"Resource sharing" may be the mantra of the NSW Government for councils, but cost-sharing ideas still have to clear the competition regulator. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has conditionally approved the six-member Inner Sydney Waste Management Group of Councils jointly tendering and contracting for services to process organic waste and sell any byproducts. Climate conference Dr Rajendra Pachauri, the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change, will address the Ninth World Congress of Metropolis in Sydney to be held on October 22 to 25. Metropolis is an organisation which represents global cities with a population of more than 1 million. The actor Cate Blanchett will be another speaker in her role as joint artistic director of the Sydney Theatre Company. Filming money Councils have been asked to provide a list of the costs they incur when films are shot in their area. The NSW Film and Television Office is developing a filming protocol for local government under which council charges to filmmakers must be limited to recovering costs. Submissions can be made to kblondin@fto.nsw.gov.au before October 20. Penrith's gold award Penrith City Council has won the gold award for corporate sustainability in the Local Government Managers Association excellence awards. The council has developed a range of sustainability indicators based on the United Nations Environment Program against which council operations are measured for social, economic and environmental sustainability.

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