It didn’t take long. On Monday the Federal Government made a big deal out of investing $60 million over 18 months to “set in motion” a major research and development program for the restoration of the Great Barrier Reef. Within 24 hours the plan was attacked by environmentalists, marine scientists and the Greens as too […]
22 January, 2018
Opponents of releasing more water into the Murray Darling river system for environmental purposes have suffered a defeat. A new independent report says the plan to add 450 gigalitres (GL) annually to the 2750 GL currently released will be good for the environment and have overall socioeconomic benefits. The 300 page report was commissioned by […]
22 January, 2018
The public sector should provide public services, says UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. “We will rewrite the rules to give the public back control of their services,” he has said, in the wake of the high-profile failure of services and construction company Carillion, which has billions of pounds in government contracts. “Theresa May has […]
18 January, 2018
In October 2017 Townsville City Council and Rockhampton Regional Council announced that they would jointly fund a $30 million airstrip for the Adani Carmichael coal mine in Central Queensland. The announcement was made even though the construction of the mine itself remains uncertain, and despite the fact that the airstrip is hundreds of kilometres from […]
18 January, 2018
The Prime Minister’s southern tour is taking on the look of an election campaign. One morning it’s the promise of a City Deal for Hobart (noticeably devoid of any actual projects or funding), that afternoon it’s a re-announcement of Launceston’s City Deal, the next day after a hop across the Bass Strait Geelong gets a […]
17 January, 2018
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
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
The Australian Government’s move to outsource key visa functions has drawn a sharp response from the Commonwealth Public Service Union (CPSU). Although it came into existence only on 1 January, the new Department of Home Affairs has been quick to continue the outsourcing strategies of its predecessors, the Australian Border Force and the Department of […]
11 January, 2018
Local government has an image problem – not enough young people rate the sector as a career choice. If we don’t find a way to make our workplaces more inspiring, there’s a real chance we won’t have enough people to run our cities in ten years’ time. There are fantastic careers in local government, […]
4 January, 2018
Government assistance to Australia’s regions has often been poorly directed, says the Productivity Commission in a major new report. It wants a more efficient system, which would admit that some regions are in decline and will remain so. The report, ‘Transitioning Regional Economies’ is the latest in a series of reports by the Productivity Commission […]
14 December, 2017
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
The Regional Australia Institute (RAI) has released a ‘Pillars of Communities’ report on the availability of services in Australia’s small towns. The findings are not good. The report is accompanied by a Report Card’, which rates how well Australia provides access to ten essential professionals for residents living in small towns across Australia. Access to […]
7 December, 2017
The NSW Government has released a Draft Greater Newcastle Metropolitan Plan. It sets out urban strategies to 2036 for Newcastle City, Cessnock, Lake Macquarie, Maitland and Port Stephens. The plan was released on 30 November by NSW chief planner Gary White. It is at this stage a draft plan, with the NSW Government’s Department of […]
3 December, 2017
South Australia’s Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) has won the top prize at this year’s Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Sector Management. The Gold award was given for PIRSA’s South Australian River Murray Sustainability (SARMS), a $265 million program funded by the Australian Government under a National Partnership Agreement, which is […]
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