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Building collaborative, inclusive communities

President of the Local Government Association of Tasmania, Mayor Lynn Mason, said that the key theme to come out of the 88th Local Government Annual Conference was that successful Councils are those that include their citizens.

Meeting in Hobart on 5-7 June, the Conference was jointly hosted by the Local Government Association of Tasmania, the Tasmanian Divisions of the Institute of Municipal Management and Institute of Municipal Engineering Australia, and the Local Government Community Development Association (Tas).

Presenting the keynote address, Futurist and Author Richard Neville, said that in this, the 'Information Age', the world is getting smaller and within this global context the importance of Local Government is increasing.

"Local politics is now being focused on much more by people," he said.

"With information being today's major commodity, and its availability rapidly changing, knowledge is a shared transaction that thrives on collaboration.

"But it is what you do with this information that really counts. Bringing down the walls between Council and your community is vital."

Richard Neville told delegates that the future is unsure and mysterious, but not necessarily unknown.

"You need to take stock of people's insecurity and the social costs where individuals cannot see a future, such as depression and suicide," he said.

"Inclusiveness is the key to allaying people's anxieties, fear and disempowerment."

He said that Local Government is ideally positioned to empower people to start turning things around, to engage in the future, to do things they have never done before and be part of a collaborative age.

In the session on Aboriginal Land Transfers, Rodney Gibbons, Manager of Tasmania's Office of Aboriginal Affairs, said that a lack of understanding between Aboriginal and non Aboriginal people is creating confusion and uncertainty over land issues.

"Councils must persevere," he said. "They need to look at the issues in their area and work with the local Aboriginal and non Aboriginal community to resolve issues."

Rodney Gibbons pointed to the Australian Local Government Association's Declaration on Reconciliation that outlines strategies to move forward.

He urged Councils to involve the Aboriginal community in Local Government by encouraging people to run for Council and establishing Aboriginal Advisory Groups.

Professor Jeff Malpas from the University of Tasmania spoke on the issue of 'Governing Locally, Governing Ethically'.

He said ethics is simply about recognising various interests exist and then adjudicating between these interests.

"Legal and practical approaches are not always ethical," Professor Malpas said.

"Ethical conduct requires communication, negotiation and facilitation, and then ensuring decisions are communicated, including why they have been made.

"The challenge is to relate to all groups, to communicate and allow others to have their say."

In officially opening the conference, Tasmania's Governor, Sir Guy Green, said that while modern management principles are important, they should not always be applied wholesale to Local Government.

"Many of these principles have been developed by the private sector, however, Local Government is not there to make a profit but to serve the community," the Governor said.

"Councils are making a special contribution to democracy in Australia. Local Government has an increasingly important role in the affairs of our communities and our democracy."

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