WA road safety cuts collide with councils

By Paul Hemsley The Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) has accused the Colin Barnett government of being asleep at the wheel on road safety after the Police Minister’s office informed WALGA President Troy Pickard that the state has cut funding for the RoadWise community awareness program by half. The highly successful WALGA-managed program has […]

Councils call for central rubbish tsar

By Julian Bajkowski Councils in Western Australia have called on the state government create a new statutory garbo-in-chief to deal with ballooning amounts of waste being created as a byproduct of Perth’s population as the city tries to stay on track to meet tough targets for recycling and the diversion of waste from landfill. The […]

WA laws aim to silence barking dogs

By Paul Hemsley The Western Australian government has unleashed an ambitious plan to help councils stop dogs from barking. At least barking so much that they make a nuisance of themselves in populated areas. A newly proposed provision by Minister for Local Government Tony Simpson under the Dog Amendment Bill 2013 will provide councils with […]

West now the best for a Mayoral pay rise

By Paul Hemsley and Julian Bajkowski Mayors and councillors across Western Australia will reap annual pay rises of up to 400 per cent on the back of an intensive campaign by local governments that successfully pushed the state Salaries and Allowances Tribunal (SAT) to decide that financial compensation be put on par with other states […]

NSW councils try to turn Page on referendum ‘yes’ case

By Paul Hemsley and Julian Bajkowski Councils in New South Wales have repudiated claims by the state’s Minister for Local Government, Don Page, that an amendment to the Constitution to allow financial recognition of local governments will lead to pork barrelling as baseless scaremongering. As the September 14th referendum debate heats up, joint presidents of […]

Victorian state and local governments split over referendum

By Paul Hemsley and Julian Bajkowski Victorian councils have slammed the state’s local government minister, Jeanette Powell, over claims that a referendum on financial recognition of local government in the Constitution could result in an erosion of state government power as deliberate scaremongering. In a broadside aimed squarely at his state government, Municipal Association of […]

Regions endure turbulence over FIFO mining workforce

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 […]

NSW Treasury answers councils’ demands to end rate pegging

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 […]

Councils in West embrace mergers

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 […]

Perth councils demand say on new tram routes

By Paul Hemsley The Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) has demanded the state government led by Premier Colin Barnett include councils in the planning process for the rollout of Perth’s inner city tram run, especially over the location of routes, stops and stations. The Western councils’ peak body claims that street knowledge held by […]

WA councils hammer rate pegging pledge

 By Paul Hemsley Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) President Troy Pickard has condemned an election promise by the state’s Labor Opposition to cap council rates and align them with movements in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Mr Pickard claims the rate pegging plan is likely to cause losses of local services and facilities. The […]

Committee green light for local government referendum

By Julian Bajkowski The final report of the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Local Government has recommended that a referendum be put to electors at the 14th September 2013 federal election despite the relatively short lead-time, but support within the Coalition could be fracturing along Liberal and National party lines. After previously reserving […]

WA container deposit scheme gathers public support

By Paul Hemsley The Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) has continued to kick the can over a proposed “cash for containers” scheme to reduce litter and kerbside rubbish in the run-up to the state election in March 2013, saying its petition for the scheme has received 1590 signatures. The West’s local government body has […]

Policy wasteland wafts from Perth dump

By Paul Hemsley and Julian Bajkowski The president of the Western Australia Local Government Association (WALGA), Troy Pickard, tipped a bucket on both the State Government and Opposition over environmentally harmful waste management policies being touted in vote grabs ahead of the March election. The accusations from the peak body revolve around proposals from both […]

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