Waste levy should be deferred

Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) has released a statement calling for the State Government to push back the date of the planned introduction of its new waste levy to 1 July 2019.

The Association said this would allow local councils to be better prepared to reduce the impact of the new levy on Queensland households.

LGAQ has warned that some councils will simply not be able to build or properly fund the new infrastructure required to administer the levy if the Government presses on with its proposed levy start date of 4 March 2019.

Chief executive, Greg Hallam, said the Government gave no warning that it would introduce the levy mid financial year, meaning that many councils had not factored its impact into their budgets.

Two way street

A Western Australian wheatbelt community is ‘grading the roads of integration’ through an innovative community based work program. Read more >

Intercultural city promotes inclusiveness

City of Maribyrnong, Victoria, has signed a statement of intent to become a member of the Intercultural Cities Programme. Following the official signing, a ceremonial signing was held on Wednesday 24 October at a Children’s Week event with local families in Braybrook.

Mayor, Cuc Lam, along with Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Stephen Wall, hosted a bilingual storytime session in English and Vietnamese, explaining the importance of cultural diversity in the City, and Council’s commitment to promoting inclusivity.

The Mayor said that becoming an Intercultural City demonstrates Council’s commitment to being a community where everyone feels welcome.

“People from all around the world now call Maribyrnong home, and we want to make sure that everyone feels a sense of belonging and is given the opportunity to thrive.

“We are proud of our diversity, and we want to continue to foster and promote interculturalism.”

The Intercultural Cities Programme is an initiative that supports cities internationally to review their policies through an intercultural lens and develop comprehensive intercultural strategies to enable them to manage diversity positively and realise their diversity advantage.

The programme helps cities to empower all members of their community, regardless of where they are from, and to promote interaction between people of different backgrounds.

Building on a commitment to a strong and resilient community that celebrates its diversity, Council will work across the organisation and community to create an Intercultural Strategy that builds and promotes intercultural learning, dialogue and relationships.

Councils join to prepare for Summer

Four neighbouring Victorian councils have joined forces in a bid to highlight the importance of community safety. Read more >

Not all micro irrigation fittings are created equal*

There is nothing worse than seeing a drip irrigation system, which is an efficient way of watering, with a blown off fitting, wasting water.

Ratepayers in particular, hate seeing this water wastage in public spaces.

The folks at Antelco have thought about this and have developed a range called DB (Double Barb) fittings.

They have been engineered to suit standard low-density polyethylene (LDPE) sizes (13mm, 19mm and 25mm) and the driplines that are on the market.

TIP: Care needs to be taken when selecting the dripline fittings as the sizing is stated in outside diameter not inside diameter as standard LDPE e.g. 16mm OD Dripline with a Wall thickness of 1.0mm requires a 14mm DB Fitting.

The Double Barb provides a high retention rate for the poly pipe to the fitting.

The fittings are constructed of high-quality acetal plastic ensuring rigidity and sharp barbs.

For those who want to minimize the blowout risk even further, install an Antelco Ratchet or “Cobra” style clamp.

When it comes to poly fittings not all are created equal, insist on using DB fittings for your micro irrigation systems.

*Copy supplied by Antelco

Drought Communities Program Workshop at Roads Congress

There are now 81 councils eligible to receive funding under the Federal Government’s Drought Communities Program (DCP), including 40 councils in New South Wales, 22 in Queensland, 2 in Victoria and 17 in South Australia.

The program provides grants of up to $1 million for drought-affected councils to spend on locally identified projects aimed at stimulating the local economy and maintaining jobs.

There is a real desire by the Commonwealth to see DCP funds spent immediately but discussions with eligible councils have highlighted concerns around the tight time frames for spending the funds (by 30 June 2019), especially in light of councils’ needs to comply with established procurement and tender processes, the importance of consulting with communities on projects and an overwhelming desire by councils to spend the money wisely and with maximum impact for local employment.

This is clearly a challenging brief for many councils, and a genuine opportunity at the same time.

I believe there is value in DCP councils sharing their experiences in how to deal with the rapid procurement and administrative challenges, to discuss their ideas for projects and how to keep the vast majority of expenditure local, if not all of it.

It is an ideal opportunity to learn and leverage off each other.
I have therefore asked that a DCP Workshop be held as part of the upcoming National Local Roads and Transport Congress in Alice Springs.

Almost 20 of the 81 DCP councils are already attending the congress and are eligible to participate.

The ALGA Secretariat will be in touch with the other 61 DCP councils regarding attending the workshop, their experiences relating to the program and the benefits of sharing information and action plans.

The Workshop has been tentatively scheduled for 7:30 am to 9:30 am (including breakfast) on the morning of Thursday 22 November, which will allow attendees time to catch outgoing flights leaving late morning/early afternoon.

Councils interested in attending the congress and the DCP Workshop should contact Jill Brown, ALGA’s Director of National Events, on (02) 6122 9436 or email jill.brown[@]alga.asn.au as soon as practicable.
In the interim, our thoughts and best wishes remain with all drought affected communities and their councils.