NSW Office of Local Government axed under restructure

The NSW government will abolish key agencies including Local Government and Environment & Heritage.

2 April, 2019

‘Generational change’ at Brisbane City Council

Adam Schrinner will replace Graham Quirk as Brisbane Lord Mayor.

29 March, 2019

Perth City Council to be suspended

The City of Perth, popularly known as Perth City Council, has been a soap opera for a year or more. Now the State Government has had enough, and has declared the Council will be suspended, and Commissioner appointed. WA Local Government Minister David Templeman has announced the suspension will take place from Friday 2 March. […]

1 March, 2018

Tumbarumba amalgamation protests intensify

They’re mad as hell down Tumbarumba way. The Snowy Mountains town best known for John O’Brien’s wonderful poem ‘Up at Tumba-bloody-rumba shootin’ kanga-bloody-roos’ has become the touchstone for renewed opposition to the NSW Government’s disastrous forced council amalgamation strategy. In May 2016 the local council was merged with neighbouring Tumut Shure to form Snowy Valleys […]

18 February, 2018

Operation Belcarra claims Queensland electoral commissioner

Electoral Commission of Queensland (ECQ) head Walter van der Merwe has resigned, two days after being suspended for allegations of serious misconduct. Current ECQ Assistant Electoral Commissioner Dermot Tiernan will be Acting Electoral Commissioner. In a short statement, Queensland Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath said Mr van der Merwe “has delivered his resignation to the Governor this […]

15 February, 2018

New public sector training academy launches in Australia

Adrian Renouf – “Australia needs the Academy model” Management consultancy PPB Advisory will next week launch the Australasian Transformation Academy (ATA), a new venture which it says will help government agencies “transform how public services are delivered.” The ATA is a joint initiative of PPB Advisory and the UK based Public Service Transformation Academy (PSTA), […]

15 February, 2018

Australians’ trust in government at an all-time low

The percentage of Australians who say they have trust in their governments has declined to 35 percent. The metric is contained in the 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer, which measures public trust in four types of institution across 28 countries. The result in Australia comes despite the overall level of trust is government across all countries […]

8 February, 2018

Productivity Commission savages financial regulatory system

Australia’s ‘Four Pillars’ banking policy is redundant, there is not enough competition in the insurance industry, and the banks are using their market power to gouge their customers. That’s what the Productivity Commission thinks. The independent government agency has released its Draft Report on Competition in the Australian Financial System. It does not paint a […]

7 February, 2018

Productivity Commission Report on Government Services – Overview

The Productivity Commission has begun releasing its 23rd annual Report on Government Services (RoGS). It is major exercise, with separate chapters released in seven parts over the next week on all areas of government service delivery. Government News will examine each report in depth. Our special Australia Day newsletter will highlight all sections released by […]

22 January, 2018

City Deal for Hobart – eventually

Tasmania’s capital Hobart will become the fifth Australian city to sign up to the Federal Government’s City Deal program, well after cross-island rival Launceston. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman have announced they will “help make a City Deal for Hobart a reality” – consistent with the Federal Government’s strategy of announcing […]

15 January, 2018

Public-private disaster unfolding in Britain

It has barely been reported in Australia, but it is big news in Britain. One of that country’s largest beneficiaries of government outsourcing, a company called Carillion, has gone broke. While the Government has refused to bail it out, the British taxpayer will still have to pay the pension liabilities and the continuing wages to […]

14 January, 2018

AMA and PHAA build anti-sugar campaign

The Australian medical Association is increasing its pressure on governments to ban the advertising of  junk food and sugary drinks to children. It also wants a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages “as a matter of priority.” Its call has been echoed by the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA). Releasing the AMA’s ‘Position Statement on Nutrition […]

8 January, 2018

GST distribution report delayed

Treasurer Scott Morrison has announced a delay of more than three months in the release of the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into how the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is distributed to the states. The distribution system, known as horizontal fiscal equalisation (HFE) has been widely criticised for giving too much to some states and too […]

4 January, 2018

Major new report compares Australia’s cities

The Australian Government has released its first National Cities Performance Framework. It is a major report that provides a snapshot of the productivity and progress of Australia’s largest 21 cities, including Western Sydney. The Government says it is the first official framework of its kind in Australia and “brings together critical data on our cities […]

7 December, 2017