Australia's National Local Government Newspaper Online

Councils leading by example
The National Office of Local Government has commenced a series of leading practice seminars to be staged at various locations around Australia. The seminars are designed to provide as many Councils as possible with the opportunity to learn about leading practice examples presented by a range of Councils from different states.

CivEnEx 2001 a great success
CivEnEx 2001, staged from 21-24 February, was a great success. The largest civil engineering expo in the Southern Hemisphere once again attracted large crowds.

Editorial
We have all heard Winston Churchill’s much quoted pronouncement that ‘Democracy is the worst form of government except for all the rest!’ Within Australia, democratic principles are rarely questioned but what happens when governments fail?

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

Centenary of Federation in postcards
The City of Marion’s Red House Art Gallery, in South Australia, has put a unique stamp on the Centenary of Federation through its Postcards of a Nation exhibition running from 9 March to 12 April.The exhibition features some 400 tiny postcard sized artworks by dozens of artists from around Australia, on the theme of Federation.

U turn the wheel at Hornsby
Hornsby Shire Council in Sydney’s north has thrown its support behind a new driver awareness program targeting young people.

Treasury minds not necessarily treasured - The Good Oil by Rod Brown *
In previous editions, I have touched on Australia’s ‘industrial affliction’ – principally our fragmented industrial structure, small domestic market, and weak supply chains into the world economy. Much of the problem stems from the large distances between population centres, and an industrial structure that is biased towards the low tech end of the spectrum.

AusIndustry supporting local business
AusIndustry is the Commonwealth Government’s business unit – designed to help Australian businesses become more innovative and internationally competitive. AusIndustry does this by providing a range of commercial incentives and information services.

Mentoring to assist young people at risk
In Hume City, and in Melbourne’s northern suburbs generally, there is widespread optimism that confidence in the economy will be sustained and that even more investment and jobs will be created. In spite of times of hope and plenty, there are problems. Many families are struggling to make ends meet, and this often leads to arguments and fractures in the family.

Local Government Professionals Annual Conference 'Connected 2001'
Local Government Professionals’ 2001 annual conference was held in Melbourne on 1-2 March. This event was preceded by a series of Best Practice workshops on 28 February.In his opening remarks, President, Lyndon Webb, highlighted the leadership role played by LG Pro in ensuring professionals across the range of Local Government services are connected to each other, to best practice and, most importantly, to their communities.

Local Government’s achievers please step forward
The quiet achievers in Local Government received national recognition last year under a new awards scheme – the Australian Safer Communities Awards – managed by Emergency Management Australia (EMA).

St Francis smiling in Warringah
The methods and messages used by St Francis of Assisi to advocate ‘simple living’ in Medieval Europe are being revived to promote ‘green lifestyles’ in modern day Warringah, on Sydney’s north shore. An environmental lifestyle program – named ‘Living Waters – Living Communities’ – is being pioneered by Warringah Council in partnership with the leading environmental group, Oz GREEN.

Simplicity the key to improved service
Striving for simplicity in quality assurance documentation has delivered huge dividends for the Public Works Department at Mackay City Council.

Walking along the Tamar
Launceston City Council, in northern Tasmania, is building a board walk along the picturesque Tamar River. The board walk has become quite a tourist attraction for visitors as well as locals.

Respite for carers
Victoria’s Maroondah City Council has been successful in gaining funding for a trial respite care program for disabled adolescents.

Skills building facility for men
A new service specifically designed to provide local men in Brighton Tasmania with a place to learn new skills and develop a support network was launched last December. The Jordan Community Workshed Project operates from the former fire station in Bridgewater, and is open to men of all ages.

Darwin puts its best foot forward
As a means of welcoming both domestic and overseas visitors, Darwin City Council is using both conventional and multi media technology. The publication, ‘Darwin: A Complete Perspective’, provides an insight into the city and its residents.

End to end people solution for Councils *
Rebus Australia has been providing Payroll & HR Solutions in Australia since 1980. Rebus Software UK is the leading supplier of HRIS to Local Government Systems and this expertise is now being offered to Australian Local Government.

Partnership builds online recreational resource
Glen Eira City Council’s Recreation Services, in metropolitan Melbourne, faced the difficulty of how to effectively promote the municipality’s recreation opportunities to residents and visitors.

Salisbury takes planning to the community online
The City of Salisbury Strategic Plan – Salisbury 2000 and Beyond: Strategic Directions reflects the aspirations and goals of its diverse and progressive community. Salisbury is the largest northern metropolitan council in Adelaide. It has a population of 115,000 and is experiencing steady residential and industrial growth.

