Bulletin (PDF 18.3 MB) - City of Armadale

Information BulletinCorrespondence & PapersPage Cor-20programs consistent with national goals on time and within budget such as the recentRegional and Local Community Infrastructure Program.Information on how to apply is available at: www.healthyactive.gov.au and the currentapplication round which will close on 4 February 2011. I encourage councils and regionalorganisations of councils to seize this wonderful opportunity to enhance the quality of life ofour communities.Cr Genia McCafferyALGA PresidentMeeting with Minister for Indigenous EmploymentALGA's Chief Executive Adrian Beresford-Wylie met with the Minister for IndigenousEmployment, Senator Mark Arbib, at his request, on 23 November to discuss Indigenousemployment in local government. Minister Arbib was interested in our views on theAustralian Centre for Excellence in Local Government (ACELG) Green Paper on this issue andthe meeting followed a meeting his office had last week with the LGMA. ALGA emphasisedthe good work many councils were doing in this area (albeit that data is poor on theproportion of Indigenous employees in local government).Minister Arbib is very keen to engage councils and to ensure that they are taking fulladvantage of existing programs to provide funding to support Indigenous employment. ALGAtook the opportunity to reinforce earlier representations by the Local GovernmentAssociation of the Northern Territory about the problems that cessation of CDEP funding on30 June 2011 will cause for hundreds of Indigenous employees with councils.Indigenous employment courseTen young Indigenous men from South Australia have taken their first steps on the path tocareer success, armed with new skills, graduating from the Indigenous EmploymentDevelopment Course (IEDC).Developed in 2009, the IEDC aims to prepare Aboriginal people with the necessary skills andconfidence to seek employment in the wider community.In the first course held in South Australia, ten participants aged from 17-24 from PortLincoln, Ceduna and Murray Bridge, trained in English language, literacy and numeracyskills, general life skills, and learnt about health and fitness levels, leadership andteamwork abilities.The IEDC program is a collaboration between the Australian Government, RegionalDevelopment Australia, the South Australian Government and the Australian Defence Force.The Australian Government has committed more than $750 million over five years to theIndigenous Employment Program, to assist Indigenous Australians into ongoing, sustainablework.Qld Liberal backs constitutional recognitionThe new Liberal Member for Ryan in Queensland, Jane Prentice, got off to a good start byspeaking passionately in Parliament this week on the need for constitutional recognition of