President's column
In response to ALGA’s advocacy for more Covid support for councils that run early childhood education and care (ECEC) services, the Federal Government announced new business continuity payments on 23 August. Local government ECEC providers with centres in Commonwealth-declared COVID hotspots in Greater Melbourne and Greater Sydney will be eligible for payments of 25 percent+
CSIRO wants greater role for thermochemical recycling of plastics
Thermochemical technologies able to help realise a circular economy for plastics in Australia are not being fully exploited, the national science agency says. A new report by the national science agency says mixed, multi-layer, flexible, or contaminated and other hard-to-recycle plastics could be readily turned back into food-grade recycled plastics or other products using chemical,+
Gillespie responds to regional GP services access concerns
Commonwealth efforts to identify regions where people face difficulties accessing GPs will be re-evaluated to address emerging local pressures. Federal Minister for Regional Health David Gillespie announced the review of the Distribution Priority Area (DPA) classification system this week. “I have heard the concerns that the current approach is not capturing current or emerging local+
‘Targeted Cwth funding needed to improve road transport’
Commonwealth funding partnerships with relevant jurisdictions are needed to improve road infrastructure, a federal parliamentary inquiry has said. The report from the inquiry into the importance of a viable, safe, sustainable, and efficient road transport industry published last week also said the federal government should: Establish a national fund to assess, maintain and upgrade freight+
New federal support for Covid-affected childcare services
Council-run early childhood education and care centres affected by Covid-19 restrictions are set to receive additional Commonwealth support. Under a new package announced last week, childcare services in Commonwealth‐declared hotspots of Greater Sydney will be eligible for payments of 25 percent of their pre‐lockdown revenue. ALGA President Linda Scott last week wrote to the Federal+