Industry News

The City of Sydney plans to roll out a city-wide system of stormwater recycling to reduce harbour pollution and ensure Sydney's water supply never runs out.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the City's research showed more than half of Sydney's future water demand could be met with non-drinking water.

"We need to take strong decisive action now to drought-proof our city and ensure we are less dependent on dam levels," the Lord Mayor said.

"The stormwater run off from roofs, roads, paths, parks and other open areas is a valuable alternative supply of water for non- drinking purposes."

"Our stormwater harvesting initiative at Sydney Park is the kind of program we plan to install in parks and open spaces across Sydney."

"We will harvest and recycle stormwater, and use the recycled water for irrigating, flushing toilets and high-rise cooling towers."

The Decentralised Water Master Plan aims to:

• Improve water efficiency in buildings across the City of Sydney to save 10 per cent on the 2006 demand by 2030
• Cut a quarter of water use in City buildings, parks and open spaces by 2030
• Halve the 26 billion litres of stormwater run-off into Sydney Harbour and Botany Bay
• Replace 54 per cent of drinking water used for non-drinking purposes with recycled water
• Water sensitive urban design, including rain gardens, swales, infiltration trenches within streetscapes and permeable pavers on footpaths to filter or retain stormwater and reduce pollution discharged into waterways
• Diversify water sources to include recycled and treated waste water, stormwater, groundwater, roof water and sea water to reduce dependence on the drinking water supply.

The majority of Sydney's current water demand is met through drinking water supplied from Warragamba Dam and piped 68 kilometres to the city, which wastes a significant amount of energy. But consumers only drink two per cent of the drinking water they use every day, the rest being used for non-drinking purposes.

Even after taking into account other uses for water, such as food preparation, cooking and personal hygiene, less than a fifth of water used in the household needs to be of drinking quantity.

Population growth by 2030 will increase water demand in the City of Sydney area by 30 per cent.

Office and apartment blocks are by far the largest users of water and would save on water use with fairly simple measures such as promoting water efficient tap and shower heads and fixing cooling tower leaks.

The City has been reducing pollution through waste management, street cleaning, trapped gully pits and natural treatments such as rain gardens and wetlands to reduce the impact on waterway and marine health.

The Decentralised Water Master Plan is part of the City's Green Infrastructure Plan, which is designed to deliver the greenhouse gas reduction and environmental targets in the Sustainable Sydney 2030 program.

The Finance Sector Union will hold meetings around Australia next Monday to discuss the proposed new AustralianSuper enterprise agreement.

The FSU Representatives’ Committee will recommend that members accept the following proposed offer from management:

• July 2012 – 4.5% salary increase
• July 2013 – 4.25% salary increase
• July 2014 – 4.25% salary increase
• July 2015 – 4% salary increase (optional)
• a new superannuation clause providing that AustralianSuper will pay 3% above the Superannuation Guarantee for all staff covered by the EBA  into AustralianSuper

An email ballot of members will be undertaken in the week beginning 6 August, required to authorise the FSU to become a party to the new agreement.

The union sets out the case for a three-year agreement rather than four years, maintaining that financial markets may be more robust in four years, and the guaranteed 4% “will sell us short”.

However, a four year agreement would lock employers into providing good existing conditions  and a new Coalition Government with Senate majority would be “likely to have punitive unfinished business with industry funds and likely to revisit individual workplace contracts (the old Howard Govt Australian Workplace Agreements under another name)”.

Financial Services Council (FSC) CEO, John Brogden, has recently visited Washington DC to continue discussions with senior US Treasury and IRS officials, relevant members of Congress and congressional representatives on the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) regime.

Draft FATCA regulations released in February 2012 sent shockwaves through the Australian Financial Services industry when it became apparent that superannuation funds would not be exempt from the US reporting and withholding requirements under FATCA.

Currently the regime will require Australian foreign financial institutions (FFIs), includingsuperannuation funds, to collect detailed information on their members to determine whether an individual member’s financial and residency arrangements make them a U.S. taxpayer. If so, the FATCA regime requires the fund to report this information to the IRS. However, if the account holder does not provide the necessary information the fund will be required to withhold a 30 per cent tax on U.S.-connected payments for that member.

In April, the FSC made submissions on the draft regulations which highlighted the nature of the Australian superannuation system and argued for its exemption from the regulations. It also called for an intergovernmental agreement to facilitate transfer of reported data from the ATO to the IRS. Following the submissions, John Brogden briefed US Treasury and gave evidence to an IRS hearing in Washington.

