Australian Local Government Association

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14 January 2009

Contents

• President's report
• Chief Executive's report
• Board members
• Statement of financial position

President's report

2007-08 was a year in which local government began to reap the dividends of an extensive advocacy program over the past two years by the Australian Local Government Association in concert with State and Territory Associations. It was also the year in which Australia changed its Federal Government and ALGA developed strong working relationships with the new administration.

In this financial year, a '4th F' Future Challenges, was added to our strategic goals of Fair Funding, Fair Treatment, Formal Recognition. This was in recognition of the importance of emerging issues such as climate change, our dwindling water resources for local communities, urban issues and the nexus between access to broadband and economic success.

The year was jump-started at the National Local Roads and Transport Congress in Newcastle in July. The conference discussed issues such as urban congestion, pollution, freight management and transport infrastructure. Speakers such as the then Minister for Transport and Regional Services, Mark Vaile, and Local Government Minister Jim Lloyd were joined by Shadow Minister for Transport and Roads Martin Ferguson who delivered bipartisan support for the Roads to Recovery Program and committed to extend funding for the program if Labor won the election and this commitment was subsequently met in the Labor Government’s first Budget for 2008-09.

Constitutional recognition was another theme during 2007-08 and was given new life and impetus following the Queensland Government’s heavy-handed approach to the consolidation of councils. Not even plebiscites saved councils from forced amalgamations.

In August, Federal Labor outlined a timeframe on constitutional recognition for local government. The then Shadow Minister for Local Government, Senator Kate Lundy, said that Labor would, in its first term, consult with ALGA and state and territory governments on the process for achieving constitutional recognition, including holding a constitutional convention and determining the timeframe for a referendum. Labor also announced a Council of Australian Local Governments which has become the Australian Council of Local Government and met for the first time in November 2008.

ALGA continued to push the case at every opportunity for a Local Community Infrastructure Renewal Fund as recommended in the PricewaterhouseCoopers report into local government financial sustainability released in December 2006 which showed a $14.5 billion community infrastructure backlog. I was seen at Parliament House regularly throughout the year, lobbying everyone within earshot including the Prime Minister, Opposition Leader, Treasurer, the Ministry the backbench, Caucus and most of the Shadow Ministry.

In September, I launched 'A 10-Point Plan to Reinvigorate Local Communities' and called on both major parties to commit to a $1 billion infrastructure renewals fund. Local governments registered on-line with ALGA over 1,000 examples of community infrastructure requiring urgent attention such as swimming pools, playground equipment, ovals, council-run meals on wheels kitchens, libraries without air-conditioning and senior citizen centres. Many of these were built in the 1950s and 1960s and have reached their use-by date requiring urgent upgrading.

In November during National Rural Health Action Week, ALGA joined with key organisations to urge both major parties to support measures to ensure rural Australians have better access to local rural doctors, hospitals and health services. I argued for equity in healthcare, saying: "The Australian Local Government Associations believes strongly that local communities in regional, rural and remote areas should have access to the same quality of healthcare and related community infrastructure as people living in urban areas."

Also in November, ALGA received industry backing for a billion-dollar Local Community Infrastructure Renewal Fund. The Queensland Resources Council, the Rural Doctors Association of Australia, the National Farmers' Federation, and the National Heart Foundation came out publicly in support of the fund, citing the substantial benefits to community health and well-being. ALGA has also received support from the Australian Library and Information Association and the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia.

The Regional Cooperation and Development Forum held on 26 November set the scene for the launch of the State of the Regions report from leading forecasting group, National Economics. The 2007-08 report focused on the overarching theme of better understanding the impacts of climate change on Australian communities. The report's modelling indicated that one plausible scenario estimated the up-front costs to Australian households from climate change at $14 billion-$17 billion annually (up to $60 weekly for rural households and $32 for metropolitan). Another theme of the State of the Regions report was telecommunications with the warning that Australia would continue to lag internationally without much better information and communication technology. The National General Assembly held on 27-29 November in Darwin was highly successful with over 500 local government representatives in attendance and speakers as diverse as environmental futurist Richard Neville and Nick Rowley, adviser to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The 2007 Australian of the Year Professor Tim Flannery presented the keynote address which tied in with the theme, A Climate for Change.

