Australia's National Local Government Newspaper Online

Councils urged to become 'fit for the future'
Delegates at the Institute of Municipal Management NSW Division's Annual Conference held recently in Sydney were urged, as the Conference theme suggested, to make their Councils 'fit for the future'.

Editorial
As the clock counts down to the next millennium, communities across the nation, and the governments that represent them, face some important issues running through to our Centenary of Federation on 1 January 2001.

President's comment
Each edition we feature the views of a Local Government Association President. The following is from Councillor Brad Matheson President Municipal Association of Victoria

GST - prepare now
The GST will be implemented in just under 11 months. This is enough time for Councils to be ready if, but only if, preparations start immediately.

Wyndham's quest for quality
Conveniently located midway between Melbourne and Greater Geelong, the City of Wyndham has, for a number of years, marketed itself as Melbourne's best kept secret.

Liverpool to host Italian Olympic team
Mayor of Liverpool, George Paciullo, and the Secretary General of the Italian Olympic Committee, Raffaele Pagnozzi, have signed an agreement making Liverpool the official host City for Italy's Olympic Team for the Sydney 2000 Games.

Council enters news game
Brighton Council in Tasmania has stepped into the breach created by the slow demise of community newspapers. It has become the first Council in Tasmania to release its own community newspaper.

Business Entry Point and The New Tax System
In July, legislation for A New Tax System (ANTS) Act 1999 passed into law. One of the objectives of ANTS is to make it easier for business to conduct dealings with government by establishing a system for registering businesses or 'enterprises', and issuing them with unique identifying numbers &endash; an Australian Business Number, or ABN.

Jobs online
Melbourne's Darebin City Council has begun advertising employment opportunities on its website. Like in many Council areas, Darebin is one of the largest employers. As such it advertises around 100 positions per year.

In house training saves child care services
The development of a fully accredited Child Care Training Course has won Sydney's Sutherland Shire Council a Gold medal in the Progress in Staff Development Category of the 1999 Sydney Morning Herald/Institute of Municipal Management Awards.

'Beyond Y2K' clean management training*
Helping your people to keep your organisation 'Y2K clean', even after you have become Y2K compliant. As Australia's leading training provider in both IT and Professional Development skills, Drake understands that achieving Y2K compliance is a fundamental concern to all Australian organisations.

Executive Development program for Tasmanian Councils
Senior management and elected members from Tasmanian Councils will be able to gain important knowledge and skills through an Executive Development program covering key issues in Local Government.

Leadership program benefits community
Staff at Melbourne's Bayside City Council are gaining valuable management skills from Council's commitment to staff development programs. Recently, 60 managers and coordinators undertook a two day leadership program. The course focused on problem solving and synergy among teams.

Message from the Minister
This issue includes the latest news on Local Government issues, particularly the Federal Government's most recent initiatives in Local Government.

Strategic Partnerships
The National Office of Local Government (NOLG), part of the Regional Services and Local Government Branch of the Federal Department of Transport and Regional Services, provides advice to the Minister on Local Government issues.

First Rural Transaction Centres approved
Twelve councils have successfully secured funding in round one of the Federal Government's Rural Transaction Centres (RTC) Programme.

Leading Practice projects
Fifty Leading Practice projects were funded through the National Office of Local Government in 1998-1999.

National Awards for Innovation launched
The Federal Minister for Local Government, Senator Macdonald, recently launched the 12th National Awards For Innovation in Local Government (NAILG) at the 18th IMM National Congress in Canberra. The Awards are a major event for councils and identify and reward Local Government bodies who are developing and implementing innovative, resourceful practices that lead to an improvement in government outcomes.

GST update
As a service to Local Government, we intend to give a regular update in The National Perspective on developments with the Government's tax reform package and in particular the broad-based Goods and Services Tax (GST).