Mr Brogden said the Australian financial services industry is in danger of being unable to comply with the FATCA regulations when they come into effect on 1 January 2013. The final regulations are expected to be released in September 2012.

“It is clear from our discussions with US Government officials that a strong public statement is required from the Australian government calling for the commencement of talks to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the United States.

“An intergovernmental agreement has the potential to significantly reduce the FATCA compliance burden that will be faced by the Australian financial services industry and will ensure Australian firms are not placed in the position of having to breach local laws in order to comply with US laws”, Mr Brogden said.

The FSC is working with other industry bodies in Australia, including the Australian Bankers’ Association, to ensure there is a consistent and coordinated approach to FACTA.

The NSW Government has appointed Professor Jim Pratley to conduct a year-long independent Review of Agricultural Education and Training.

Professor Pratley has been a strong advocate for change to redress the decline in agricultural graduates from Australian universities to overcome the current skills shortage.

Professor Pratley is a Research Professor of Agriculture in the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences at Charles Sturt University. He is Secretary of the Australian Council of Deans of Agriculture and was Foundation Dean of Science and Agriculture at CSU from 1990 until 2006.

Professor Pratley has been a strong advocate for change to redress the decline in agricultural graduates from Australian universities to overcome the current skills shortage.

 “We know the extent of the challenge,” Professor Pratley said. “The important point is what we do about it. This review will evaluate what is happening in NSW in agricultural education and training at all levels and how well positioned the state is to address the challenge in this most important industry for NSW and the nation.”

Professor Pratley is due to report to the Minister for Education and Minister for Primary Industries by 30 June 2013. The terms of reference for the review can be found here.  

Macquarie Group has announced a slight lift in performance for the first quarter of the 2013 financial year compared with the same period last year due to a stronger performance by Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities (FICC).

However, the group’s securities business was down on the prior period and well down on the first quarter for 2011- 2012 due to weak market conditions resulting from European sovereign debt concerns, slowing US growth and the impact of China growth concerns.

Managing Director and CEO, Nicholas Moore, that if current market conditions persist for the remainder of FY13, Macquarie Securities was unlikely to be profitable for FY13.

“Notwithstanding weak markets MSG continues to be well regarded by its clients, being ranked number one in US and UK / European client surveys for Australian equities. It was also the top ranked non-domestic Canadian equities platform, and was number one by market share for warrants in Singapore and ADRs in Indonesia,” he said.

The Northern Territory Chief Minister Paul Henderson has accused the Liberal Premiers of colluding to take at least $1 billion from the Territory under a new GST carve up.

"The Liberal leaders are working on a plan that will tear an estimated $1 billion out of the Territory's budget and Terry Mills is weak, ineffective and failing to stand up for the Territory to his Liberal mates," Mr Henderson said.

 "We will fight this tooth and nail - this is the biggest threat to the Territory since self government.

 Mr Henderson said that Tony Abbott, Campbell Newman, Barry O'Farrell, Ted Baillieu, and Colin Barnett have all formed an alliance to “stitch up” a deal that he said could be implemented if the Commonwealth Coalition is elected and would devastate the Territory.

WA Premier, Colin Barnett, reportedly pushed for a new GST formula at the COAG meeting that would see at least 60 per cent of GST revenue  divided among the States on a population basis.

The Northern Territory Government has launched two new housing initiatives to help people renting accommodation to buy their own homes.

Treasurer, Delia Lawrie, said  that with banks’ lending practices limiting housing developments, the Government was stepping in to help stimulate supply, support people purchase their own home and help free up rental stock.

My New Home is a new program which two of the barriers to home ownership; deposit and lender insurance.

In conjunction with TIO, the My New Home package provides deposit free loans for new housing of up to $750,000 with no lenders mortgage insurance.

Homestart Extra builds on the  Territory Governments’ Homestart shared equity scheme. Homestart Extra increases the shared equity option from 30% or $75,000 to 50% or $200,000 as well as increasing fee assistance loans to $15,000 meaning little or no deposit.

“By significantly increasing the equity options for Homestart, the Henderson Government is backing Territorians on low and middle incomes who want to get off the rental roundabout,” Ms Lawrie said.

