News & Events

The CSIRO has identified aquifers in the Murray-Darling Basin it says could be used for long-term underground water storage and to enhance water security. The aquifer regions, which include areas around the Warrego River, Condamine-Culgoa Rivers, Darling River, Macquarie-Bogan Rivers and Namoi River, could potentially store than 200 gigalitres, CSIRO researchers say. Study co-author Declan+

Four telecommunications providers are getting $8.3 million in Federal funding to provide bushfire-threatened communities with temporary mobile and broadband facilities. The grants are being provided under the Strengthening Telecommunications Against Natural Disaster (STAND) package and will enable NBN Co, TPG Telecom, Telstra, and Optus to provide temporary telecommunications facilities and equipment such as cells on+

The Nation Transport Commission (NTC) wants input on a national approach to in-service safety for automated vehicles. To inform the process, the NCT published a discussion paper last week outlining proposals for what the national law will entail and how it will work under two different legislative implementation options. It follows an agreement by transport+

Stephanie Alexander’s Kitchen Garden Foundation is thriving, in part because of the continuing support of councils in Victoria. Established in 2004, Ms Alexander’s not-for-profit foundation works with around 2000 schools (many of them in Victoria) to teach children how to grow, harvest and prepare fresh produce. Following the foundation’s launch of a professional development and+

There are few more effective ways for councils to enhance the liveability and economic sustainability of local communities than through the arts. However, reaching young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds presents challenges – one the City of Wanneroo council solved in a novel way. It used DJing to appeal to youths from a suburb with high+

An interconnected trail network across seven Melbourne local government areas has been recognised with an Australian Urban Design Award (AUDA). The Eastern Regional Trails Strategy was developed by Fitzgerald Frisby Landscape Architecture and the cities of Boroondara, Knox, Manningham, Maroondah, Monash, Whitehorse, and Yarra Ranges. Judges said the strategy addressed significant impediments to achieving high+

The 2020 edition of the Emergency Planning Handbook is being launched next week with a webinar featuring leading experts discussing preparedness principles and practice. The new handbook provides nationally agreed principles for good practice in emergency planning and reflects changes in the field of disaster risk reduction, emergency management and more broadly in society since+

The federal Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications has published design options for Round 5A of the Mobile Black Spot Program. A new program design was considered necessary because under the existing guidelines fewer sites are likely to be successfully funded in the future. The draft Guidelines for Round 5A outline the eligibility+

Urban water utilities must embrace a new circular future as the traditional “linear” approach to providing drinking water and treating and disposing of wastewater is now unviable. The Water Services Association of Australia says this is particularly true in the Australian and New Zealand context, where most urban centres are vulnerable to variable and declining+

Nearly 394,000 tonnes of plastics were recycled in 2018-19, a 23 percent increase on the previous year, a new Federal Government survey shows. In all, 3.5 million tonnes of plastics were consumed in Australia in the 2018-19 financial year. Of the 393,800 tonnes of plastics collected for reprocessing, 203,100 tonnes (52 percent) were reprocessed in+

Applications for the $68.6 million Local Economic Recovery program, co-funded by the Federal and Victorian governments, open on 27 October. Sixty percent of the fund (or $42 million) will be dedicated to regional economic projects and programs, and 40 percent will go to local community projects. As part of the $42 million regional economic stream,+

By COUNCILLOR JUSTINE BROOKS When I proposed that George Town – a small council even by Tasmanian standards – develop a domestic, family and sexual violence strategy, the responses were understandable: What would the financial implications be, and how could we afford to get involved in “non-core business”? My reaction? How can we afford not+

The National Transport Commission completed 13 projects in 2019, including preparing advice for a national approach to regulating automated vehicles. In its Annual Report 2019-20 published this week, the NTC also listed its “comprehensive engagement program” for the Heavy Vehicle Law review as another achievement across its four program areas. The commission said it facilitated+

A new steering committee for the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy in Oceania (GCoM) has met for the first time. The committee, comprising the mayors and governors of 12 cities in Australia, New Zealand and PNG, aims to boost collaboration between cities, local governments and community partners globally to reduce carbon dioxide+

An updated Australian Government Crisis Management Framework (AGCMF) came into effect on Monday 12 October. Version 2.3 of the crisis framework outlines the arrangements enabling the Federal Government’s “all hazards” crisis management approach and is focused mainly on near-term crisis preparedness, immediate crisis response and early crisis recovery arrangements. Long-term disaster risk reduction and resilience-building+

State and local government strategies to reduce and manage bushfire risks must concentrate on fuel management, Victoria’s Auditor-General has advised. To ensure Victoria’s strategies to reduce and manage bushfire risks are well-designed, efficiently deployed, and continuously monitored and improved, the Audit Office examined whether responsible agencies were effectively working together to reduce Victoria’s bushfire risk.+

When Busselton Shire Council decided to build a regional aerodrome in the early 1990s (replacing a small and unsuitable 1940s-era airstrip), the primary users were envisaged to be general aviation operators. However, the shire (now the City of Busselton Council) had another, longer-term vision – creating an asset capable of boosting regular public transport (RPT)+

