INFORMATION BULLETIN ISSUE NO. 17/2012 20 September 2012 Information Bulletin Issue No. 17/2012 Inside this Issue . WA Local Government Association (WALGA) News . Issue No. 36.12 – 10 September 2012 ...............................................................................C-1 Correspondence & Papers . Issue No. 37.12 – 17 September 2012 ...............................................................................C-3 Pink Divider . Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) News . 7 September 2012 .............................................................................................................C-6 . 14 September 2012 ..........................................................................................................C-17 . Media Releases . Infusing Australia’s growth areas with jobs and employment opportunities – 10 September 2012 .................................................................................................................................C-27 . Employee Movements…………………………………………………………….……..HR-1 Information from Human Resources Blue Divider Information to Standing Committees . Outstanding Matters and Information Items Nil ....................................................................................................................................... T-1 . Monthly / Quarterly Departmental Reports Technical Services Works Programme................................................................................ T-2 . Minutes/Notes of Occasional/Advisory Committees Technical Services Municipal Waste Advisory Council - Unconfirmed Minutes ............................................ T-14 Green Divider 2013 MWAC & OAG Calendar ........................................................................................ T-31 Container Deposit System Policy Forum Minutes............................................................. T-32 . Miscellaneous WALGA Infopage - Regional Subsidiaries - Local Government Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2012............................................................................................................ T-36 . Outstanding Matters & Information Items Report on Outstanding Matters – Community Services Committee....................................C-1 Community . Monthly / Quarterly Departmental Reports Services Community Development Report –Community Development Report August 2012 ..........C-2 Beige Divider Manager Library & Heritage Services Monthly Report – August 2012 ..............................C-7 Manager Ranger & Emergency Services Monthly Report – August 2012 ........................C-15 Tourism/Visitor Centre Monthly Report – August 2012 ...................................................C-24 Nil City Strategy Lilac Divider Nil Development Services Yellow Divider Issue 17 – 20 September 2012 Information Bulletin Page Cor-1 Correspondence & Papers Information Bulletin Page Cor-2 Correspondence & Papers Information Bulletin Page Cor-3 Correspondence & Papers Information Bulletin Page Cor-4 Correspondence & Papers Information Bulletin Page Cor-5 Correspondence & Papers Information Bulletin Page Cor-6 Correspondence & Papers ALGA NEWS 7 SEPTEMBER 2012 ALGA fondly farewells President Genia McCaffery Long-serving Mayor of North Sydney and President of ALGA for the past two years, Genia McCaffery has marked her last day in local government, having decided not to run again for the Mayoral position in tomorrow's local government elections in New South Wales. "After 17 years in local government and having served four terms as North Sydney Mayor, I have decided that I will not be standing for re-election. While this has been a difficult decision to make, I’m happy to pass on the reins to a new generation," Mayor McCaffery said. In retiring from local government, Mayor McCaffery is also stepping down as ALGA President, a role in which she has made a major contribution since November 2010. Mayor McCaffery's strong advocacy for constitutional recognition of local government has ensured that the Government, the Opposition and all political parties at the federal level are well-informed of ALGA's commitment to a referendum on this issue at a time which maximises the chance for success. Local government has maintained that the only way to ensure that direct federal funding for community services and infrastructure is protected is to have local government recognised in the Australian Constitution. "The whole question of adequate and certain federal funding for local services is of great concern to councils and communities alike. It must be remembered that the key reason local government is working so hard to gain full recognition in the Australian Constitution is to ensure that federal funding is secure and effective," Mayor McCaffery said. The ALGA Board recently appointed the Mayor of Marion in South Australia, Felicity-ann Lewis to fill the role of ALGA President until the Board votes on the presidency at its Annual General Meeting in November. Retiring President, Genia McCaffery has warmly welcomed Mayor Lewis to the role, who will be focusing on progressing the issue of constitutional recognition of local government. "I am looking forward to working with all sides of politics to progress our proposal for constitutional recognition of local government," Mayor Lewis said. ALGA has presented the Government with a proposal to take forward the case for constitutional recognition of local government, which includes the establishment of a Parliamentary Committee; funding of a public education and awareness program; and suggestions for the specific wording of the amendment to the Constitution. President Felicity-ann Lewis will be instrumental in negotiating the case for constitutional Information Bulletin Page Cor-7 Correspondence & Papers change and ALGA congratulates her on her appointment. Latest COAG housing supply report leaves questions unanswered A national report which recommends ways to enhance housing supply and affordability has been released by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG). The Federal Minister for Housing and Homelessness, Brendan O’Connor said COAG’s Housing Supply and Affordability Reform (HSAR) report recommended measures for all levels of government to adopt to ensure more efficient use of existing land and housing stock and to reduce unnecessary costs. Mr O’Connor said he understood that housing affordability was a significant issue for many Australians, especially those on low and moderate incomes and that housing affordability was not an issue that the Commonwealth could solve alone. “It requires the combined effort of governments at all levels as well as the wider private and community sector,” he said. Mr O’Connor said the HSAR report was developed in close cooperation with the states and territories and recommended working towards greater use of code-based frameworks for assessing residential development applications and considering the costs and benefits of local councils’ regulatory proposals before they were allowed to exceed state planning requirements. He said it further recommended that jurisdictions agree to principles for infrastructure charges and that they trial a new set of principles to identify government land that could be used for housing. “We are conducting a pilot of the principles for assessing under-utilised government land consistent with the report’s recommendations,” he said. “In addition, we will continue to work with State and Territory governments to ensure that the objectives, roles and responsibilities of each level of government are clearly defined and the results and effectiveness of the interventions made by each level of government are as transparent as possible. The report contributes little new information to the discussion about making Australia's housing markets more affordable but it does recognise that more national commitment needs to be given to expanding e-planning systems. ALGA has championed the need for more investment in this area to assist in creating more efficient jurisdictional planning systems and make planning, building and subdivision processes more transparent. COAG agreed to the recommendations of the Final Housing Supply and Affordability Reform report out-of-session in July 2012. The report was authored by the HSAR Working Party and presented by the Standing Council on Federal Financial Relations, with an aim to Information Bulletin Page Cor-8 Correspondence & Papers increase Australian housing supply and affordability. COAG’s HSAR report can be accessed here. Austroads Traffic Management Review Panel meets at ALGA The Austroads Traffic Management Review Panel, responsible for maintaining the currency of the Austroads Guide to Traffic Management, met at ALGA’s offices in Canberra for two days this week to progress a number of traffic management projects, including some specifically relating to traffic management in intersections and activity centres. Local government is represented on the Review Panel by Griff Davis from the City of Whittlesea. Mr Davis has been a member of the Panel for about 15 years and has participated in the review and updating of the 13-part Guide to Traffic Management, as well as a wide range of other traffic management projects, many of which have been of great value and interest to council engineering staff across the country. ALGA is a member of Austroads, along with the state and territory roads agencies, and councils are able to access Austroads Guides and other publications free of charge through the Austroads website (www.Austroads.com.au).