The Western Australian Education Minister Peter Collier has announced 48 more schools that have been selected to become Independent Public Schools to start in 2013, bringing the overall total in the reform of WA’s education system to 255 (one third of Western Australia’s public schools).

Mr Collier said the 255 Independent Public Schools represent about 50 per cent of all public school students and teachers in WA. He said the response to date indicated that schools, staff and communities have “a strong desire to have more of a say about the way the schools are run and use their finance”.

To date 389 public schools have expressed interest in becoming Independent Public Schools over four intakes, leaving a further 382 schools yet to apply.

“Each school has identified very specific advantages that more independence will provide its students, staff and community.  For example, the four schools in Broome have worked together and applied as a cluster to maximise the education opportunities for all young people in the town,” he said.

Mr Collier said the WA Government has invested $13.53million between 2010 and 2012 directly in Independent Public Schools through one-off grants of between $20,000 and $40,000 each for transition purposes, and also provided recurrent administrative grants of between $25,000 and $50,000 each.

The first 34 Independent Public Schools are currently being reviewed independently through a process undertaken by the Department of Education Services. They are in the final year of their three-year delivery and performance agreements with the director general of the Department of Education.

An independent evaluation by The University of Melbourne of the implementation, impact and success of the initiative is also under way with a report due mid next year.

“Not only do we give Independent Public Schools increased autonomy, but we are also extending flexibility in key areas to all schools as part of our commitment to this initiative,” Mr Collier said.

“From this term, for example, all principals have the authority to fill vacancies as soon as they arise; appoint staff to each vacant position from established recruitment pools; and approve all leave.”

A list of the selected schools is here.

The Western Australian Government has partnered with Australian crowdfunding platform Pozible, to launch the ‘3 to 1’ initiative -  an incentivised fundraising program to make up to $250,000 available for WA digital projects.

Culture and Arts Minister John the ‘3 to1’ initiative will inspire digital creators to be entrepreneurial about how they raise capital for their production budget, as well as capture the interest of their audiences at the outset of their creative process.

“Creative teams will need to attract contributions online from individuals to secure the ScreenWest grant. This will in effect quadruple their production budget.”

Instead of the more traditional grant allocation, the ‘3 to 1’ initiative will see ScreenWest treble those funds raised by successful Western Australian creative teams.

This means for every dollar teams raise through online crowdfunding, ScreenWest will contribute a further three dollars to the budget, from a minimum of $15,000 to a maximum contribution of $150,000, (meaning creative teams must crowdfund between $5,000 and $50,000 respectively).

The program will support professional narrative-driven screen-content for digital platforms that is not reliant on a television broadcast or film distribution outcome.

Projects can be drama or documentary, traditional short form or challenge convention with interactivity and user generated content, but they must be delivered on at least one digital platform.

More information is at http://www.screenwest.wa.gov.au

Queensland’s Ministerial Environmental Roundtable has met for a question and answer session with representatives from a range of interest groups including the Queensland Conservation Council, Sunshine Coast Environment Council, National Parks Association and the Environmental Defenders Office.

Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney said his government was “unashamedly elected on the platform of economic development, but we will do it in a way that respects the environment and delivers the best possible environmental outcomes for Queensland”.

“There can be a degree of conflict between development and planning and the environment but we always want to find the right balance between them, so it’s crucial that we have a close working relationship with these groups.

“As long as Environment Minister Andrew Powell and I are involved, there will always be a close interaction between my department and the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (EHP),”  Mr Seeney said.

Mr Seeney was questioned on a range of issues including protection of the Great Barrier Reef, CSG regulation, regional planning, development at Abbot Point and negotiations involving the Caloundra South project.

He said the Newman Government was working on establishing a number of regional plans and that the concerns of environmental groups and the communities involved would be taken into account as those plans were developed.

“We want to see the Co-ordinator General bring together the many departments that will work to deliver our objectives, and we want to see EHP given the status it should have as a strong environmental watchdog,” Mr Seeney said.

The two-day roundtable was hosted by Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection Andrew Powell, who addressed the group yesterday.

COAG has released two report cards on the implementation of its deregulation priorities and competition reforms under the National Partnership Agreement to Deliver a Seamless National Economy.

