NUMBER 17/05 – 3 October 2005
2005 LOCAL GOVERNMENT CONFERENCE SPONSOR
Clr Lynn Mason
Flinders Council
President’s Report
Last Thursday, I attended the Premier’s Physical
Activity Council Active Towns Awards and the
Kellogg’s Heart Foundation Local Government
Awards. Well done councils!
It is obvious many councils are taking responsibility
for assisting their communities to be health and
fitness centres – not the intensive expensive type,
but the kind of place where it is easy to learn how
to be healthy and to eat well, and to enjoy
companionship at the same time.
Huon Valley Council took out the Active Town
Award and Launceston City Council, the Heart
Foundation Local Government Award. (And Flinders
Island won the 300 – 1000 population category!!)
Anyone who has not seen Huon Valley’s ingenious
recycling of a dental van should check out the
website (www.huonvalley.tas.gov.au). None of the
projects were outstandingly expensive. The keys to
success are the clever use of resources, dedicated
and inventive officers, and strong leadership from
the elected body.
It’s an interesting week for those who are standing
for election, particularly the first-timers. On the one
hand, there has been due praise for numerous
councils
who
are
treating
seriously
their
responsibilities as community builders. But on the
same day, news breaks that container freight on rail
may cease in Tasmania, putting an estimated
additional 2,000 trucks per week onto the road
network.
This
has
serious
implications
for
management of road and bridge infrastructure,
and councils will be affected by the outcome of
discussions between Pacific Rail and the State
Government. At very least, it will indicate to those
aspiring to enter local government that (a) there’s
never a dull moment and (b) our work covers a very
broad spectrum of responsibility and concern. Friday is Walk To Work Day
Beat petrol prices and get some exercise by joining
with council officers from across the country as they
walk to work this Friday, October 7. According to
the latest research, as little as 30 minutes of walking
each day can break the cycle of depression and
anxiety as well as assisting with many other areas of
physical health. In Hobart, for those who will not be
able to `walk all the way’ on 7 October, provision
has been made to allow people to at least walk
further than usual with free parking being made
available by the Hobart City Council on the regatta
grounds area near the cenotaph. For further
information visit www.walk.com.au Water Management
Information Sessions
LGAT, in partnership with the National Water
Commission (NWC) and the Department of Health
and Human Services (DHHS) will be delivering a series
of regional information sessions on the NWC’s Water
Smart Australia Program and the DHHS’ guidelines for
management of drinking water quality in Launceston
on Monday October 17, Ulverstone Tuesday October
18 and Rosny Wednesday October 19. For full details
and to register, contact Ben Ikin on 6233 5961. Is Your Council Website
Election Friendly?
Is your council website ‘election’ friendly? With local
government elections around the corner, your
council website is one place where the public will go
to find out more. Your ‘home’ or front page is the
location where you should have prompts to assist
people to find what they are seeking in relation to
local government elections. Am I enrolled to vote?
How do I enrol to vote? Is it compulsory to vote?
Who is standing in my area? Who can I talk to about
the election process? Your website reflects your
ability to service your community so for those councils
that haven’t yet thought about their website in
relation to the elections, now is not too late to do so! Australia’s Security
A national code of practice is to be developed for
councils and other forms of government operating
public security cameras. A COAG special meeting on
counter-terrorism held in Canberra last week agreed
to develop the code of practice for the operation of
closed-circuit television (CCTV). The code will include
national guidelines for the storage, use, privacy and
retention of CCTV images.
The code will be
developed by a working group of government
officials headed by Victoria. Local government was
represented at the summit meeting by Australian
Local Government Association President Paul Bell.
The Australian Government has announced a further
$6 million over three years to the National Community
Crime Prevention Program. The additional funding is
for a new element of the program to support
community organisations to invest in security-related
infrastructure.
Funding
for
security-related
infrastructure, including closed circuit television
(CCTV) systems, will enable community organisations
to participate in crime prevention and our counterterrorism response at a local level.
