Workshops are underway on the draft Performance Reporting Framework which has been designed to improve transparency and accountability in local government.

Fears that Victorian councils could be worse off under Constitutional recognition of local government have been confirmed today with the Gillard Government releasing proposed wording changes to the Australian Constitution.

The Victorian Coalition Government opposes the recognition of local government in the Australia Constitution because Victorian councils could be left worse off.

Monash and Moonee Valley councils are set to be the first in the state to have proposed differential rates banned under new Victorian Coalition Government guidelines to restore simplicity and consistency to municipal rating.

Key decision-makers from Victoria’s 48 rural and regional councils will join representatives from the state and federal government; thinkers and researchers; and leaders in business and industry at Lakes Entrance this week for the Rural Councils Victoria annual summit.

Victoria’s 48 regional and rural councils will come together for this weekend’s Regional Victoria Living Expo at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre to showcase towns and regions across the state.

Getting the best value for ratepayers will now be easier for Victoria’s 79 local councils, with the launch of the Victorian Local Government Best Practice Procurement Guidelines 2013 in Ballarat today by Minister for Local Government Jeanette Powell.

A Victorian Coalition Government review of local government differential rating powers has found councils should provide lower differential rates for farm land within their municipalities, Minister for Local Government Jeanette Powell said today.

Victorian councils will now be required to apply a simpler, more consistent and transparent rates system following the release of new Ministerial guidelines on the use of differential rates, Minister for Local Government Jeanette Powell announced today.

Minister for Local Government Jeanette Powell officially launched the 2013 Premiers’ Reading Challenge for Victorian school and pre-school children at Prahran Library today.

Leadership was on the agenda for a meeting between Minister for Local Government and Aboriginal Affairs Jeanette Powell and members of the Alpine Valley Community Leadership Program at Parliament House.

Library lovers in West Gippsland will see a new rig rolling into town soon with the new mobile library prime mover hitting the road.

The new $2.24 million Merbein library was officially opened today by Minister for Local Government Jeanette Powell, giving local people a contemporary library promoting lifelong learning and community connections.

The Wangaratta Rural City Council has been given six weeks to renew its Councillor Code of Conduct, Minister for Local Government Jeanette Powell said today.

Minister for Local Government Jeanette Powell officially launched the 2013 Premiers’ Reading Challenge at Shepparton Library today, with students from the local campus of Sirius College.

One of the busiest community spaces in Moonee Valley is prepared for even more people to enjoy its services and activities, following the launch of the extension to the Avondale Heights Library and Learning Centre today.

Minister for Local Government Jeanette Powell today urged all library users to have a say on the future of Victoria’s public libraries as part of a public consultation on Tomorrow’s Library.

Minister for Local Government Jeanette Powell today held the first meeting of the 2013 Ministerial-Mayors Advisory Panel (MMAP) in Melbourne which is tasked with improving the interaction between both levels of government.