By Julian Bajkowski A referendum on the financial recognition of local government in the Australian Constitution now appears to be highly likely after both federal Local Government minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Local Government Association strongly hinted that a positive announcement is imminent. Sources close to the process have hinted that a formal announcement […]
3 May, 2013
By Paul Hemsley and Julian Bajkowski A push by the Independent Local Government Review Panel to the New South Wales government to encourage “voluntary amalgamations” of councils has sparked widely divergent reactions from stakeholders as peak body Local Government NSW (LGNSW) continues to argue that forced mergers are not, and should not, be state government […]
29 April, 2013
By Julian Bajkowski When the chief executive of the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), Rob Whelan, took to the airwaves in late January 2013 to take councils in Queensland to task over flood protection measures, it was the opening shot in a war of words between local government and the risk industry that had been […]
24 April, 2013
By Paul Hemsley The plane ride to and from work has become a way of life for many employees working in the resources sector but there are few cheers for the practice from those living on the ground in the shadow of Australia’s mineral wealth. Gone are the days when a mining boom created new […]
24 April, 2013
By Paul Hemsley Local Government New South Wales (LGNSW) joint president Ray Donald has said that calls for an end to rate pegging have been backed by the state government in the latest report about the financial sustainability of councils from the NSW Treasury Corporation (TCorp). Mr Donald said TCorp’s findings in the Financial Sustainability […]
22 April, 2013
By Julian Bajkowski Global financial ratings agency Standard & Poors has vowed to fight fresh legal action against it to recover millions of dollars lost by dozens of Australian councils after the local governments bought into junk, sub-prime instruments graded by the firm as AAA and AA quality investment products. The confirmation by S&P that […]
19 April, 2013
By Julian Bajkowski Australian councils burned by toxic investments in collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) from collapsed bank Lehman Bros. have escalated their legal action and will try and rope-in ratings agency Standard & Poors in their bid to recover losses of around $200 million. Litigation funder IMF said on Tuesday afternoon that it will file […]
16 April, 2013
By Julian Bajkowski Councils in New South Wales and Western Australia burned by the collapse of merchant bank Lehman Brothers could recoup around 45 cents in the dollar after liquidators attempted to broker a deal to litigants to settle litigation. While creditors and the Federal Court must still approve the deal, the compromise is a […]
16 April, 2013
By Paul Hemsley Councils in New South Wales and Queensland have mounted a hard-fought campaign to stop forced amalgamations of local governments, but it’s a very different story in the West where mayors are backing a push to merge municipalities. The voluntary push for amalgamations from councils in WA has been highlighted by City of […]
15 April, 2013
By Paul Hemsley New South Wales Premier Barry O’Farrell has signed the state government up for a new deal under which councils will gain more say over plans and initiatives that affect both jurisdictions. The new deal comes in the form of the Intergovernmental Agreement to Guide NSW State-Local Government Relations on Strategic Partnerships which […]
12 April, 2013
By Julian Bajkowski and Paul Hemsley Australia’s local government sector has been left facing tough choices over how to deal with the release of Coalition’s policy on the National Broadband Network that would forgo fibre-to-the-premises in favour of recycling Telstra’s ageing copper lines in many regional areas. After decades of campaigning to get better internet […]
12 April, 2013
By Paul Hemsley A push by New South Wales Local Government Minister, Don Page, to rewrite inconsistent and ad-hoc legislation governing the operation of councils into simple and cohesive laws has secured vital backing from the state’s municipal power brokers, clearing the way for a clean-out of defective regulations. The joint-president of Local Government New […]
9 April, 2013
By Julian Bajkowski City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore has upped pressure on the New South Wales state government to extend a planned pedestrian zone in the heart of the central business district and shopping strip as part of existing plans to roll out a new $1.6 billion light rail run connecting the city […]
5 April, 2013
By Paul Hemsley Mayors from New South Wales will meet with leading American experts in sustainable urban design and planning from this week to thrash out how they can embed sustainable thinking into local precincts. The local swap of global ideas is part of a “Mayor’s forum” hosted by the United States Studies Centre (USSC) […]
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