While the Federal Government and the Opposition continue to argue about the virtues or otherwise of the carbon tax, the debate overshadows a wide range of positive and tremendous projects being undertaken across the country.
The lead story in LGFocus details how the Adelaide and Sydney Councils have gained international recognition for their environmental initiative, and they should be applauded for their efforts.
However, it is not just the big metropolitan councils that deserve praise.
Each year, this newspaper runs a special feature on best practice in environmental management and each year there is a staggering response from Local Governments across Australia.
In a host of areas, Local Governments are leading the way in water, energy and environmental management.
This is all positive and each and every Local Government needs to be congratulated for their efforts.
In this newspaper, we have highlighted efforts from Cockburn in Western Australia, Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, Randwick in New South Wales, Rockhampton and Mackay in Queensland, Tea Tree in South Australia, Launceston in Tasmania and Yarra In Victoria.
Yet this is only the tip of the iceberg for environmental initiatives in Local Government.
Indeed, it is hard to find one single Council that is not playing their part.
There is also no doubt that State and Federal Governments are also making their contributions in many different areas.
The downside of all these efforts is that inevitably there will be some doubling or even tripling of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce energy and water use.
All these initiatives, programs and ideas need to be captured and the valuable information in each and every initiative needs to be shared, explained and evaluated.
There needs to be a central depository of all this information and ideas so that all levels of Government can work together.
Each level of government can learn from each other, but there needs to a structured and coordinated approach to ensure that valuable lessons and initiatives can be developed even further.
