Australia's National Local Government Newspaper Online

$2.7 billion surplus yet communities still losing out
Achieving the Budget surplus has come at a cost, not the least for Councils and the communities they serve. According to Councillor John Campbell, President of the Australian Local Government Association, the failure of the 1998 Budget to reverse last year's cuts to Local Government funding will mean ongoing reductions in services to local communities.

Editorial
The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) is rightly concerned that, in spite of the 1998 Budget delivering a $2.7 billion surplus, reductions in Local Government funding have not been restored. Cuts across the board, impacting on all sectors of the community, may be justified on the basis of needing to 'get back in the black', but for them to continue in light of a hefty surplus is open to challenge.

President's comment
Each edition we feature the views of a State Local Government Association President. The following is from Councillor John Jago, President of Victorian Local Governance Association.

Kempsey's CivicView has wide application for LG
Kempsey Shire Council in NSW, with a reputation for an excellent working knowledge of the application of geographic information systems in a Local Government framework, has recently launched a new software package called CivicView. The technology has evolved from mapping into a complete package using a windows environment.

Burnie's City Link a winner
While City Link will be familiar to Victorian readers as the name of the widesweeping infrastructure changes revolutionising road transport in Melbourne, in Burnie Tasmania, City Link refers to the road to better promotion of its Central Business District with Burnie City Council playing a pivotal role.

Council buys local industry
Faced with the loss of a long standing local meat packing company, an industry generating employment for 130 people, and millions of dollars of cashflow, Victoria's Colac Otway Shire took the bold decision to buy the company.

Ashfield supports our Paralympians
Following in the footsteps of Cairns City Council, which promoted community donations to support our Olympic athletes, Ashfield Council in Sydney is the first Council in Australia to become a Benefactor of the Paralympic Patrons' fund for the Paralympic Games in October 2000.

Intranet improves service
A new 'Intranet' service launched this month by Waverley Council will give local residents and Council staff better access to in house information. It is also expected to reduce paper consumption by over 40 percent.

Helping business get on with the job
Governments at all levels across Australia are making it easier for small and medium-sized businesses to obtain helpful information, and reduce the amount of paperwork and the cost of dealing with government. Recent initiatives implemented by governments in the ACT, Tasmania and Victoria are making it easier for business to get the information they need, leaving them free to get on with the job.

Customs and super information in BizLink
BizLink can now help Australian Businesses with more information on Customs and on superannuation. Two new modules on these topics were released in March 1998. If you subscribe to BizLink, you don't have to ring, you don't have to visit, the information you need is on your computer.

Huon Valley's Healthy Rivers Project
Formed in 1993 through the amalgamations of Esperance, Port Cygnet and Huon Councils, Huon Valley Council has made a concerted effort to support Landcare activities. This has primarily occurred under the umbrella of the Huon Healthy Rivers Project and a philosophy of integrated catchment management.

Natural Resource Management through Bushcare
Australian Local Governments have a unique role in improving natural resource management. While the specific roles and responsibilities of Local Governments differ between States, all Australian Councils have a range of regulatory and planning powers that influence the way in which local natural resources are managed.

Solution for green waste
Sydney's Concord Council recently hosted the launch of a new model for recycling garden waste called Garden to Garden. Developed by Waste Service NSW, Garden to Garden is part of the State Government's proposal to ban garden waste from entering landfill.

Manly launches conservation strategy
The launch of its Conservation Strategy as part of Heritage Week has built ecological sustainability into every facet of Manly Council's activities for the next 10 years.

Changing emphasis reduces waste in Glenorchy
Turning the emphasis from garbage collection to recycling has brought many benefits for Tasmania's City of Glenorchy. In a break with tradition, Council has decided to introduce recycling services on a weekly basis while reducing household garbage collection to a fortnightly service using 140 litre wheelie bins.

Campaspe wins National Landcare Award
Victoria's Shire of Campaspe has won the Telstra National Landcare Award for its ongoing commitment to the preservation and management of the local environment.

Denmark wins 1998 Tidy Town
Denmark in Western Australia is the winner of the 1998 Mitsubishi Tidy Towns Award. After being a finalist three years in a row, Denmark is the first national winner from Western Australia. With a population of 4,000, the town has a very strong environmental ethos and a high degree of community involvement with 96 percent of residents participating in projects to improve the environment.

Councils call for toxic waste inquiry
Seven Councils in Melbourne's west and north west have joined together to call for a State Government Inquiry into the management, treatment and disposal of industrial waste.

Big wheels or little cogs diversity in Local Government
In welcoming delegates to the Institute of Municipal Management's 17th National Congress, Federal President, Alf Mott said that the Congress is centered on Local Government achieving excellence through diversity. He said that as private sector corporations are focusing on specialisation to improve their performance and competitiveness, Local Government by its very nature is an extremely diverse industry.

Are we an economy or a society?
Social activist, Rev Tim Costello, challenges the managerial approach that is permeating Local Government, particularly in regard to human services delivery and community development. He believes using words such as business units, markets and stakeholders, with citizenship being replaced by customers or consumers, is a big mistake.

Turning the governance map upside down
Phillip Adams, renowned journalist and Chair of the Australia Day Council, said that every international and global problem comes home to roost exactly where you live. He believes that referring to Local Government as the 'third' tier of government is simply wrong. The map should be turned up the other way, with Local Government at the top.

Intellectual horsepower of LG
Lord Mayor of Brisbane, Councillor Jim Soorley, described managers as the 'intellectual horsepower of Local Government'. Speaking on the topic, 'Local Government in the Context of an Australian Republic', he challenged managers to display their leadership in the reform agenda as Australia seeks out the best form of governance to lead us into the next millennium.

Yarra wins management challenge
Victoria's City of Yarra has won the 1998 Australasian Active Learning Management Challenge. This year, 76 teams and 450 Local Government officers participated in this highly regarded annual professional development exercise.

Diverse challenges for CEOs
Rolf Gerritsen, Professor of Local Government and Applied Policy at the University of Canberra, has recently participated in an international study of Local Government Chief Executive Officers. He said that the diversity in the role of Australian CEOs is partly due to the fact that we have eight separate Local Government systems. However, he believes a stronger factor is the bimodal culture difference between the rural and urban CEO.