President’s column – 12 November 2021

Our strong advocacy
for greater targeted funding support for local government mitigation projects paid
off last week with the release of the guidelines for the local communities
component of the Preparing Australia Program.

I’m pleased
to report that the Preparing Australian Communities Program is now open to all
local government areas at high risk of disasters (not just the 110
disaster-declared ones).

Projects
under $100,000 will no longer require a co-contribution – another welcome
outcome of our close and continuing relationship with the Australian Government
and the National Recovery and Resilience Agency.

Planning
and awareness-raising projects will also be free of the need for
co-contributions, which is fantastic news for our smaller rural and regional
councils.

Every dollar
invested in disaster mitigation delivers significant environmental, economic
and social dividends, including new jobs, stronger local economic growth, lower
insurance premiums, and faster reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

The PAP guidelines
have been provided four weeks ahead of the program opening on 10 December. Applications
close on 6 January 2022, so we will need to move fast to identify and submit
potential projects.

Bank branch closures can have devastating economic – and social – impacts on communities in remote and regional Australia, which is a point I made clear when I appeared at the first Federal Regional Banking Taskforce meeting this week.

ALGA’s
research has shown that the number of bank branches and ATMs has steadily
declined over the past few years, a trend that’s likely to continue.

Local
councils can use their influence and business contacts to try to influence
banks or alternative providers to remain or set up in affected communities.

But the
banks’ gradual retreat from a physical presence in many small communities
further underlines the importance of equitable telecommunications access for
all Australians, which is why we’re calling for the continued funding of the
Commonwealth’s Regional Connectivity Program, at a rate of $55 million over the
next four years.

Thanks
to the Hon Kon Vatskalis and Cr Peter Clee for the opportunity last week to
brief delegates at LGANT’s annual conference on ALGA’s federal election
priorities.

While
it’s likely the election won’t be called until early next year, we’ve already
started to highlight opportunities for an incoming Federal Government to work
with us to ensure local communities aren’t left behind in our national recovery.

This has included the role that increased Financial Assistance Grants could play in addressing our nation’s skills shortage, as well as how we can help the Federal Government deliver on its net-zero commitments.

You can stay up to date with our advocacy work and key funding and policy announcements by following ALGA on LinkedIn and Twitter, and I would encourage you to connect with us through these channels.

Linda Scott,
ALGA President