President’s column – 12 August 2022

We had a major win for local governments at last week’s Infrastructure and Transport Ministers’ Meeting in Melbourne, where an independent review into National Heavy Vehicle Law reform was tabled. 

ALGA has advocated throughout this review for councils to retain their right to manage heavy vehicle access on their local roads, and this was supported in the final report that was endorsed by state and federal ministers. 

Our focus will now shift to securing funding that will help councils to improve first and last mile access for heavy vehicles and boost  the productivity of our national freight network. 

Earlier this week I participated in a panel at the 2022 National Homelessness Conference that highlighted some of the great work councils are doing to address homelessness in our communities and provide more affordable housing. 

Many councils are already partnering with other organisations to deliver local affordable housing solutions, but local government could do even more with a dedicated funding stream. 

Finally, next week I’ll be representing councils in a series of roundtables ahead of the Federal Government’s Jobs and Skills Summit, which ALGA will also participate in next month. 

Skills shortages are a big challenge for councils right across the country, and in the coming months I’ll be sharing research ALGA has undertaken examining this issue, with funding support from the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.