The report card on deregulation priorities addressed progress  27 areas of reform including Occupational Health and Safety reform which commenced on 1 January this year in Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT, the Northern Territory and the Commonwealth. Reform of OHS will commence in Tasmania on 1 January next year, and legislation is currently before the Legislative Assembly in South Australia. Victoria has not agreed to the reform in its current state, and Western Australia’s agreement is subject to finalisation of the mine safety component of the regulations, expected to be completed by December 2012, and to the conduct of a State-specific analysis of the potential costs and benefits from implementing the reform.

Streamlining of environmental assessment and approval processes has been completed through bilateral assessment agreements under the EPBC Act. Payroll tax reform is also operational with uniform provisions in all jurisdictions.

Another area of reform is establishing a national occupational licensing system for tradespeople. All jurisdictions are working towards finalising consultation Regulation Impact Statements, to enable stakeholders to comment on the options for detailed licensing schemes for each of the four first tranche occupations.The Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) for electrical occupations, under the National Occupational Licensing Scheme reform, was released for consultation last week and  the three remaining RISs are about to be released for consultation. COAG agreed that, given the complexity of the reform, this reform will now commence from 2013.  

Other areas of reform which are now operational include:

• Health Professional Registration and Accreditation
• Trade Measurement
• Rail Safety
• Consumer Policy Framework
• Product Safety
• National Regulation of Trustee Corporations
• Phase One National Consumer Credit Regulatory Regime
• Food regulation
• Standard Business Reporting
• Wine Labelling
• Registering Business Names

Areas which are in progress include:

• Development Assessment
• National Construction Code
• Chemicals and plastics regulation
• Personal Property Securities
• National Mine Safety Framework
• E-conveyancing
• Oil and Gas Regulation
• Maritime Safety
• Directors’ Liability- to ensure the operation of directors’ liability is applied in a nationally consistent and principle-based manner in future legislation, COAG agreed to a set of Principles and Guidelines. This reform is still under consideration by the Queensland Government.
• Phase Two Consumer Credit reforms

More information is here

.

COAG has agreed to establish an independent review panel to conduct a broad ranging investigation into cost, competitiveness and productivity challenges in the commercial, civil and large scale residential construction industry. 

A three-member panel with  legal, industry, workplace relations and economic expertise will be appointed to conduct the review over the next 12 months.

A secretariat within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, comprising Commonwealth and State representatives, will support and report directly to the review panel. 

Under its terms of reference, the Review will undertake analysis and develop findings on:

• Market structure: The level of concentration in the various sectors of the construction industry; how this has changed over time; the drivers of these trends and what effect has this had on construction costs; and the openness of the market to domestic and foreign suppliers of goods and services, including barriers to market entry. The relationship between public sector demand for construction (in terms of level and timing) and costs.
• Regulations and compliance: Assessing and identifying opportunities to reduce the costs of compliance in the construction sector while maintaining quality and safety standards; patchwork regulatory arrangements across jurisdictions and associated risk mitigation costs; impacts of building energy efficiency standards.
• Taxation and other charges: The impact of taxes, duties and developer charges on overall construction costs, and the appropriateness and efficiency of these taxes and charges.
• Labour costs, skills and workplace relations: The availability of suitably skilled labour in the construction sector, including: options for improving skills development; labour mobility including trades licensing and mutual recognition; attracting and retaining skilled workers in the industry; the current and future role of Australia’s migration program.  The role played by industrial relations, noting the current and recent reviews of workplace relations legislation. The role that innovative management, new technology, project management and business practices could play in improving efficiency in the delivery of projects.
• Other arrangements: Examining issues and costs associated with the allocation of risk, regional market structure and labour force differences, availability of finance, contracting arrangements and delivery models for construction projects.  Examining the factors impacting on new technology uptake. Examining the rate of insolvency in the sector.

The panel will undertake analysis and consider reforms that could be pursued nationally or by individual Commonwealth, State, Territory and Local governments.

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG)  meeting this week received a report from its Future Competition and Regulatory Reform Taskforce which has been consulting with peak business bodies and organisations including conservation groups which have an interest in environmental regulation reforms.

COAG has agreed to reducing duplication and double-handling of environmental assessment and approval processes while maintaining high environmental standards that are risk- and outcomes-based. In line with the timing agreed at the COAG meeting in April, consultations are underway and negotiations for bilateral agreements are about to commence.

The Taskforce has worked with the Select Council on Climate Change to examine options to expand and expedite planned reviews into the complementarity of climate change measures with a carbon price.  Work on establishing the scope for reform and in identifying measures for review is expected to be largely completed by late 2012.

