Australia's National Local Government Newspaper Online

Breaking new ground
A landmark Indigenous Land Use Agreement signed in the Torres Strait on 6 September breaks new ground in Australia's efforts to address native title and indigenous land rights. The agreement is a major step towards concluding four years of negotiations between the Kaurareg people, traditional owners of the Strait's populated inner islands, the local Council and the Queensland Government.

Editorial
There is no doubt that the 'federation' of State and Territory Local Government Associations that forms the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) will always have a variety of interests to be served. Inevitably, there will be differences in priorities of the 'smaller' States as against those of the 'larger' States; rural and urban issues; variations in Local Government powers and responsibilities across the country, the list goes on.

President's comment
Each edition we feature the views of a Local Government Association President. The following is from Councillor Noel Playford, President of the Local Government Association of Queensland.

Historic Harvey whistle stop restored
Almost 80 years after it was built, the Harvey Railway Station is being given a new lease on life. A restoration project has been funded by Harvey Shire Council and a grant from Western Australia's Centenary of Federation State Committee The $38,000 project, comprising $12,000 from the Centenary of Federation Committee, means the railway station will be able to serve rail users better as well as house the local historical society's railway memorabilia collection in an apt environment.

Alice Springs hosts annual conference
The Local Government Association of the Northern Territory (LGANT) staged its annual conference and AGM on 20-21 September. Then President of LGANT, Councillor Margaret Vigants, said that the key issues dealt with included the Territory's Local Government reform agenda, and the Australian Local Government Association's recently announced $2 million fighting fund to ensure road funding is a major issue at the next Federal election.

Building supply chains to the world
National Accounts statistics show that Australia is enjoying one of the longest periods of growth in its history. But the $A is in free fall and we have a chronic current account deficit. How do you reconcile the two?

CivEnEx 2001 - Australia's biggest engineering show
CivEnEx 2001, in February next year, will feature 250 outdoor and 80 indoor stands, making it the leading public works and construction trade fair in Australia and the Pacific Region. After ten years in Penrith, NSW, the event run by the NSW Division of the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia, has a new name and a new location at Warwick Farm Racecourse near Liverpool in Sydney's west.

What's in the online world for Local Government?
Most Councils know about the Internet and the World Wide Web and many have web sites, however there is still little real knowledge as to why and how to optimise the benefits and opportunities of the online world.

Community consultation - meeting rising expectations
So your Council is spending an ever increasing amount on community consultation programs as a reaction to last minute protests against Council decisions. There is also an unhealthy level of disquiet in the community they are not being consulted or kept informed on key issues. Added to this, Council is struggling to meet community needs in a whole range of areas due to budget cuts or changing priorities. You acknowledge there is an urgent need to refocus but are concerned the more consultation your Council provides, the more the community wants. How do you respond?

No waste in managing waste at Port Adelaide Enfield
At $3.5 million, collection and disposal of rubbish in the City of Port Adelaide Enfield was the Council's largest, single expenditure item each year. To reduce this cost to ratepayers, a strategy has been developed to minimise the amount of waste going into landfill.

Teamwork the key to success
The Town of Bassendean has experienced ongoing success in achieving awards for a variety of its programs, which include a major Western Australian Municipal Association Best Practice Award within the 'Whole Organisation' category.

MapInfo integration streamlines Logan City Council approvals process
Queensland's Logan City Council is set to streamline its administrative and building approval processes and dramatically improve its customer service through the integration of key corporate systems with MapInfo GIS (Geographic Information System) implementation.

Fast tracking DAs
In 1998, the City of Canning began implementing an Integrated Development Assessment System (IDAS) for Town Planning Approval and Building Licences. The need to improve customer service, remove the frustrating administrative processes that were in place and take advantage of current technology led to the development of this system.

Praise for Palmerston's overhaul
Palmerston City Council's two year, intensive program of reviewing and implementing management processes has drawn the highest honour in the Management Category at Local Government Association of Northern Territory's Building Better Futures Awards 2000.

Alcohol strategies a community matter
An integral part of Best Practice in Local Government is community consultation. Alice Springs Town Council is demonstrating this crucial aspect of Best Practice in its push to tackle the negative impact of alcohol in the community.