Funding boost for online services in WA
The delivery of online Local Government services in regional Western Australia will soon become a reality following a $6 million grant from the Federal Government’s Networking the Nation Fund.

Learning the tools of the trade in an e-world
With computers now a standard tool in the workplace, Leichhardt Municipal Council is encouraging all staff to become more computer literate.One way of achieving this was to make the purchase of a home computer affordable by providing an interest free loan to staff, re payable over 18 months.

e-Commerce Solution for Local Government
The January edition of FOCUS reported on the launch of an e-Procurement service for Local Government. Co-operative Purchasing Services Ltd (CPS) has taken a major step into the world of e-Commerce by providing a system whereby Councils can do their purchasing online.

Cooperative purchasing now fully integrated
Cooperative Purchasing Services Ltd (CPS) continues to improve services to its members and the efficiency of its operations. Formed in 1989 by the Municipal Association of Victoria, CPS has combined the buying power of Victorian Councils resulting in better prices, terms and conditions of supply.

Holly holds the future in her hands
'Holly', the virtual schoolgirl, is leading the way for the City of Gosnells, Western Australia, as it promotes the revitalisation of the city centre.

HarvestRoad & commerce@work join forces
Innovative Australian e-commerce solution supplier, commerce@work, has announced that it is now a preferred Local Government channel to market HarvestRoad’s WebPOWER products, for online document publishing, document management, e-commerce, and creation of websites and portals.

The power to drive a 21st Century lifestyle
High capacity Internet style technology can build stronger, more liveable communities, but there’s a cost - the constant search for more electrical power to drive it. Speaking at the City of Whittlesea’s Electronic Service Delivery conference in February, US expert, Mike Bookey, told delegates they will also have to struggle against the conservatism of companies with a vested interest in the status quo.

Brighton’s IT edge
For the second consecutive year, Brighton Council in Tasmania, has released its annual report on CD ROM. Brighton is believed to be the first Council in Tasmania, and possibly Australia, to provide this format.

IT integration powerful tool at Monash
Key City of Monash staff will soon be utilising manager desk tops providing direct access to organisational information required for daily tasks, such as report collation and delegated decision making.

Innovation and improvisation win through at Atherton
One of the primary responsibilities of Local Government is to maintain a complete register of its assets – road networks and infrastructure, sewerage schemes and so forth. As assets can often be best managed by a spatially oriented system Atherton Shire Council like many other Councils around Australia sought a GIS solution.

Corporate reporting for Local Government
AXS-One has just announced the release of AXS OneView, a Corporate Reporting tool designed specifically for Local Governments.

Welcome to Latrobe City from Mayor Tony Hanning and CEO, Penny Hollowa
Latrobe City encompasses an area of 1,422 square kilometres and 70,000 residents and takes its name from the Administrator and later Lieutenant Governor of the Colony of Victoria, Charles Joseph La Trobe. Located 160 kilometres east of Melbourne, in the Latrobe Valley, the Municipality features four major town centres, Moe, Morwell, Traralgon and Churchill, each with a significant population base, and seven smaller townships. It is the third largest municipality in Victoria outside of metropolitan Melbourne and Geelong.

Latrobe’s historic commitment to the Indigenous community
In what has been proclaimed by Indigenous Australians and Local Government circles as a lead for others to follow, Latrobe City, in March 2000, made an historic commitment to the Indigenous community, adopting a 'Statement of Commitment to Indigenous People, and a Statement of Reconciliation'.

State-of-the-Art Gallery
A $4 million redevelopment of the Latrobe Regional Gallery will build upon the Gallery’s reputation and strengths, and further enhance the Gallery’s ability to attract important exhibitions.

Park project has deep community involvement
A community actively involved in developing resources for themselves and others to enjoy, friendships formed, environmental enhancement, improved communication between Council and the community, and above all, fun; are just some of the benefits to flow from a Latrobe City community development project at Glendonald Park in Churchill.

Helping Latrobe committees stay on track
A guide to help the Latrobe municipality’s citizens deal with the complexities of being part of a committee or association and help committees understand procedures, has been hailed by some sections of the Latrobe community as 'the best thing since sliced bread'.

South Korea calls on Latrobe for assistance with safety
A request from Suwon City in South Korea for assistance to develop its community safety programs, and examine the preparedness of Suwon City for ‘Safe Community’ accreditation in early 2002, was met with a suggestion from Professor Leif Svanstrom, Director of the World Health Organisation’s Collaborating Centre for Community Safety Promotion, that Latrobe City would be able to help.