On energy market reform, work is already in train through the Standing Council on Energy and Resources.  COAG expressed concern over the recent electricity price increases arising from factors including increases in transmission and distribution charges,  and requested energy ministers to focus current reviews of market regulation in the interconnected market on achieving efficient future investment which does not result in undue price pressures on consumers and business.

COAG asked the Taskforce to undertake further work and advise COAG in late 2012 on any additional action required to deliver a regulatory framework that promotes a competitive retail electricity market, including appropriate support for vulnerable customers, and efficient investment. 

Work to develop best-practice approaches to lift regulatory performance and policy initiatives to meet the red tape challenge is also being advanced. 

A report will be provided to the next meeting of the Business Advisory Forum and recommendations to COAG in late 2012.

Liberal state governments have been accused of lack of leadership and political point scoring following the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting in Canberra which failed to reach agreement on the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

As a result of the meeting, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT will conduct a trial of the scheme, commencing in July 2013, having agreed to work together on the development of Commonwealth legislation to establish both the scheme and a national launch agency to administer the scheme during the launch phase.  The agency will be responsible for managing Commonwealth and State funds in a single national pool, and undertaking planning, assessment and approval of individual support packages.

The three Labor governments agreed that participants in the launch sites will receive ongoing support until a decision is taken to move to a full NDIS, although the funding and governance arrangements agreed for launch do not create a precedent for the full scheme.

COAG agreed that, as a first step to settling the design of an NDIS, consultation with people with a disability, their families and carers, the workforce and disability sector and peak bodies would commence from late August on this approach. 

Commenting on the outcome, the President of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Steve Hambleton, said that all Australians with a disability, and their families and carers, had been severely let down by a lack of leadership and cooperation at the meeting.

Dr Hambleton said that self-interest, petty bickering and political point scoring by the bigger States had dampened the hopes and wants of some of the nation’s most disadvantaged people.

“Some of our political leaders should be hanging their heads in shame.  Surely nobody could suggest that the ‘system’ we have now is appropriate,” Dr Hambleton said.  “Today was a rare opportunity for all our Governments to work together to deliver something very important for all Australians – but they blew it.”

“The Federal Government presented COAG with a workable proposal to establish the first stage of an NDIS from next year, but the bigger States, for their own reasons, have decided not to participate at this stage.  What we saw today was an old-fashioned COAG blame game.  There was a sad lack of genuine goodwill towards building a scheme to improve the lives of people with a disability and their carers.

“The AMA welcomes the decisions of the South Australian, Tasmanian, and ACT Governments to get on board with the NDIS immediately.  It is commendable that the three jurisdictions who have agreed to take the first important steps are those that are currently dealing with broader issues around resource allocation for health care services.  This demonstrates their understanding of the challenges faced by disabled people and their families, and a commitment to inclusive social policy.

“The AMA urges the other State Governments to overcome their opposition to the NDIS that is on offer, and put the interests of people with a disability ahead of political squabbling.

“The NDIS is an investment in the future and in the quality of the lives of people with disabilities.  It will allow people to participate in daily life and in the community in a more productive and positive way.”

The AMA has established a taskforce to ensure medical profession input to the NDIS and the National Injury Insurance Scheme (NIIS), which is for people who are severely injured and require the same levels of support.  

A survey by the Local Government Association of Queensland of the conduct of the 2012 Queensland local government elections has found that the Electoral Commission of Queensland failed to perform adequately in regard to key aspects of the poll.

The survey of both councils and Queensland voters found that the ECQ put in a poor effort in promoting the elections, supplying information to candidates and instructing voters on how to lodge postal votes.

The survey results confirm that the 2012 council elections were marred by voter confusion and poor communication on the part of the ECQ.

The survey results form part of a detailed submission the Local Government Association of Queensland has delivered to the Newman Government on the conduct of the 28 April local poll.

LGAQ President Paul Bell said the submission called on Local Government Minister David Crisafulli to give councils the power to conduct their elections themselves or appoint outside contractors to provide election services.

“We said immediately after the poll that the ECQ had not risen adequately to the task of conducting the elections and this survey roundly endorses that view,’’ Cr Bell said.

“Resourcing was poor, voter education at the local level failed to cut through and there was a lack of properly skilled returning officers on the ground.’’

“All of this shows that taking local circumstances into account when conducting local elections is all important, and that is why councils are best placed to decide how their elections should be run.’’

