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Regional growth and development must be given higher priority to secure Australia鈥檚 future prosperity, a new federal parliamentary report has found. To that end, the House of Representatives Select Committee on Regional Australia has advised the Australian government to develop a nationwide regional development plan focused on current and future infrastructure needs. The committee鈥檚 Pride+

The Council of Mayors of (SEQ) has signed off on a South East Queensland City Deal with the Commonwealth and Queensland state governments. Implementation of the 20-year deal signed on 21 March is expected later this year. In all, around $1.8 billion will be invested in projects to drive jobs growth across SE Queensland, enhance+

Local and state governments should be incentivised to streamline planning and regulatory approvals and increase housing supply, a parliamentary inquiry has said. The Standing Committee on Tax and Revenue鈥檚 report on the contribution of tax and regulation said that while land use policy is a state and local government responsibility the Australian government can play+

A new Infrastructure Australia report has identified 479 regional infrastructure gaps across sectors such as housing, education, public transport, and water security. The Regional Strengths and Infrastructure Gaps report is the first by the by independent infrastructure advisor that looks solely at Australia鈥檚 regions and provides a snapshot of their key strengths and infrastructure deficits.+

A Victorian parliamentary inquiry wants the state government to advocate for a greater proportion of Commonwealth revenue to be allocated for councils. The inquiry into Commonwealth Support for Victoria conducted by the Legislative Assembly Economy and Infrastructure Committee noted that councils in regional and rural Victoria rely heavily on Commonwealth Financial Assistance Grants to provide+

A new CSIRO bushfire research facility is set to begin work on developing a better understanding of how bushfires behave and the best ways to respond. Built at a cost of $2.1 million, the new National Bushfire Behaviour Research Laboratory in Canberra will house the CSIRO鈥檚 Pyrotron and Vertical Wind Tunnel (VWT). The Pyrotron is+

A new Regional Airports Program (RAP) funding round with $29 million available for airport and aerodrome upgrades has opened for applications. Under Round 3, grants of between $20,000 and $5 million are available to cover up to 50 percent of the cost of eligible projects. These include runway resurfacing to ensure safer landings, drainage works+

The Federal Government will invest an additional $10 million each year for the next four years in the successful Bridges Renewal Program (BRP). The pre-Budget announcement means annual funding disbursements from the BRP will rise to $95 million. Last year, the Commonwealth revised the program to enable state, territory and local governments to lodge grant+

NSW鈥檚 state planning agency will hold an independent inquiry into how effectively governments and their agencies responded to the February/March floods. The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) inquiry will report on the causes of, preparedness for, response to, and recovery from the catastrophic floods and will be headed by NSW Independent Planning Commission+

The Federal Government will draw down on the Emergency Response Fund (ERF) to inject an additional $150 million into flood-ravaged areas of NSW and Queensland. Queensland and NSW will each receive $75 million to spend where it is determined it is most needed, with the flood disaster affecting at least 81 local government areas across+

Local government鈥檚 integral role in disaster recovery has been featured in a new podcast produced by the Creative Recovery Network. The podcast details how the Scenic Rim Regional Council worked with community members to develop the ReGeneration Creative Bushfire Recovery Project after the Black Summer bushfires. Scenic Rim Councillor Virginia West and cultural coordinator Bronwyn+

Industry forums that support transformative technologies will be in the spotlight at next month鈥檚 IPWEA International Public Works Conference in Adelaide. The event, Australasia鈥檚 largest infrastructure asset management conference, will include panel discussions on deploying asset tracking, smart lighting, and smart parking systems. Marcos Arizti, whose asset tracking technology start-up was funded by the EU鈥檚+

The governments of 175 nations worldwide have agreed to start working towards a global agreement on the production, use, and disposal of plastics. The proposal for a legally binding treaty follows a UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) meeting in Nairobi, Kenya earlier this month. Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), said the+

Efforts to prevent, reduce, and treat, overweight and obesity have been boosted with the release of a 10-year national action framework. Australia鈥檚 National Obesity Strategy 2022-32聽aims to halt and reverse the prevalence of adult obesity and reduce overweight and obesity in children and adolescents by at least five percent by 2030. Sixty-seven percent of Australian+

Over 540 mobile network resilience upgrades will go ahead after another Mobile Network Hardening Program (MNHP) funding round. Optus, Telstra, and TPG Telecom will undertake the upgrades, having successfully applied for a share of $10.9 million Under Round 2 of the MNHP program. The successful projects include installing permanent power generators, boosted battery reserves, transmission+

A Commonwealth grant program supporting community and elite sports events in rural and regional Australia has opened for applications. The Regional Sport Events Fund will disburse up to $1.9 million through two funding streams, with grants of up to $50,000 available to eligible local governments. These grants will enable councils to partner with their local+

A new battery recycling scheme aims to redirect 90 percent of used power cells away from landfills for recycling into the circular economy. Launched last week, the B-cycle Scheme is a Battery Stewardship Council (BSC) initiative that was enabled by a $1 million investment from the Commonwealth government. The scheme comprises 2351 drop-off points at+

Councils can apply for new funding of $127.9 million to integrate zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) technology into their vehicle fleet operations. The money is being disbursed under the Federal Government鈥檚 Future Fuels Program and will be available for light vehicle fleet operators to install charging and electrical infrastructure. Heavy fleet operators will also be able to+

