Media Releases

Ahead of an upcoming federal election, local councils have joined the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) to call for permanency of the Federal Bridges Renewal Program to help fix the roughly one in five local timber bridges that are in poor condition. The findings came out of the 2018 National State of the Assets: Roads+

Local government peak body, the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA), has unanimously re-elected Mayor David O’Loughlin as its president at its annual general meeting in Alice Springs. The City of Prospect mayor has served on the ALGA Board for five and a half years, including as its president for the past two years. Mayor O’Loughlin+

Findings of a poll published in a federal election advocacy document launched today have revealed that 81% of Australians agree that political candidates should focus on local issues and local communities at the next federal election. Under the theme ‘all politics is local’, the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) has launched its federal election document+

The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) congratulates and welcomes the new federal minister responsible for local government, Senator the Hon Bridget McKenzie. Senator McKenzie was appointed Minister for Regional Services, Sport, Local Government and Decentralisation in the recent announcement of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s new ministry. ALGA President, Mayor David O’Loughlin, said he looked forward+

Mayors, councillors and local government representatives have donated coats for the homeless and those in need as part of a coat drive ahead of National Coat Day, which is run by Enormity on 14 July. The coats are being collected at the 2018 National General Assembly of Local Government, currently being held at the National+

Almost 900 mayors, councillors and local government representatives have gathered at the 2018 National General Assembly of Local Government in Canberra to discuss how the sector can continue to be responsive to the diverse needs of its communities, particularly in the face of growing fiscal pressures. In his opening address to the Assembly, Mayor David+

The core driver of Australia’s long-term economic growth will be innovation and struggling rural and remote regions are being left behind, according to a report launched at the Regional Cooperation and Development Forum in Canberra today. State of the Regions 2018-19: Trade, Jobs, Growth and Inequality, the 21st edition of the report prepared by National+

The Turnbull Government’s 2018/19 Federal Budget has left local government funding untouched with funding in key programs such as Financial Assistance Grants (FAGs) and Roads to Recovery (R2R) to continue at current levels. The Federal Budget also delivered a continuation of the Bridges Renewal Program, the Black Spot Program, the Building Better Regions Fund and+

The Opposition’s call today to end the freeze to the indexation of Financial Assistance Grants (FAGs) addresses the challenges being faced by local councils as a result of the Government-imposed freeze and demonstrates that council funding must be a focus in the forthcoming budget. According to the peak national body for local government, the Australian+

The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) welcomes Queensland MP John McVeigh’s inclusion in Federal Cabinet as the new Minister for Regional Development, Territories and Local Government. His appointment – and that of Barnaby Joyce as the new Minister for Infrastructure and Transport – will ensure these crucially important portfolio areas continue to deliver results for+

The Australian Local Government Association welcomes the Federal Government’s announcement of new reforms intended to improve the focus and operation of Regional Development Australia (RDA) committees. The measures announced by Regional Development Minister Fiona Nash on Friday include a minor reduction in the number of committees, the establishment of new performance measures to enable improved+

Local councils, their residents and local government stakeholders have lit up Twitter today to showcase the important and diverse work of local government across Australia using the hashtag #YourRatesAtWork. This is the second consecutive year that the local government sector has held a National Local Government Twitter Day, with last year’s event attracting more than+

The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA), the peak body representing more than 530 councils across the country, has renewed its call for a Commonwealth-funded program to bring community infrastructure back up to scratch and promote economic development opportunities. ALGA has proposed that a Local Government Community Infrastructure Program of $300 million per annum for four+

Local government delegates have heard about current challenges and opportunities of using smart city innovations to shape their communities for the future at the 23rd National General Assembly of Local Government held in Canberra today. The Australian Local Government Association President, Mayor David O’Loughlin, said councils are well-placed to create more prosperous and innovative communities.+

The National Waste and Recycling Industry Council (NWRIC) and the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) now stand together to protect household recycling. At the May 15 NWRIC meeting in Sydney, ALGA President David O’Loughlin met with industry leaders to discuss a solution to the recent import restrictions on recycled materials sent to China. Commonly called+

Councils have applauded the Australian Government’s announcement in today’s budget to restore indexation to Financial Assistance Grants (FAGs) from 1 July 2017 as promised following a tough three-year freeze. According to the Government’s own estimates, its 2014 budget move to freeze indexation to FAGs cost local communities more than $600 million worth of services and+

The federal government should not shy away from borrowing for public infrastructure investment, particularly while interest rates are low and Australia’s economic credibility remains competitively high, argue a group of influential peak bodies. The Australian Local Government Association, Planning Institute of Australia, National Growth Areas Alliance, Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia, Australian Logistics Council,+

The peak national body representing councils Australia-wide has welcomed the recent Federal announcement of local government grants to celebrate the upcoming 50th anniversary of the 1967 Referendum, which will be commemorated during National Reconciliation Week. The grants of $5,000 to local councils will be used to work in partnership with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait+

Local councils have called on the Federal Treasurer the Hon Scott Morrison MP to deliver on the Commonwealth’s promise to restore the indexation of Financial Assistance Grants (FAGs) payments in the 2017-18 Federal budget. According to a pre-budget submission from local government peak body the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA), the Australian Government estimated that+