Go to
www.ag.gov.au for details. Heritage Legislation Review – Report Available for Public Comment
The independent review of the Tasmanian heritage legislation has been finalised and is available to the public
for comment. The review has focused on aligning heritage legislation with the Land Use Planning and Approval
Act (LUPAA), to provide greater clarity and certainty for local government, developers and heritage property
owners, and outlines 80 recommendations. The report is available online at www.heritage.tas.gov.au. Comments
must be forwarded by 19 October to GPO Box 1751 Hobart or by email at [email protected] Comments Invited on Draft Pollutants Plan
The Australian Government has invited comments on Australia’s draft plan to help reduce the incidence of
damaging and long-lasting pollutants in the environment. The draft plan is a key obligation under the Stockholm
Convention, an international agreement which aims to protect human health and the environment from the
effects of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). POPs are chemicals that stay in the environment, circulate around
the planet and accumulate in the fatty tissue of living organisms. They are toxic to humans and wildlife. The plan
also aims to ensure the sound management of stockpiles and wastes that contain POPs. Comments should be
provided to the Department of the Environment and Heritage by 9 November 2005. Copies are available by
phoning 1800 803 772 or from www.deh.gov.au/settlements/chemicals/international/stockholm.html. The Cooperative Business Model for Tasmania Today
Dr. Michael Towsey from the Queensland University of Technology is presenting a workshop on cooperatives in
Campbell Town on Friday October 14. The workshop will provide an overview of the cooperative business model
and its benefits and what cooperatives can offer Tasmania today. Particular emphasis will be placed on how
cooperatives might be a way of increasing employment and workforce participation. Bookings are essential.
Contact Carol Ninness, Department of Economic Development phone 6233 5592. Working with Benefit-Cost Analysis Workshop
This workshop being offered by The Training Consortium with Professor Harry Campbell and Dr Richard Brown,
School of Economics at the University of Queensland, will show participants how to conduct a cost-benefit
analysis of a private or public project from a public interest viewpoint. This course is for participants involved in
any project, whether at a management level or not, who have either no formal training in economics or a basic
or introductory level of economic knowledge and is being held Thursday, 24 November 2005 in Hobart. For full
details, phone 6233 6459 or go to www.ttc.tas.gov.au. 2006-07 Pre-Budget Submissions
Individuals, business and community groups are invited to make a submission regarding priorities for the 2006-07
Federal Budget and should do so by Friday November 11. For details about how to present a submission,
contact David Crawford, (02) 6263 3725. 2006 Population Census - have your say on proposed products and services
The ABS has recently released its plans for the products and services it plans to produce following the 2006
Census. Details of the plans can be found in the information paper 2006 Census of Population and Housing Proposed Products and Services. The public is invited to make comment via a questionnaire on the ABS website,
together with the information paper www.abs.gov.au. Submissions are sought by November 11. Grants to Help Non-Government Environmental Groups
Community groups in Tasmania dedicated to environmental management are to be supported by a new State
Government initiative which allows non-government organisations to apply for assistance to support their core
administration and management. Applications for the 2005 grants program remain open until 4 November 2005.
Application forms and selection criteria are available from www.dpiwe.tas.gov.au/livingenvironment or by
contacting the department on 6233 2742 or 1300 368 550. Mesh Blocks – Your Comments Welcome
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has developed the Mesh Block, a new geographical unit that will change
the way statistics are used in Australia. Mesh Blocks are a new micro level of statistical geography and contain
between 30 and 60 households, or about one fifth the size of the smallest geographic unit currently in use, the
Census Collection District (CD). The ABS has recently released draft Mesh Block boundaries in CD Rom format
with an associated paper, both of which are available from the ABS website (www.abs.gov.au). Responses to
the draft boundaries should reach ABS prior to 31 December 2005. For further information contact Michael Toole
on (02) 6252 7759 or by email [email protected]. National Tracks and Trails conference 2006
The 4th national Tracks and Trails conference will be held in Hobart from 10-12 May 2006. Tracks and Trails 2006 will
explore the diversity of trails and creative ideas and solutions to providing sustainable and accessible tracks and
trails. The conference will deal with four main themes, these being trails diversity, trails Innovation, trails promotion
and interpretation and trail partnerships. For more details, including the online form to submit abstracts, go to
www.tracksandtrails2006.com.au/index.php, email [email protected] or phone 6234 7844. Institute of Public Administration National Conference
This year’s IPAA National Conference, Exploring the 3 E’s – Effectiveness, Efficiency and Equity is being held at
Wrest Point November 2-4. Visit www.cdesign.com.au/ipaa2005 to view the program and register. Important Dates
Regional information sessions - water
Launceston, Ulverstone & Rosny
October 17-19