The commission’s performance in promoting the requirement to vote, method of voting and election details was very poorly regarded by survey respondents.

Most of those surveyed also said public notices about the election and calls for nominations fell below acceptable standards.

A copy of the LGAQ submission including the survey results can be accessed at www.lgaq.asn.au

The New South Wales review of local government is under way with the first meeting between the Independent Local Government Review Panel and councils in Broken Hill this week.

The meeting was the first of more than 20 scheduled over the next month that will feed into decisions about NSW’s 152 councils, their boundaries, services and their financial sustainability.

The Independent Local Government Review Panel is chaired by Professor Graham Sansom and includes Ms Jude Munro and Mr Glenn Inglis.

Key issues the review is addressing are:
• Councils' ability to support the current and future needs of local communities;
• Councils' ability to deliver infrastructure and services effectively;
• The financial sustainability of each local government area;
• ability for local representation and decision-making
• barriers and incentives to encourage voluntary boundary changes.

Professor Sansom said the Panel had productive discussions with representatives from Broken Hill, Central Darling and Wentworth Councils at the Broken Hill meeting, as well as meeting with representatives of community organisations from the Far West region.

The panel has released a consultation paper, which provides a number of key questions to open the discussion, with an opportunity to respond via an on-line feedback form, email, or written submissions.

Responding to concerns that  local councils will not have enough time to make submissions to its background paper, given the upcoming local government elections, Professor Sansom said the background paper was just the first stage of the consultation process.

 “The background paper is only asking councils for their general views on the challenges facing their communities and the need to strengthen local government. It does not seek specific proposals on future arrangements,” he said.

  “Those more sensitive issues will be outlined in a later paper to be released in late October or early November, well after the local government elections, so the newly elected councils will be able to make their views known then. That will be followed by further consultations with local government, other interested organisations and local communities. The Panel does not have to report until July next year.”

Prof Sansom said there was no pre‐arranged link between the closing dates for the local government review and the State Government’s planning Green Paper. “We are an Independent Panel in the very early stages of our work. Of course the Green Paper is an important document that we will have to take into account, but as yet we have not had any discussions with Minister Hazzard or his department.”

The review is being carried out in 4 stages:

Identifying key issues and exploring ideas (July‐September 2012)

Options for change (October 2012 – January 2013)

Future Directions (February – May 2013)

Final report (June – July 2013)

The Panel’s background paper Strengthening your Community  and details about consultation meetings and making submissions are available on the website at www.localgovernmentreview.nsw.gov.au .

The National Assessment Framework (NAF) on-line Portal is nearing completion and will be available for Councils shortly. The NAF will enable Councils to carry out an assessment of their current asset and financial management processes in line with the nationally consistent measures.

A National Evaluation & Accreditation Tool or Assessment Framework to evaluate progress for Local Government Councils with implementation of the Local Government and Planning Ministers’ Council (LGPMC) National Sustainability Frameworks, is nearing completion and will have final testing with select Councils shortly. 

The Sustainability Frameworks provide nationally consistent elements for all local government authorities to more sustainably manage their community infrastructure through effective asset management and financial planning. 

The State and Territory Governments have agreed to facilitate implementation of the National Sustainability Frameworks across their Local Governments. 

The Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government (ACELG) is preparing a national tool which is proposed as a structured online questionnaire to evaluate progress with implementing the elements of the National Sustainability Frameworks. The outputs of the questionnaire will enable a local government council to measure its progress against the Sustainability Frameworks. Progressive review and update of the evaluation by the council will show improvement trends.  

It is proposed that Federal State and Territory Governments will be better able to assist councils to target improvement areas with respect to the key elements of the National Sustainability Frameworks.  

The National Assessments Framework Portal should be available for local government councils to undertake their own on-line Asset Management and Financial Planning maturity self assessment by September 2012.

More information is  here.

Tasmania’s Local Government Board has published a report and recommendations on its Review of Councillor Numbers.

The Board recommended reductions in the number of councillors elected to six of the seven councils included in the review as follows:

• a reduction from 12 councillors to 9 for the Central Coast and Devonport City Councils;
• a reduction from 9 to 8 for the Glamorgan-Spring Bay Council;
• a reduction from 12 to 10 for the Glenorchy City and Kingborough Councils; and
• a reduction from 9 to 7 for the Tasman Council.

The Board recommended no change in the number of councillors elected to the Break O'Day Council.