The design, delivery, and evaluation of Commonwealth drought programs will be improved after two recent reviews. Conducted by the National Drought and North Queensland Flood Response and Recovery Agency, the reviews examined the consistency and complexity of eligibility criteria and ease of access to information about the support available for drought-impacted farmers, communities, and small+

The economic costs of natural disaster now far exceed insured losses and must be bridged by greater investment in mitigation. In a speech to this week’s Australian Business Roundtable for Disaster Resilience and Safer Communities, Geoff Summerhayes said the “high, rising and volatile costs” of natural disasters was leading to declining insurance affordability and accessibility.+

The Alpine Shire Council and the Sunshine Coast Council have jointly won a national award for their innovative approach to digital technology. The two councils won the Australian Achievement of the Year category in the Municipal Association of Victoria’s Technology Awards for Excellence 2020 – Alpine with its “Project Pinnacle” and the Sunshine Coast for+

A campaign to promote positive recycling behaviours has been launched in response to continuing high levels of waste-stream contamination. Developed in partnership by the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) and Planet Ark (with Commonwealth financial support), the campaign calls on all Australians to check the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) every time they are at the+

Councils, businesses, and organisations in bushfire-impacted areas of NSW are being encouraged to apply for project-funding grants enabling local recovery. Applications for the $250 million Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund, co-funded by the Federal and NSW governments, open on 27 October. Grants of between $200,000 and $20 million will be available for projects such as:+

Councils are being invited to take part in a joint Monash University/RMIT project funded by VicHealth to identify research priorities to advance active transport in Australia. University researchers are undertaking two related surveys, and potential respondents may elect to contribute to one or both surveys. The objective of the first survey (Phase 1) is to+

The number of women who have nominated to contest this month’s Victorian local government elections has reached a new peak. Minister for Local Government Shaun Leane said that of the 2186 people who had nominated as candidates for the 24 October elections, 851 (or 39 percent) were women. At the 2016 elections, 34 percent of+

The Federal Government has been urged to release funding for mitigation projects through the Emergency Response Fund “as a matter of priority”. An interim report into the lessons to be learned from the 2019-20 bushfire season tabled by a Senate committee this week has also recommended that the Commonwealth review the rate of the federal+

While national heavy vehicle safety reforms begun a decade ago are largely complete, a new report has revealed unresolved issues. These include slow and inconsistent approval processes for heavy vehicle access to local roads in some areas and unnecessary derogations from the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL). The Productivity Commission’s National Transport Regulatory Reform report+

Five Queensland council areas heavily affected by last year’s bushfires are to share more than $6 million to deliver locally developed projects. They include the Livingstone Shire Council, the Mareeba Shire Council, the Noosa Shire Council, the Scenic Rim Regional Councils, and the Somerset Regional Council. The projects are being supported through the $36.8 million+

Disaster recovery assistance has been extended to the Hilltops, Liverpool, Central Coast, and Wingecarribee councils after storms and floods in July and early August. Assistance is being provided through the jointly-funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA). The NSW SES received around 200 requests for assistance in the Hilltops, Liverpool, and Wingecarribee LGAs after localised+

Projects to improve local disaster resilience and risk reduction in communities from the Torres Strait to the Gold Coast are to share funding of almost $9.6 million. The 49 projects are being delivered through the $13.1 million Queensland Resilience and Risk Reduction Fund (QRRRF), a joint initiative between Australian and Queensland Governments. This $9.6 million+

A guide for councils on the technical processes involved in incorporating recycled material into roads and pavements has been published by Local Government NSW (LGNSW). Intended to promote national uniformity and good practice in the specification and application of material reuse in roads and pavements, the guide was produced by the University of Sydney’s Waste+

Local government’s small-business support role has never mattered more than it does now, and the City of Mandurah is an exemplar of what councils can achieve in this space. To help it to identify and encourage locals who were willing to start a business but who lacked the expertise needed to make it pay, the+

Applications for a new Remote Airstrip Upgrade Program (RAUP) funding round have opened as part of the Commonwealth’s commitment to maintaining and improving air links to the bush. Owners or operators of existing aerodromes in remote or very remote areas of Australia can apply for a grant of between $5000 and $500,000, with $7 million+

The Western Australia Government has released a discussion paper to facilitate feedback on its proposed legislative framework for waste-derived materials. The proposed framework “will provide certainty about when waste-derived materials are no longer waste, meaning depositing them to land in quantities above licensing thresholds would not be considered ‘waste disposal’ and licensing and waste levy+

Shire of East Pilbara President and former ALGA Board member Lynne Craigie has been bestowed with the WA Local Government Association’s highest honour. Ms Craigie, who is also a former WALGA President, was awarded the Local Government Medal for her “exceptional service in advancing the goals of WALGA and Local Government as well as the+

Infrastructure upgrades worth $33.5 million will be carried out at 23 national and world heritage sites under a $61.7 million environment investment package announced this week. The package, which is being provided through the Federal Government’s $1 billion Covid-19 Relief and Recovery Fund, also includes $20 million for a “reef builder shellfish restoration program”, and+

Forty new projects to provide emergency accommodation for people fleeing domestic violence have been announced by the Commonwealth. The projects to be funded under the $60 million Safe Places Emergency Accommodation fund will see new two- and three-bedroom homes built, office buildings transformed into self-contained apartments, and small group homes established. Applications for the Safe+