By Staff Writer

Commissioned by the Australian Local Government Association and prepared by leading economic consultancy, National Economics, the State of the Regions 2008-09 report will be released today at the Local Government Constitutional Summit in Melbourne.

Early indications from ALGA suggest this year’s report will present a sobering snapshot of how Australia’s regions are performing in areas such as:

• The regional costs of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions abatement;
• The impact of the global financial crisis;
• The unsustainable level of national debt;
• How broadband must be boosted to make Australia internationally competitive; and
• The failure of the knowledge economy to spread outside of the existing knowledge-intensive regions.

The Local Government Constitutional Summit – A Special National General Assembly is being held today at Melbourne’s Convention and Exhibition Centre and will conclude on Wednesday.

ALGA is convening the Summit to bring local government together to discuss and debate formal recognition and local government’s place in the Constitution.

The Summit will come to reach agreement on a preferred option for a Constitutional Amendment.