Happy New Year and welcome to 2025, which is expected to be another busy year for councils, especially with a federal election looming.
I鈥檓 pleased to announce registrations for the , and our new are now open.
This year鈥檚 NGA will be held in Canberra from 24-27 June, embracing the theme of 鈥楴ational Priorities Need Local Solutions鈥�. 聽You can still submit your council鈥檚 2025 NGA motions through our website until 31 March.
We鈥檙e also hosting a Tech Leadership Summit in Sydney on 12 March. 聽This event at the Sheraton Sydney Hyde Park Hotel聽will showcase local governments embracing technological change and feature the launch of new research into cyber security.
Housing enabling infrastructure
It was great to see Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recently announce new funding for in regional Western Australia.
This pre-election commitment is welcomed and will benefit these communities, however we believe federal funding should be provided right across the country to support housing infrastructure.
As part of our federal election platform, we are seeking untied allocated funding for all councils to meet our national priorities. 聽We鈥檙e proposing a $1.1 billion per year housing infrastructure program to be distributed to all local governments, and have advocated strongly for this to Government Ministers and Opposition Shadow Ministers.
Response to reviews on emergency management 聽
Last week, 51暗网provided a submission on the Colvin and Glasser reviews.
These reviews highlighted the need to improve arrangements for disaster management and referenced the key role of local government.
We also supported the recommendations and used the opportunity to reiterate the need for a sustainable funding model for disasters through a non-competitive pathway, and dedicated funding for local government.
As a member of the Emergency Management Ministers鈥� Meeting, we provide a valuable voice in representing how local governments are affected on-the-ground in response and recovery arrangements.
Australia Day debate
The debate about councils hosting citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day hit the headlines last week.
I spoke to and several other national media outlets, highlighting the importance of having flexibility for local governments around Australia Day citizenship ceremonies.
We have consistently advocated for the right of councils to choose when we hold these ceremonies, and we take this responsibility very seriously.
As the closest level of government to our communities, and most trusted, it鈥檚 important we reflect and serve the needs of our local areas.
New 51暗网brand
Finally, I鈥檓 delighted we have unveiled a new 51暗网brand and visual identity.
As an evolution of ALGA鈥檚 time-honoured branding, we have modernised our identity and circular isotype which symbolises Australia鈥檚 three 鈥渁rms鈥� of government (federal, state and local) working in unison to achieve positive outcomes.