The waterless way of answering nature's call
"When the well is dry, we know the worth of water," said Abraham Lincoln and no comment could be more applicable to an arid country like Australia. And no product is better intended for our conditions than the Waterless Urinal; an odour free, durable, hygienic urinal that disposes of waste without the need of water.

Councils join forces to protect environment
The current health of Perth's metropolitan environment is the focus of a unique strategy launched recently by the Eastern Metropolitan Regional Council (EMRC). The Regional Environmental Strategy Report required considerable effort, resources and coordination between EMRC and its member Councils, which cover about one third of the metropolitan area and about 250,000 residents.

Name change reflects company's new direction
Local Government is perfectly poised to take advantage of the new Internet based trading communities to deliver tangible benefits to their constituents, both buyers and sellers. Trading communities will work more effectively when there is already a financial tie in between the sponsor organisation, that is Council, and the consumer and supplier.

No longer out of sight and out of mind
Australia is the driest inhabited continent on earth. We are constantly reminded of the pressures imposed on our water resources and their related ecosystems. In twenty years time, Adelaide's citizens face the prospect of only being able to drink Murray River water, three of every five days. Salinity is making the river water undrinkable while sediments threaten to choke the Murray's mouth.

The Clean Seas Program
The Commonwealth's Natural Heritage Trust (NHT) supports the Clean Seas Program (CSP) with over $40m funding. The program encourages changes in conventional water management to reverse damage to the marine environment caused by runoff and sewage.

Urban Stormwater Initiative
On World Environment Day, Senator Robert Hill, the Minister for Environment and Heritage, launched a combined stormwater and wastewater management project for Parafield in Adelaide. The Parafield project is part of the $8.2 million commitment by the Commonwealth Government for the Urban Stormwater Initiative (USI), under Living Cities.

Wetlands to the rescue of Port Phillip Bay
Wetland systems have been part of our natural landscape for millions of years. They play an important role in natural water treatment. Constructed wetlands are now featuring as an effective tool in improving the water quality in Melbourne's Port Phillip Bay.

Partnership turns a problem into a resource
A recent Senate Inquiry has raised concerns over the impacts of stormwater and wastewater discharges on the health of Adelaide's Gulf St Vincent. These pollution streams are equivalent in volume to the city's mains water demand, much of which comes from the Murray River.

Townsville leads on reef protection
Improving stormwater quality from tropical catchments draining into the Great Barrier Reef is a major challenge. The Commonwealth Government's Clean Seas Program and Urban Stormwater Initiative are assisting Townsville's new approach to managing stormwater pollution in tropical conditions.

Not a drop goes to waste
Hobart's Brighton district has transformed itself. Once shunned, the district now attracts new residents and businesses largely due to a range of environmental projects. Prior to 1999, the district had 165 unoccupied public housing dwellings. People refused to move in even though their housing situation was desperate. Today, Brighton has a waiting list for public housing.

Wastewater creates a valuable oil
Through an innovative approach to wastewater management, Shoalhaven City Council is contributing to cleaner coastal waters. The Northern Region Reclaimed Water Management Scheme will be the largest effluent recycling scheme in NSW. It is a cooperative project involving the Shoalhaven City Council, the NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation and local farmers.

Stormwater reuse for Manly's Norfolk Pines
As part of a catchment-wide approach, the famous Norfolk Island pines on Manly's seaside promenade will benefit from an innovative stormwater recycling system.

St Kilda breakthrough in water sensitive urban design
Melbourne's City of Port Phillip has won two United Nations Association of Australia World Environmental Day Awards for local government. Council received awards for "Overall Excellence in Environment Management" and "Best Specific Environmental Initiative" for a 236 unit Housing Development at the former St.Kilda works depot.

Three R's at work in WA
Recovery, Reuse and Recycling wastewater and stormwater are high on the agenda to improve the quality of Perth's coastal waters. With an injection of $3m, the Commonwealth Government's Clean Seas Program is supporting a range of integrated projects in Western Australia's water recovery and reuse program.