By Julian Bajkowski The Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) has taken the state government to task over what it claims are “serious shortcomings” revealed in draft differential rating guidelines. A new submission by the MAV urges the Napthine government to adopt “greater support to develop rating strategies” as the state’s local government sector […]
19 March, 2013
By Paul Hemsley Federal Attorney-General Nicola Roxon has formally declared that phone tapping powers will be granted to Victoria’s recently established Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC) as soon as its predecessor, the Office of Police Integrity (OPI) is abolished. The move clears an important legal roadblock in the creation of the new watchdog which had […]
19 December, 2012
By Paul Hemsley Sun rays will fire-up 35,000 households around Mildura after the Victorian government’s approved a $10 million grant to Silex Systems to complete the world’s biggest solar plant. The money will fund Silex subsidiary Solar Systems, which originally proposed the project in 2010, the second stage of its Large-Scale Solar Power Generation Demonstration […]
9 October, 2012
By Paul Hemsley The Queensland government is following Victoria’s footsteps to make open level crossings for trains and cars safer. Last month, the Victorian government announced it would trial communications technology to warn drivers of approaching trains in a three year $5.5 million project. Now Queensland is implementing a similar scheme for an even smaller […]
17 September, 2012
By Paul Hemsley The Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) has ratcheted-up its campaign for local councils to be given a funding bail out to cope with an escalating series of budget cuts and funding shortfalls. The demands for new money come as a $396.9 million superannuation shortfall looms over local governments which could soon be […]
30 August, 2012
By Paul Hemsley The Victorian government will test if communications technology can warn car drivers that trains are approaching at railway crossings. Before they hit them. After some 600 collisions between trains and cars at railway crossings over the past decade, state transport and safety agencies now want to test systems to determine if the […]
27 August, 2012
By Paul Hemsley and Julian Bajkowski Victorian local governments have warned that new bans on the controversial practice of coal seam gas (CSG) extraction through hydraulic fracturing (fraccing) in the state still don’t go far enough. The peak body for councils in the state has vowed it will continue to push for a parliamentary probe […]
27 August, 2012
By Paul Hemsley The condition of roads across Australia is deteriorating because state and local governments see little immediate electoral upside in spending money on vital tasks like fixing potholes – at least compared to more noticeable projects like new building works. That’s the conclusion of new analysis on infrastructure upkeep across Australia by BIS […]
20 August, 2012
Aviation pilots will receive training though a flight simulator aimed at increasing defence and emergency skills. The Ansett Aviation Training Facility in Tullamarine will train personnel after obtaining the Hawker Beechcraft King Air B350 simulator, which is the first of its kind in the Asia Pacific region. CAE Training, a training body that specialises in […]
6 August, 2012
By Paul Hemsley Emergency services training in Victoria will be improved from the building of a specialised firefighting training facility. The Victorian Government will fund $109 million for the Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) training facility in Graigieburn in the City of Hume local government area, providing skills to firefighters and other emergency personnel to face […]
30 July, 2012
Community infrastructure projects will proceed in Melbourne’s Docklands following the city council’s partnerships with other tiers of government and the private sector. The City of Melbourne’s plan for urban renewal is for $300 million in community infrastructure projects in Docklands. As part of the Docklands Community and Place Plan (DCPP), the council will be working […]
18 July, 2012
The Victorian Department of Primary Industries developed the smartphone application called Crop Diseases, which is available for iPhone and Android. It will enable agronomists and farmers to quickly identify the disease resistance rating of a cereal, pulse or oilseed variety in the paddock, according to the Victorian Government. Minister for Agriculture and Food Security, Peter […]
9 July, 2012
By Paul Hemsley An electric Mitsubishi i-MiEV is being trialed at Cardinia Shire Council as part of the Victorian Government’s Electric Vehicle Trial. Aiming to reduce urban air pollution, oil dependency and greenhouse gas emissions, the council is trialing the vehicle to reduce its fleet’s environmental impacts. The state government’s Electric Vehicle Trial consists of […]
27 June, 2012
Cost savings and ‘better service delivery’ will result for the Victorian Government following staff number reductions in management. The Sustainable Government Initiative (SGI) received an update from the state government including reforms on workforce reduction. Included in the reform is a 3600 public service workforce reduction as part of the budget update from last December. […]
25 June, 2012End of content
No more pages to load
Sue Phillips on: 15 councils participate in SA emissions reduction trial
Garth Daddy on: War memorial contracts fudged, audit finds
Roger Buhlert on: New VLGA appointment vows to lift governance standards