The new Federal Labor Ministry was announced in early December and ALGA welcomed the announcement that Anthony Albanese would head the super-ministry of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. I met with Minster Albanese at the earliest opportunity to discuss the pressing issues of the backlog in the renewal of community infrastructure, the timetable for constitutional recognition and the emerging challenges facing local government in the areas of water security, climate change, urban policy and the provision of broadband. I also raised the issue of Labor’s election promises to fund Roads to Recovery and to match the increased funding offered during the campaign by the Coalition. I took the opportunity to meet with and congratulate Gary Gray on his appointment as the Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development and Northern Australia.

In March, I made urgent representations to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, Peter Garrett, and the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Tony Burke, about the Government’s decision to slash funding to the Local Government Natural Resource Management Facilitator Network which had been discontinued as part of the Federal Government’s new arrangements for natural resource management – the 'Caring for our Country' program.

The May Budget had some welcome news for local government with the announcement of the extension of Roads to Recovery funding to 2014 and an increase in annual funding to $350 million per annum. There was also $75 million for a series of studies into urban congestion, funding for airport security upgrades and subsidies for flights to remote airports and the announcement of the Building Australia Fund for major infrastructure projects to be overseen by Infrastructure Australia. ALGA also welcomed the Tax Review announced in the Budget to be headed by Treasury Secretary Ken Henry as an opportunity for local government to raise its concerns about a fair and equitable distribution of tax revenue. There was also an announcement that a Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program would be established from 2009-10 following a Parliamentary review.

However there was a mixed response to the one-year extension of the Natural Disaster Mitigation Program. While welcoming the funding, I was baffled by the decision to extend the program for only a single year and pressed the Attorney General and the Federal Government to consider the merits of the program and its ongoing funding.

The year ended with the National Local Roads and Transport Congress in Shepparton, Victoria in June. Due to parliamentary commitments, Minister Albanese was unfortunately unable to attend but he was ably represented by Richard Marles, MP, the Member for Corio. Other Speakers were Nationals Leader and the Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Local Government, Warren Truss, train-enthusiast Tim Fischer, the Chief Executive of the Australian Trucking Association, Stuart St Clair, and the Chief Executive and Commissioner of the National Transport Commission, Nick Dimopoulos. Shepparton was the ideal location for the Congress which was well-attended.

In summary, 2007-08 was a strong year for ALGA during which we made substantial progress on the fronts of regional and community infrastructure, roads and transport, and the path towards constitutional recognition. It was also a year when ALGA's workload increased substantially with the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting several times rather than annually and local government represented on 13 Ministerial Councils. We also successfully managed our relationships with the Howard and Rudd governments and sustained a level of bipartisanship that is imperative to fully achieve our vision. It was a year where I felt particularly proud and honoured to have been at the helm of local government in Australia as President of the Australian Local Government Association.

Chief Executive's report

The strategic directions for local government which have been set by the ALGA President and the Board comprising representatives from State and Territory Local Government Associations continued to bear fruit in 2007-08.

Perhaps one of the greatest achievements was the 2008 Federal Budget which locked in Roads to Recovery until 2014 at $350 million per year and an extra $60 million for Blackspots. I was particularly delighted at the bipartisanship shown with 50 speakers from the Opposition and the Government expressing their support for the programs during the passing of the legislation through the Parliament.

We continued to press the case for a Community Infrastructure Renewal Fund and this was also a Budget announcement though further details of its size and scope and whether it will be an ongoing program are yet to be determined. The PricewaterhouseCoopers report into local government financial sustainability was invaluable in providing the hard data and evidence to support our case.

ALGA President Cr Paul Bell entered his 4th year as President and he had an energetic year of representing ALGA at the highest levels of the Government and the new Labor administration. Prior to the election, he met with Shadow Treasurer Wayne Swan, to discuss fair funding for local government and brief Mr Swan on the findings of the PricewaterhouseCoopers report. As soon as the government was formed, Cr Bell cemented his relationship with the new Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Anthony Albanese, with a series of wide-ranging discussions and met with the Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development and Northern Australia, Gary Gray. He also met with the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at the two Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meetings in December and March.

The ALGA Secretariat was kept busy with an increased COAG workload and ALGA is also represented on three COAG working groups. ALGA’s also continued its strong representation on the 13 Ministerial Councils it is represented on. These Councils are important as part of our advocacy and provide an opportunity to raise issues affecting councils at the highest level with the States and the Federal Government.

ALGA responded to a series of reviews by the Federal Government - the National Aviation Policy Statement, the Taxation Review, Infrastructure Australia, The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, and the Housing Affordability Fund. We also teamed with the National Heart Foundation and the Planning Institute of Australia on the Healthy Spaces and Places program.

