More than 1,000 new Indigenous rangers to be employed

The federal government will fund up to 1,089 new Indigenous rangers over the next six years.

4 April, 2022

$500m win for roads and community infrastructure

Councils have received $500m to deliver priority projects via the  Local Roads and Community Infrastructure program in the federal budget.

29 March, 2022

Budget to deliver $17.9b for road, rail projects

The federal budget will contain $17.9 billion for infrastructure projects, boosting the investment pipeline to more than $120 billion.

28 March, 2022

Council resources to form part of productivity review

The use of resources by local councils will come under the spotlight in a Productivity Commission inquiry.

21 February, 2022

Report reveals $400 million cycling infrastructure spend

State and local governments spent more than $400 million on cycling related infrastructure and programs in 2020.

21 October, 2021

Government posts ‘inadvertently’ wiped after Facebook ban

Government sites found themselves caught up in Facebook’s media ban.

18 February, 2021

Budget’s ‘vote of confidence’ in councils

The federal budget offers a lifeblood to local government to drive economic recovery, councils say.

6 October, 2020

Treasurer stands by ATO after $60b JobKeeper bungle

The Treasurer is standing by his department despite a $60 billion JobKeeper error.

25 May, 2020

Infrastructure, drought funds in MYEFO

The mid-year economic update has $4.2 billion in new and accelerated infrastructure spending.

16 December, 2019

What are the states’ different positions on the NEG?

As energy ministers meet with their federal counterpart Josh Frydenberg, Tony Wood’s guide compares the states’ various stances on the future of the National Energy Guarantee.

9 August, 2018

Governments should buy recycled material: inquiry

Commonwealth departments and state and local governments would adopt more explicit ‘green procurement’ policies under measures recommended by a Senate committee.

2 July, 2018

Mixed reaction to environment ministers’ recycling agreement

Local government welcomes new pledge to tackle waste but recycling industry says implementation detail and funding are missing.

1 May, 2018

Opinion – Hot summer, but no end to climate wars

Record-breaking temperatures across Australia have seen no end to the continued bickering over climate and energy policy in Australia. The release of Keating-era cabinet papers from 1994 show that the Governmnet was struggling with how to address the issue even then. In 1992, Environment Minister Ros Kelly had signed Australia up to the new UN […]

11 January, 2018

Even the Productivity Commission wants a carbon price – OPINION

They didn’t make a big deal of it, but the Productivity Commission’s new five-year overview report, commissioned by the Federal Government, has recommended the introduction of a carbon price. The productivity commission is of course an advisory body, and the Government has explicitly ruled out a price on carbon or anything that can even remotely […]

24 October, 2017