise about $1 million per+

Dangerous fire weather days will become more numerous in future, and fire seasons for southern and eastern Australia will last longer. The CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology are also predicting a continued decrease in cool season rainfall across many regions of southern and eastern Australia, shorter but more intense heavy rainfall events, and fewer+

Average voter turnout at last month’s Victoria’s local council elections was a record 81.4 per cent, the Victorian Electoral Commission said last week. Electoral Commissioner Warwick Gately congratulated Victorians on their record turnout for the election – which was conducted entirely by mail ballot because of Covid-19. Campaigning was restricted during the lockdown with no+

A West Australian council that unleased its community’s entrepreneurial spirit to tackle unemployment has won Australia’s top award for local government. The City of Mandurah initiated a series of programs for budding entrepreneurs about six years ago to help create jobs and build local skills in a region marked by rising unemployment. These programs –+

Disaster assistance has been made available to eight NSW coastal and inland local government areas impacted by storms on 20 October. The severe thunderstorms and associated high winds and flash flooding caused widespread damage across the Armidale, Bega Valley, Central Coast, Eurobodalla, Mid Coast, Shoalhaven, Snowy Valleys and Tamworth councils, including to local roads, businesses+

Round 5A of the Mobile Black Spot Program is now open as the Federal Government looks to improve coverage along major transport corridors and in disaster-prone areas. Announcing the round on Wednesday, Federal Minister for Regional Health, Regional Communications and Local Government Mark Coulton said: “We want to support new ways of delivering mobile services+

Leading scientists and engineers have warned that National Waste Policy Action Plan goals will be “difficult to achieve without focusing on avoidance”. A new report from the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, Towards a Waste-Free Future, has found that while the plan prioritises avoidance in principle, its “measures are heavily weighted towards waste collection+

A settlement strategy and long-term vision would help restore Australia’s social and economic strength after the Covid-19 crisis. The Committees for Cities and Regions says Australia and New Zealand have managed the health crisis well – and should now capitalise on this by developing consistent standards for a common recovery roadmap. The independent network has+

An exposure draft Bill has been published as part of the Federal Government’s plan to make critical infrastructure assets more cyber-secure. The Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure) Bill 2020 seeks to amend the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018 to implement an enhanced framework to “uplift the security and resilience of critical infrastructure”. New regulations+

The Grattan Institute has added its voice to calls for governments to shift their focus from large transport infrastructure projects to smaller local projects. The influential public policy thinktank this week cast doubt on the fast-tracking of transport projects by Australian governments to engineer an infrastructure-led recovery from the Covid-19 recession. “Spending big on transport+

The Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience is hosting a webinar to showcase its newly updated Flood Planning for Disaster Resilience Handbook. Leading experts, including Floodplain Management Australia president Ian Dinham, will unpack the principles and practice of emergency planning during the special event. The AIDR says the significant risk posed to Australian communities by flooding+

The Federal Government has stepped up efforts to reduce the risk of exotic environment pest species entering and becoming established in Australia. Acting on a recommendation of the 2017 review of Australia’s biosecurity system, the Government this week published a National Priority List of Exotic Environmental Pests, Weeds and Diseases. The list prioritises national actions+

New guidelines to promote Aboriginal languages for place-naming in Western Australia have been published as part of NAIDOC Week – which this year recognises the continuous connection of Aboriginal people to language and country. The State Minister for Lands, Ben Wyatt, said the Aboriginal and Dual Naming Guidelines will help preserve and reawaken local languages+