This year we saw a couple of staff departures – Matt Lawrence, our Health Adviser, and Jill Brown, Environment Adviser. Matt accepted a role with the Government and Jill moved up north to be with her fiancée. We have employed a new Assistant Director, Ageing, Finance and Economic Policy, Larissa Karpish, to fill the breach. Larissa has a strong background in the Department of Treasury and began just before the 2008-09 Budget which was of great assistance.

The Association remains in a sound financial position as illustrated by our Statement of Accounts and our flagship events – the national Local Roads and Transport Congress in Shepparton and the 2007 National General Assembly in Darwin - were highly successful.

We are entering into a challenging year with the anticipated effects on our domestic economy of international economic uncertainty. ALGA has had a strong year and we look forward to building on and consolidating our achievements.

Company directors

The names and particulars of the directors of the Company in office at any time during or since the end of the financial year are:

President: Cr Paul BELL AM
President - Local Government Association of Queensland
(Director since 5 September 2000)

Vice President: Cr Bill MITCHELL
President - Western Australia Local Government Association
(Director since 6 November 2002)

Vice President: Cr Genia McCaffery
President Local Government Association of New South Wales
(Director since 16 June 2006)

Directors

Cr Bob ABBOT
Vice President - Local Government Association of Queensland
(Director since 21 January 2005)

Cr Darryl Argall
Rural Deputy President Municipal Association of Victoria
(Appointed 1 May 2007)

Mayor Joy Baluch
President Local Government Association of South Australia
(Director since 3 April 2006)

Mr Andrew Barr
Member ACT Legislative Assembly
(Director since 14 November 2007)

Cr Ann Bennison
Vice President Local Government Association of Queensland
(Director since 17 May 2004) Resigned 28 March 2008

Mr Simon Corbell
Member ACT Legislative Assembly
(Director since 28 November 2001) Resigned 5 November 2007

Mayor Barry Easther
Vice President Local Government Association of Tasmania
(Director since 18 September 2006)

Mayor Michael Gaffney
President Local Government Association of Tasmania
(Director since 15 August 2006)

Cr Richard Gross
President Municipal Association of Victoria
(Director since 13 November 2006)

Mr John Hargreaves
Member ACT Legislative Assembly
(Director since 14 November 2007)

Mayor Bruce Miller
President The Shire Association of New South Wales
(Director since 19 March 2008)

Alderman Kerry Moir
Mayor Local Government Association of the Northern Territory
(Director since 31 May 2005)

Cr Pauline O'Connor
Deputy President Western Australian Local Government Association
(Director since 23 August 2005) Resigned 22 October 2007

Mayor Troy Pickard
Deputy President Western Australian Local Government Association
(Director since 8 February 2008)

Cr John Rich
Past President Local Government Association of South Australia
(Director since 12 October 2005)

Cr Colin Sullivan
President Local Government Association of New South Wales
(Director since 14 July 2006) Resigned 19 March 2008

Cr Ray Woolridge
Vice President Local Government Association of the Northern Territory
(Director since 14 October 2004)

Alternate Directors

Mr Barry McHugh
Local Government Association of South Australian
(Alternate Director for Mayor Joy Baluch)
(Appointed 18 April 2008)

Mr Hamish McNulty
ACT Government
(Alternate Director for Mr John Hargreaves)
(Appointed 14 November 2007)

Mr Neil Savery
ACT Government
(Alternate Director for Mr Andrew Barr)
(Appointed 14 November 2007)

Mr Mike Zissler
ACT Government
(Alternate Director for Mr John Hargreaves)
(Resigned 5 November 2007)

Statement of financial position

Balance sheet as at 30 June 2008

Current assets	2008 $	2007 $
Total current assets	2,086,768	2,222,851
Cash and cash equivalents	1,937,582	2,009,695
Trade and other receivables	4,330	122,270
Other assets	144,856	90,866

Non-current assets	2008 $	2007 $
Total non-current assets	1,673,467	1,720,973
Property, plant and equipment	1,673,467	1,720,973

Total assets

3,760,235

3,943,824

Current liabilities	2008 $	2007 $
Total current liabilities	642,500	1,013,642
Payables	502,430	897,826
Provisions	140,070	115,816

Total liabilities

642,500

1,013,642

Net assets

3,117,735

2,930,182

Equity	2008 $	2007 $
Total equity	3,117,735	2,930,182
Accumulated profits	2,663,712	2,476,159
Reserves	454,023	454,023