Hello and welcome to the Local Government News Roundup for 15th March 2021. I’m Chris Eddy.
Coming up – A NSW Council suspended and an interim administrator appointed; the Municipal Association of Victoria elects a new board and we speak to its new President; Tamworth forced to cancel this year’s Taste Tamworth Festival; a call for gaming venue hours in Victoria to be reduced; and another resignation from a Victorian Council CEO, as well as a Councillor and an administrator.
The Local Government News Roundup is brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association. The VLGA is partnering with LGPro and LGIU Australia on a global executive forum on community wellbeing, on Thursday 18th March. More details later in the program.
Now to the latest local government news.
The NSW Government suspended Wingecarribee Shire Council on Friday afternoon, and appointed Mr Viv May as interim administrator for three months.
The Minister for Local Government Shelley Hancock made the decision after considering the Council’s response to a notice of intention issued earlier in the month.
The suspension follows ongoing concerns about dysfunction amongst elected representatives.
The notification of suspension was preceded on Friday by the resignation of Cr Garry Turland with immediate effect.
Acting General Manager, John Burgess, has ensured the community that the suspension of the Council and appointment of an interim administrator would not adversely affect the delivery of Council services.
The Municipal Association of Victoria has elected its new board, with 13 members from across the state to be led by its new President, Cr David Clark of Pyrenees Shire Council for the next two years.
Cr Clark told the Local Government News Roundup that the role of local government in covid recovery will be a key focus for him and the board in the coming months:
“I think in the context of what’s really important, is the role that local government can play in the covid recovery. The reality is the state doesn’t have arms or legs down at the local community level, so in terms of business recovery, community recovery, there’s a real role for us to play. And a real role for us to play in terms of putting some of these ideas to government.”
The MAV President is a popularly elected position decided by the State’s 79 MAV representatives. Board members are elected by MAV representatives from within the 12 regional groupings of councils.
Stay tuned for the full interview with Cr Clark later in this program.
Tamworth Regional Council has decided to cancel this year’s Taste Tamworth Festival in light of continuing COVID-19 restrictions and a cautious hospitality industry.
With restrictions for large outdoor events impacting on food tasting protocols and seating arrangements, the industry has been reluctant to commit to the festival.
While the festival won’t proceed, the Council is encouraging people to support the many hospitality outlets that remain open, and has welcomed the Diner and Discover promotion from the NSW Government.
Victorians who were sent an Apparent Failure to Vote Notice by the Victorian Electoral Commission are being urged to respond with a detailed explanation by the 28-day deadline.
Ignoring the notice, or nor providing a sufficient reason for not voting may result in a penalty of $83.
This year the VEC has sent out approximately 350,000 notices, which is down significantly from the 600,000 notices issued after the 2016 Council elections.
VEC Manager of Communications, Marie Guerin talked to me about the purpose of the notice:
“So this notice is not a fine, but it’s a please explain, and it’s an opportunity for people to explain their reason for appearing not to have voted. So if you have received an apparent failure to vote notice in the mail, please don’t ignore it. You’ll have 28 days to respond with a detailed explanation and evidence as to why you appear not to have voted.”
The voter turnout was up nearly 10 percent on the 2016 election, setting a new record of 81.4%.
“In 2020, all the elections were conducted by post so that’s definitely one of the factors that led to the increased turnout, but we’re digging deeper and doing some research to find out the other factors which would have increased the participation rate.”
While Ms Guerin is unable to predict the number of fines that will eventually be issued, she emphasised the importance of responding to the notice.
“If you respond you’re much more likely to be excused. ‘Cos if you don’t respond at all, you’ll be much more likely to receive an infringement notice – so please respond.”
More information about the failure to vote process can be found on the VEC website or by calling 1300 551 575.
MidCoast Coast in News South Wales is calling on its community to refrain from approaching or feeding dingoes in the Tea Gardens, Hawks Nest area, following the culling of a sub-adult pack of five dingoes this week. At least five incidents involving people and domestic pets in the last months, with increasing ferocity, led the view that the dingoes behaviour had escalated to an unacceptable public risk.
The Council says it is following an adopted dingo management plan, that is a risk management model based on the highly successful program in place on Fraser Island.
Brimbank City Council in Melbourne is calling for urgent action from the State Government following a recent surge in electronic gaming machine losses in the municipality.
The Council says the increase in losses over the previous year of almost $3 million are the largest for any Victorian Council area, and it wants the Minister to reduce gaming venue operating hours to limit further losses.
