Past Programs
Government - Local - 2008
Recycling
09/09/2008
After you've separated out the plastics, papers, bottles and cans and wheeled the bin out to the kerb, do you ever wonder what happens to the contents? Our record on newspaper recycling is among the best in the world and we're now recycling 600 million more aluminium cans than we were 10 years ago. Paper, plastic and glass are the most frequently recycled materials because they're collected through local kerbside recycling services and about 90 per cent of households have access to them.
What's emerging as an increasing problem though is e-waste. Each year, Australians buy more than 2.4 million personal computers and more than a million televisions. Add to that the fact that there are more mobile phones in this country than there are people and you get an idea of the size of the problem. So how do we deal with our increasing waste stream and whatever happened to the first two Rs in the three step campaign: reduce, reuse and recycle?
The challenges facing local government
11/03/2008
Local government is at the cutting edge of delivering services, yet it isn't even acknowledged in Australia's constitution. There are over 700 local governments around the country and they're responsible for over 130 billion dollars worth of infrastructure. Yet, in New South Wales there are currently seven councils under administration, and questions are being raised about the relationship between local council approval processes and developers. How do we make local government more efficient, more accountable and more supported? Your ideas please on our message board...and call us on 1300 22 55 76
Gunns proposed pulp mill - the latest developments
06/02/2008
Legal action is underway to put the approval back through the courts, and a poll of affected local residents conducted by the Tasmanian Electoral Commission indicates a closely divided community. Meanwhile the mill's potential financiers - the ANZ bank - await the outcome of their own technical review. Should the mill proceed?
