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Australia's National Local Government Newspaper Online | |
| Editions > 2005 > February | Saturday October 11, 2008 - Melbourne Time: 23:24:32 |
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Rising community expectations, trying to keep up with rapidly aging infrastructure, changing demographics placing additional burdens on Councils, cost shifting and unfunded mandates, the reasons why Councils are struggling financially are many. The Fair Share (Hawker report), now 15 months old, was explicit in its findings – councils are under extreme financial pressure and this must be rectified. In each edition we feature the views of a Local Government Association President. The following is from Councillor Phyllis Miller, President of the New South Wales Shires Association.
The nation now has 12,000 more Australian citizens thanks to ceremonies conducted by Local Governments across the country. Many Councils also used Australia Day to help raise funds for a number of tsunami appeals.
People may find their pulse is racing a little higher on November thanks to their local Councils. Local Governments in Victoria are being invited to lock Sunday 20 November 2005 into their diaries for a swim, walk, cycle or dance as part of an active countdown to the Commonwealth Games. The Good Oil by Rod Brown*
Local Governments in coastal tourist regions are seeking alternative funding arrangements to handle high growth rates and summer tourist peaks. Some Local Governments have raised the idea of tolls on key tourist routes to pay for infrastructure and services.
You can at CivEnEx Sydney!!! A regular feature, this edition profiling Councillors from New South Wales.
The UK Experience by Malcolm Morley*
Visitors to Osborne Park in Wollongong have more than open space and ocean views to enjoy following the opening of the Storylines art and community project. Celebrating the Indigenous and European histories of the site, Osborne Park Storylines project is the result of partnership grants from Royal Australian Historical Society, NSW Ministry for the Arts, Australia Council – Community, Art, Environment and Design, Living Centres – Department of Urban Affairs and Planning, as well as Wollongong City Council. The battle to create a butt free environment is being fought in 13 Local Governments across New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland. The campaign will encourage smokers to be more aware of the degradation caused by careless butt disposal. Following a national call for submissions the independent Butt Littering Trust has invested over $400,000 in projects across the country.
It is estimated that the Riverina Eastern Regional Organisation of Councils (REROC) has saved its 12 member Councils about $5 million in the course of its ten year history.
South Australia’s Local Government Association (LGA) has confirmed it will move forward with an independent inquiry into the financial sustainability of Local Government. LGA President, Councillor John Legoe said the Association was even more determined to see an independent inquiry following recent inaccurate reporting by some media. |
| FEATURE - FOCUS on Human Resource Management/OH&S |
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Performance management software online is set to revolutionise staff appraisal and development processes in the Local Government sector. Melbourne based human capital specialist, IXP3, says the benefits of online performance management systems over paper abased systems are too great to be ignored. IXP3 Director, Lyle Potgieter, says when you consider that more than 40% of average Council expenditure relates to human resources, programs for increasing the performance of employees can pay big dividends.
In January, Frankston City Council’s Chief Executive Officer, Steve Gawler, began a five week assignment in South Africa to assist in the delivery of Local Government services in developing areas of the country. He was selected to take part in the Australia South Africa Local Governance Partnership (ASALGP), which is funded by the Australian Government through its Agency for International Development (AusAID).
Each quarter Hays produces a Quarterly Forecast to target candidate hotspots and present market commentary. Along with our own extensive experience, this data is based on interviews with Councils about current candidate conditions and future hiring intentions.
By Sue Loukomitis*
UNE Partnerships leads the field in professional and vocational training and development. It is a Registered Training Organisation offering nearly 100 qualifications in a range of areas and levels, nationally. Owned by the University of New England, one of Australia’s oldest and most prestigious teaching and research universities, UNE Partnerships provides flexible workplace based teaching and learning.
Having staff closely involved in the business planning process is a key factor in the success of the City of Perth’s corporate knowledge program. This program has now been recognised with high commendation in the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Sector Management. It is the first year the awards have been open to Local Government.
Finally, a Leadership Workshop for you and the people you lead! Create One has partnered with Maximum Impact Inc of Atlanta Georgia to bring Developing the Leader Within You™, an internationally recognised two day intense multimedia workshop to Australia.
The historic salary gap between Local Government and the private sector has been steadily closing. This finding is based on the remuneration database of Mercer Human Resource Consulting, which reveals that salary increases passed onto council staff have been accelerating over the past four years. The results of the 2004/2005 Local Government Report show that for the first time in recent years, the average base salary increase for employees working in Local Government (4.3%) actually outstripped the rate of increase across all industries (3.8%).
Work/life balance has been one of the catch cries of the past few years of corporate heavyweights. Banyule Council in Melbourne’s north has been working harder than most to ensure that work/life balance not just a slogan and but it is firmly embedded in work practices.
The Master of Sustainable Management (MSM), offered by the Faculty of Rural Management at the University of Sydney’s Orange Campus, is designed to meet the changing needs of today’s Local Government managers. It equips managers with the necessary skills and attributes to be successful, inspirational leaders in a world increasingly demanding sustainability.
