President’s Update – May 2026

In local government, progress happens when communities speak clearly, councils stand together, and we continue making the case for what Australians need on the ground.

This year’s Federal Budget showed that when local government speaks with a strong and united voice, Canberra listens.

One of the most significant outcomes for councils in this year’s Budget was the Federal Government’s $2 billion enabling infrastructure commitment. This is a major acknowledgment of what councils across Australia have been saying for years: you cannot build new homes without the roads, water, sewerage, power and community infrastructure that make those homes viable places to live.

This outcome belongs to all of local government.

I want to acknowledge and thank every council and every member who has continued pushing this issue, often while managing enormous pressure at home. Councils are dealing with growing communities, rising construction and fuel costs, increasing service expectations and the ongoing challenge of doing more with limited resources.

You know better than anyone how difficult it can be to get land ready for housing growth while balancing the day-to-day responsibilities communities rely on.

That is why ALGA made enabling infrastructure a national advocacy priority.

When housing affordability and supply became a growing national issue, we recognised early that local government needed a strong voice in the federal conversation. We brought councils together through our National Housing Forum in 2024 to ensure Canberra understood the realities on the ground. We backed your experiences with detailed research that quantified the infrastructure funding gap councils face in supporting the national housing target.

Importantly, we did not just raise concerns. We brought solutions.

We represented local government at ministerial councils, in meetings with senior ministers, and officials from federal government departments, and in ongoing discussions about how housing programs can work in practice for communities across Australia.

That work, and your collective advocacy, helped bring us to this Budget outcome.

Without councils consistently speaking up, this issue would not have gained the national attention it deserved.

But advocacy does not stop with a Budget announcement. In many ways, the real work begins now.

Anyone who works in local government understands that details matter. How programs are designed, how funding is distributed, how guidelines are written and how quickly support reaches communities can make the difference between success and frustration.

ALGA will continue working closely with the Federal Government to ensure these programs are practical, accessible and deliver real outcomes for councils and communities.

This is the core of what ALGA exists to do. Our role is not only to advocate publicly, but to work every day within Canberra’s systems and processes to ensure local government is understood, respected and included in national decision-making. Our team brings deep expertise in federal policy, funding programs and the workings of the Commonwealth public service.

We know how to navigate these processes because we do it every day on your behalf. At the same time, we know the pressures on councils have not eased.

Across the country, councils continue to face the combined impacts of rising costs, constrained funding, workforce pressures and the ongoing effects of global fuel uncertainty. Every additional cost pressure flows through to local roads, local services and local infrastructure.

That is why ALGA’s advocacy for financial sustainability remains so important. We will continue making the case that strong local communities require properly supported local governments.

And we will continue doing it together, because when local government speaks with one voice, we can achieve change for the communities we serve every day.