President’s Update – 7 July 2025
What a week in the nation’s capital for our 31st National General Assembly.
I sincerely thank the record number of 1300 Mayors, Shire Presidents and Councillors from across Australia who attended our successful 2025 NGA to learn, network and share ideas.
There were many memorable moments across the four-day event, including the welcome address by Australia’s Governor General Her Excellency the Honourable Sam Mostyn AC, who spoke about community resilience, local engagement and the need to nurture civic leadership in our young people.
The conference is often dubbed “local government week” with its own gravitational pull of getting the right people in the right room at the right time.
Throughout the week, we heard from several Federal Ministers, including Finance Minister Senator Katy Gallagher, Local Government and Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain and Assistant Minister for Climate Change Josh Wilson. Shadow Ministers also spoke at the NGA, including Shadow Special Minister for State James McGrath, Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories Dr Anne Webster, Shadow Veterans Affairs Minister Darren Chester, and Shadow Minister for Trade and Tourism Kevin Hogan.
Another highlight was the launch of ALGA’s ground-breaking new climate adaptation research on 26 June. The Adapting Together: Local Government Leadership in a Changing Climate report showed councils are expected to spend more than $2 billion over the next five years to support their communities from the changing climate. I did several media interviews about the new research, including with The Australian newspaper. Of note, I also discussed how significant formula based funds could give councils the certainty to press on with this urgent work.
On top of the Assembly, we enabled a record 50 side events from across our member associations and key local government groups. I also valued the discussions on how to better support councils with renewable transitions with Climate Change Authority Chair the Hon Matt Kean and Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner Tony Mahar.
All in all, the conference was a stand-out event, and I want to give a big thanks to everyone who took part—including ALGA’s Board members—and the ALGA team for their hard work.
I also acknowledge our foundation sponsors and corporate partners, who helped to make the NGA such a memorable experience. Without this generous and ongoing support, we couldn’t bring you such a popular annual event.
A summary of the four days is outlined in the NGA Communique and you can also check out NGA photos.
FA grants early payment
We recently welcomed the Federal Government’s early payment of Financial Assistance Grants to all councils, who received 50 per cent of their 2025-26 allocation before the new financial year.
We understand the ongoing challenges of not knowing when these funds will be received each year, given this was previously provided to local governments as a stimulus payment.
We continue to push to break the ‘catch-up cycle’, and seek for this to be addressed in the final report of the Federal Government’s financial sustainability inquiry.
2025 Roads Congress in Bendigo
A friendly reminder to register for the 2025 National Local Roads, Transport and Infrastructure Congress to be held in Bendigo, in regional Victoria from 11-12 November.
We will be releasing more details about the program and guest speakers in the coming weeks.