Many well known organisations, such as IBM, 3M, Microsoft and the NSW Government, have realised times are changing and that their employees are their most valuable asset. This is why these organisations and many more are including work/life balance in their long term business strategy. These workplace policies assist employees in combining their personal, family and work responsibilities.
With Year 12 students getting their results recently, Queensland’s Mackay City Council has urged school leavers to consider one of the 26 Council traineeships on offer as an alternative to university. This innovative program is starting to produce great results for the community.
The City of Shoalhaven, located 160 kilometres south of Sydney, spans 1,000 kilometres of coastline with pristine beaches, spectacular cliffs and rock formations. These unique characteristics, combined with the demands of rapid growth, the provision of infrastructure and ongoing maintenance gives rise to many risk management issues. Hobsons Bay City Council in Melbourne’s west has launched two programs aimed at increasing rates of volunteering among older members of its community. The two volunteering programs, Volunteer Ambassadors and Friendly Mentoring, are running from January to May this year.
The Adult Learning Australia (ALA), which is the peak body for adult learning in Australia, runs the site. The Learning Communities Catalyst web site has been established to serve as a clearinghouse of information, research, case studies and practical tools to assist communities, Councils, Government, businesses, policy makers and other stakeholders establish themselves as a learning community.
With up to 60 per cent of Local Government employees aged between 35 to 55 years and only a few Victorian Councils undertaking formal succession planning, the need for workforce planning in the sector is becoming more and more vital. An under representation of young people in the sector and the need to attract and retain talent, particularly in rural and regional areas, has seen the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) working to address the issue on a number of levels. Launceston Council’s Lean on Me: A day in the life of Total Workforce is about communicating the human aspects of Council’s outdoor crew. Total Workforce is a commercialised business unit of the Launceston City Council that provides maintenance and development services. With the aim of disproving the common perception that Council workers lean on shovels, the program title was an attempt to embrace this perception and then subvert it.
It’s rare to find a product that truly is cutting edge technology, with the benefits of saving time, money and lives. Brisbane based e-learning development company, Life International Training Pty Ltd, has done exactly that. Its CD ROM program, First Aid Now, delivers first aid training to the level of Senior First Aid including CPR. It is also capable of assessing the learning of students with an online interface.
Manual handling and repetitive task injuries are the largest source of Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) risks in a typical library. The City of Tea Tree Gully’s Library is the largest single site library in Local Government in South Australia. |
| FOCUS PROMOTION - Local Government – A National Perspective |
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Following the return of the Howard Government to office, I was delighted to be reappointed as the Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads and look forward to working with Local Government throughout Australia to progress the Government’s initiatives for effective local governance. As your Minister, I intend to listen to Local Government and take action to address the challenges it faces. It is also my intention to continue the process of convening an annual roundtable with Local Government Associations to hear first hand what issues need to be addressed and how I can assist in the process. The Australian Government has renewed the Roads to Recovery programme for a further four years and will direct $1.35 billion to about 700 councils to develop the local road network throughout Australia. At the same time, the Government will increase its land transport spending to an unprecedented $12.5 billion over five years, including the Roads to Recovery funding and extra allocations to the Black Spot National Road Safety Programme.
The Regional Women’s Advisory Council was established in 1999 by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport and Regional Services, John Anderson, to provide a women’s perspective on issues that affect communities in regional, rural and remote Australia.The Council provides advice directly to the Deputy Prime Minister, and over the last two years has focused on Building Stronger Communities. The Australian Government’s approach to regional development is to work in partnership with communities, government and the private sector to foster the development of self reliant communities and regions. This approach is consistent with the Government’s framework for developing Australia’s regions: Stronger Regions, A Stronger Australia. Regional Partnerships is a programme that delivers on the Australian Government’s approach to regional development. A total of $308m is available through Regional Partnerships over the four years from 2004/05 to 2007/08. Regional Partnerships focuses on four areas.
21 March is Harmony Day
In a national first, the Perth Area Consultative Committee (Perth ACC) partnered with the South West Group of Councils and the Department of Transport and Regional Services to bring to Perth an outstanding showcase of Leading Practice Initiatives from Local Government Authorities from across Australia.
Our Community Pty Ltd, in partnership with the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Municipal Association of Victoria, deliver the national brokerage service for community business partnerships - an initiative of the Prime Minister’s Community Business Partnership.
A leading exponent of Corporate Social Responsibility in the United Kingdom is visiting Australia in February to address leaders in the business, not for profit and government sectors. Deputy Chief Executive of UK based, Business in the Community, Peter Davies OBE, will speak at business breakfasts in Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne. He will also deliver a lecture in Canberra. The Prime Minister’s Community Business Partnership will host these events.
Projects sought for 2005–06 funding |
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© Eryl Morgan Publications Pty Ltd - Last update: Monday February 21, 2005
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Local Government takes key role in tsunami recovery