The Minister for Local Government has not yet made a decision regarding the recommendations and is currently consulting with councils and the community.  Comments on the recommendations can be made before 31 August 2012. Further information is here.

The City of Mt Gambier Library has been awarded the 2012 Jim Crawford Award for Innovation in Libraries for its engagement of the community in life-long learning.

The two yearly awards celebrate the late Jim Crawford's contribution to the development of public libraries in South Australia. Mr Crawford was a former chairman of the Libraries Board of SA and head of the CMV Automotive Group.

Mr Crawford, who was also Mayor of the former Brighton Council and a Vice-President of the Local Government Association, convinced former Premier Don Dunstan to co-invest with Local Government in a program to develop libraries in every Council area. The program was embraced by Councils and has had the support of all State Governments since its inception.

In presenting the awards, the Libraries Board chairman, James Bruce, said the Mt Gambier Library is an exemplary example of commitment to a vision that learning and education are crucial building blocks of a strong community.

In 2009 the City of Mount Gambier embarked on implementing a strategy to revitalise the city centre and the redevelopment of the Library has been an integral element in this overall strategy. The vision that guided the development of the new library has incorporated excellence in library spaces, programs and the use of information technology successfully to provide the community with a contemporary environment not just for learning but one that delivers an expanded suite of programs, activities and events with a core focus on learning and genuine engagement with the community.

Designed with the latest book retailing trends in mind, and with a fully integrated cafe, it gives the look and feel of a social bookstore. The Bookmark Cafe also provides Council with a revenue stream that offsets additional staff and programming costs that are in demand from the community.

The Mid-Murray Council's Morgan Library has been given an Honourable Mention for its service which is vital to the area's social and economic wellbeing.

An Encouragement Award was awarded to Alexandrina Council's Library and Community Centre at Strathalbyn for the embracement of change, implementation of innovation and use of information technology for the direct benefit of library customers and the community.

Local Government Association President, Mayor Kym McHugh, congratulated the winning Councils and noted that Mr Crawford's legacy had been maintained. In August 2011 the Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts, John Hill and Mayor McHugh signed a new 10 year agreement to fund public libraries.

The agreement secures more than $185m in State subsidy for public libraries, with Councils expected to invest more than $570m between 2011 and 2021.

Learning how to run, jump, kick and catch are skills many children are struggling to accomplish, with major implications for their general health, according to a landmark study led by the University of Sydney.

"If a child has not mastered what you might call the building blocks of physical activities they will not have the skill or confidence to do them. This study shows that children lacking these skills have lower levels of overall cardio-respiratory fitness and are more likely to be overweight or obese," said Dr Louise Hardy from the School of Public Health.

"There is an overall decline in children's ability to perform these skills at the appropriate age. We talk a lot about how much exercise kids need to do and the ideal hour-a-day target but this study suggests we might need to go back to basics and teach them the skills they need for a whole range of physical activities."

Dr Hardy is the lead author of the research, in collaboration with the University of Wollongong and Southern Cross University, which has just been published in Pediatrics.

The study used data from the 2010 NSW Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey to assess the 'fundamental movement skills' of over 8000 primary and high school children aged five to 16 years.

By Year 2 of primary school (age seven) children should have mastered skills such as leaping, running and jumping but the analysis showed the majority students had not demonstrated mastery of those skills. By high school students had improved but were still not competent across all skills.

The results showed a gender difference. Girls were quicker to learn movement skills such as running or leaping which are associated with dancing and gymnastics, while boys demonstrated higher mastery of object-control skills used in ball sports such as kicking and catching.

There was a clear and consistent link between low levels of skill and inadequate cardio-respiratory fitness. This is a significant concern because low fitness is associated with an increased risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

"It is a common misconception that children 'naturally' learn these skills and those of throwing, kicking and catching but this research shows that they need to be taught and practised. It's been estimated to take from between four and 10 hours for children to accomplish each of these skills," Dr Hardy said.

"There are two key reasons for the poor performance on these skills. There is a lack of physical education teachers in primary schools and there are not enough parents kicking a ball around with their kids."

The introduction of programs in schools that focused on teaching these skills would be one way to address the issue Dr Hardy suggests.

"Not learning this full range of skills at an early age means these children are more likely to become inactive adolescents and adults which has major implications for their future fitness and health and the ability of the health system to cope with that outcome."