Welcome to this edition of the National Perspective.
The Stronger Regions, A Stronger Australia statement announced on 29 August is the Federal Government’s practical and affordable initiative developed in response to listening to the needs of rural and regional Australia. We have already provided some $28 billion for specific measures over the last five years, however there is still more to do. I am delighted to provide an outline of our further vision for strong, positive and self-reliant regional communities in this edition.
Included in the statement is a programme designed to provide access to Government information. The recently announced Grantslink website is a one-stop access site for all Federal Government grants programmes. You can view the site at www.grantslink.gov.au.
This month I am pleased to be able to announce the Local Government projects that received category awards in the 2001 National Awards for Innovation in Local Government. Congratulations to these councils judged to be amongst the best in Australia at demonstrating leading practice. I wish you luck for the national judging and look forward to presenting detailed descriptions of winning projects when the national winners are decided and announced at the Australian Local Government Association’s National General Assembly to be held in Canberra in late November.
One hundred small rural communities have become immediately eligible for improved financial and other services in an extension of the Federal Government’s Rural Transaction Centre Programme. Over 50 communities have taken up the invitation in the few weeks since I signed the first application for RTC Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS) in Mount Larcom in Queensland.
Every Council in Australia will shortly receive the publication Your Home. Your Home is the most comprehensive package of home design materials ever produced and will assist councils in their key role of making our homes more sustainable. Written specifically with Local Government in mind, the package includes a consumer guide and technical manual.
A review of the Federal Government’s $1.2 billion Roads to Recovery initiative confirms that the programme is well on the way to improving Australia’s local roads infrastructure. By the end of last financial year 526 councils had already received a total of $150 million to repair their vital local roads network.
