Councils applaud lock out laws report

A report calling for Sydney’s lock out laws to be scrapped also wants an ‘overarching nightlife coordinator’.

1 October, 2019

Government arts spending drops

The federal government’s per capita expenditure on the arts has dropped over the last ten years.

1 October, 2019

Why governments need to support public art

Public art can enhance urban environments, a leading arts figure says.

12 September, 2019

Make the film industry your friend, councils told

Film-friendly councils can win money, jobs, tourists and cultural capital.

13 June, 2019

Women in local government hit historical high

As Australian governments mark International Women’s Day, representation of women in local government has reached a historical high point.

7 March, 2019

New frameworks for governance in local government

Every organisation needs effective governance frameworks to thrive and survive.

3 March, 2019

Governments aren’t businesses – but should act more like them, says Gartner

Government agencies will always have different priorities than commercial businesses, but they can learn a lot from them. So says Rick Howard, government research agenda manager with leading IT analyst group Gartner. He was speaking at the firm’s Data and Analytics Summit, held in Sydney on 26-27 February. “Public trust in institutions is at an […]

26 February, 2018

Lockout exemption for Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras

The NSW Government will provide an exemption to lockout requirements at venues in the Oxford St area for the 40th Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade on the weekend of 3-4 March. Minister for Racing Paul Toole said the one-off exemption means patrons will be able to be admitted to venues in the area […]

26 February, 2018

How councils can get a handle on their service delivery

The NSW Auditor-General’s recent report on service delivery reporting by the state’s Local Governmnet Authorities showed that most of them should be investing in more accurate and comprehensive analysis of how well they are delivering their services. The report said it is no longer good enough to look only at high level council financial and […]

19 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

Opinion – Pointless Australia Day point scoring obscures real issues

Australia Day rolls around again this week. Its observance has once again become an issue, with many councils, individuals and The Greens calling for its date to be changed, or at least the observance of a national day for Australia to be moved to another date. The issue has become totemic of Australia’s continuing culture […]

22 January, 2018

Feds tell satirist not to be funny

The National Symbols Office has written to satirical news site The Juice Media asking it to stop using a parody of the Australian government logo on its ‘Honest Government Adverts’ YouTube channel. The logo misspells ‘Australian’ (as ‘Australien’), has the motto ‘not the real logo’ and substitutes the emu’s head with a toilet roll (and […]

21 October, 2017

NSW Councils to boost the ‘Night Time Economy’

Local Government NSW and four major NSW councils will hold a forum on the Night Time Economy.. They have formalised the term into an acronym – NTE. The forum will be held in the Parkroyal Parramatta hotel on 12 October (during the daytime). Details here. The forum is the first tangible result of a work […]

10 October, 2017

We are neglecting the most-in-need: Ombudsman

Expulsion is not the answer, says the Victorian Ombudsman.

14 August, 2017