Past Programs
Government - Local - 2008
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Planning laws get personal for Victorian councils
24/10/2008
If recent events in Wollongong tell us anything, it's that planning permits, assertive developers and local government can be a lethal mix when you don't have safeguards in place to manage the process. That's why it may surprise you to hear that the Victorian government's plan to beef up legislation dealing with conflict of interest in local government hasn't been well-received. In fact, many councillors are up in arms over the reforms, arguing that environmental and community activists who have been elected to their council to oppose development may be denied the right to vote on planning issues on the grounds of conflict of interest. The proposed legislation is creating a kerfuffle in Victoria, with civil libertarians speaking out and minor parties in the state's upper house vowing to vote against the changes. But the government is also receiving support from some unexpected places.
Green-shoe brigade Read Transcript
10/10/2008
Forget the panama-hat wearing, McMansion building impresarios: peer-group pressure may soon force the white-shoe brigade to change its footwear. For example, Gold Coast property developer Bruce Mitchell is embracing the colour green, claiming to have built Australia's first carbon-neutral industrial estate, capable of supplying its own water and power needs. Yet surprisingly, he says finding the right technology for the job wasn't a problem but getting banks to give him financial backing was. Apparently, the big financial institutions found all of these new-fangled solar panels and water-tanks a bit too wacky. But here's the interesting part: savings in the running cost of the development are enough to cover any additional outlay in getting the development up and running. Can carbon-neutral be cost-neutral as well?
Who's next in Lyne?
22/08/2008
On September the 6th there will be a by-election in the NSW north coast electorate of Lyne, caused by the resignation of former National Party Leader Mark Vaile. The seat has always been held by the Nationals (and before that the Country Party), but that could change even though the ALP will not contest this election. Independent (and former National) Rob Oakeshott is expected to give the Nationals' Rob Drew a run for his money. We speak to them both about their chances, and what it means for the Nationals.
Drought-proof or in water denial?
28/03/2008
Queensland's Water Commission has released a drought-proofing strategy, which it says guarantees that residents will never again have to bucket water on to their gardens. It's a 50-year strategy which holds open the possibility of building more desalination plants beyond the one already under construction on the Gold Coast. It also includes provision for the use of purified recycled water. Isn't strange, then, that the Queensland city of Toowoomba voted overwhelmingly against recycled water in a 2006 plebiscite? So, water will flow again, but to mention the e-word (effluent) may still be too politically unpalatable.
Mega mayors
07/03/2008
Municipal elections are, by definition, parochial affairs. But what happens when local governments become big - really big? Next weekend, Queenslanders will vote in the first local government elections since the recent, painful, council amalgamations. In what amounted to a brutal game of musical chairs last year, half of the councils were scrapped in one, fell swoop by the Beattie government. The mergers created 36 new mega-councils, and some of them are so large that the outcome of the March 15 polls will take on national significance.