The Federal Government has committed $678 million to seal and upgrade the Outback Way, which stretches 2720km from Laverton in WA to Winton in Queensland. The Commonwealth鈥檚 funding commitment represents 80 percent of the total funding聽package, with the WA, Qld and NT governments providing the remaining 20 percent. The Mayor of Queensland鈥檚 Boulia Shire Council,+

The Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) has become the fifth product stewardship arrangement to receive Commonwealth accreditation. The accreditation signifies APCO鈥檚 scheme has been verified for environmental and human health outcomes and means APCO and its members can use the federal government鈥檚 official product stewardship logo. Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environment Management Trevor+

The Federal Government has rejected advice that it develop and implement a national homelessness strategy with state, territory, and local governments. The recommendation was one of 35 contained in the final report into homelessness in Australia conducted by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs. In its response to the+

Communities still struggling to recover from the devastating 2019-20 bushfires are set to receive a further $110 million in federal support. The money is in addition to the $280 million originally set aside for the Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Grants program and will fund 524 grants identified by affected communities as likely to best support+

The national biosecurity strategy consultation draft has been publicly released for comment. This will be Australia鈥檚 first national biosecurity strategy and will set the direction for the future of the national biosecurity system. The consultation draft reflects stakeholder views about how the biosecurity system needs to evolve. It also outlines a 鈥渧ision and purpose, priority+

The Hope Vale Aboriginal Shire Council has become the latest among dozens of councils in eastern Australia to be offered disaster assistance after floods. Hope Vale will get help through jointly funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA), along with the Cook and Douglas Shire Councils. Public infrastructure in all three Far North Queensland LGAs+

Councils are increasingly expected to facilitate telecommunications service delivery in the outback but aren鈥檛 properly resourced to do so, an inquiry has found. The 2021 Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee (RTIRC) singled out identifying connectivity needs and deploying suitable solutions as areas where councils needed more resourcing It also found federal, state, and territory governments+

A new program to help fund projects to mitigate the impacts on local communities of coastal hazards will open for applications in March. The Coastal and Estuarine Risk Mitigation Program, which is being funded $50 million from the Emergency Response Fund, will invest in: Priority national coastal hazard risk mitigation measures such as grey, blue+

Local community organisations will be able to access federal money to plant trees under a new program celebrating the Queen鈥檚 Platinum Jubilee. Running for three years from 2021-24, the Planting Trees for the Queen鈥檚 Jubilee program will provide up to $15.1 million of grant funding to eligible groups and organisations for community-based tree plantings. Each+

A federal inquiry into small business natural disaster preparedness and how to improve the resilience of small and medium-sized enterprises has begun. The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) inquiry will examine and make recommendations to improve education and engagement programs to best target and assist small businesses in preparing for fires, floods,+

The design of the national reinsurance pool for cyclone and related flood damage has been finalised after consultations on the draft legislation. The Commonwealth-backed reinsurance pool was announced last May to help reduce significant rates of non-insurance rates across North Queensland, the Northern Territory, and the top end of Western Australia. The Morrison Government says+

Thirteen Victorian recycling projects have secured a share of $36.5 million in Round 2 funding from the Recycling Victoria-Recycling Modernisation Fund (RV-RMF). The RV-RMF is a Victorian/federal government partnership delivering grant funding over three years to upgrade and establish new recycling facilities. The 13 projects include an expansion of Garden City Plastics鈥� Dandenong facility to+

Round 9 of the Commonwealth鈥檚 Remote Airstrip Upgrade Program opened on 3 February, with grants of up to $3 million are on offer for eligible applicants. A total of $15 million is available in Round 9, with eligible aerodrome owners or operators able to apply for a grant of between $5,000 and $3 million. Aerodromes+

Federal Government efforts to mitigate the impacts of light pollution on nocturnal wildlife are being extended to include night skies famed for star-gazing. Australia鈥檚 relatively dark skies are a magnet for astronomers and night sky gazers of all kinds, and three regions in NSW, Queensland and SA have been officially designated as dark sky places+

Fourteen local government areas in South Australia鈥檚 north have been deemed eligible for financial assistance to help with flood recovery. With road and rail links still affected by the impacts of ex-tropical cyclone Tiffany, the Commonwealth and SA governments will jointly fund repairs to key public infrastructure through the Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).+

A free webinar this month will explore the Murray-Darling Basin鈥檚 economic and social value and how science is being used to protect it for the future. Attendees will hear from Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) member Susan Madden, as well as Megan Winter (the general manager of the MDBA Basin Plan) and David Galeano (Assistant Secretary+

Local governments and local government associations are being invited to nominate projects for the 2022 Resilient Australia Awards. The awards recognise outstanding contributions to building whole-of-community resilience to disasters and emergencies around Australia and are sponsored by the Federal Government in partnership with the states and territories. Nominations for the awards, which are managed by+

Melbourne鈥檚 Brimbank City Council will attach high-resolution cameras and GPS sensors to its garbage trucks in a trial aimed at improving local roads. The devices will collect data in real-time and transmit it to a cloud-based system that can create an easy-to-use map of assets that require maintenance, such as damaged roads, traffic signs, or+