Brimbank Mayor Cr Ranka Rasic said Brimbank has been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with increasing unemployment, growing reliance on income support, and significant impacts on local business.
Cr Rasic is asking the government to modify the licensing conditions of all gaming venues in Victoria, to limit operation to a maximum of 16 hours per day.
The Local Government News Roundup is brought to you by theVictorian Local Governance Association. The VLGA is partnering with LGIU Australia and LGPro to present a Global Executive Panel Forum on Thursday 18th March at 7.00pm.
A panel of senior executives from Australia and England will explore how local governments are finding innovative ways to deliver improved community wellbeing outcomes against a backdrop of the pandemic and a challenging economic climate.
It’s free for VLGA, LGPro and LGIU Australia members, and just $20 for non-members. Register now at vlga.org.au/events.
The Queensland and Federal Governments are partnering to provide more than $19 million in funding for resilience and risk reduction to Queensland communities.
$6 million of the funding is earmarked for the 14 local government areas impacted by the 2019 monsoon trough event.
Queensland’s Deputy Premier and Minister for Local Government, Steven Miles said this year’s funding includes round two of the $13.1 Queensland Resilience and Risk Reduction Fund, out of the National Partnership Agreement on Disaster Risk Reduction.
Expressions of interest close on 7th April, and the successful applicants will need to deliver their projects by 30 June 2023.
And applications are now open to councils in Greater Sydney for grants to support tree planting, build urban tree canopy and assist in creating cooler suburbs.
Up to $10 million is available to Councils for grants at a minimum of $50,000, with projects to be completed by December 2022. Matching contributions are not required.
The Australian Local Government Women’s Association Victoria branch will receive a funding boost from the State Government to expand its mentoring program.
The program has paired 43 newly elected female councillors with experienced mentors around the state. The mentors are all current or former councillors who will share advice and provide coaching to the new councillors over the next three years.
The government is hoping this program will help to reach a target of 50 per cent female mayors and councillors by 2025. Following last year’s Council elections, 43.8 percent of councillors are women, a record high for Australia.
In brief news notes, the Chief Executive of Colac Otway Shire, Peter Brown, has announced he will resign his position and finish up in July, providing the Council with time to conduct a search for his replacement. Mr Brown has been in the role since July 2018, and was previously CEO of Horsham Rural City for seven years.
Also this week, Mornington Peninsula Shire Council announced that long term Councillor Hugh Fraser has resigned. Cr Fraser was first elected in 2012, and was elected for a third term at last year’s. Council elections. The Mayor, Cr Despi O’Connor advised that the VEC would now initiate a countback process to determine a replacement for Cr Fraser.
And Whittlesea Council Administrator Bruce Billson has resigned after eight months in the role to take up the position of Small Business Ombudsman for the Federal Government. The state government will appoint a replacement Administrator in the next few weeks.
Now for some overseas news briefs…
And the BBC reports that the most important issue for people when they vote in upcoming local elections will be COVID-19.
A national survey by the University of Essex also found that 14% of people have experienced serious mental health impacts from the pandemic, and this may deter people from voting at the elections on 6 May.
Professor Paul Whiteley says local issues will be pushed into the background as people focus on the pandemic and not so much their local authorities.
Meanwhile, the UK Local Government Association has this week responded to a new Age UK research report on the impact of a lack of social care on older and disabled people and their unpaid carers during the pandemic.
Cr Ian Hudspeth said Councils have been doing all they can to support carers and those they care for during the crisis. He said, “social care deserves parity of esteem with the NHS, and extending emergency funding beyond the end of the month would prevent immediate impact on people’s care and health support.”
Cr Hudspeth also called for a long-term, sustainable funding solution for adult social care, and that the Government should urgently bring forward its proposals.
In the US, with the passing of the federal stimulus package, local governments across the country are set to receive a funding boost.
Some examples: In West Virginia, local governments will receive $677 million which can be used to pay expenses relating to the pandemic including lost revenue.
In California, about $16 billion will go to local governments, split between cities and counties; while in New Mexico, state and local government will share about $2 billion.
In Chicago, where $2 billion is expected to flow through to the city, aldermen have been warned not to bother coming up with wishlists. The Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she expects the money will be used to vaccinate residents and for affordable housing and homelessness.
Now to return to our earlier story – the election of a new board and President for the Municipal Association of Victoria, Cr David Clark. I spoke with David to find out more about his background and his vision for his term at the helm of the peak body that has been in existence for more than 140 years.
Cr David Clark, congratulations on your election to President of the MAV.
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And that’s all for this edition of Local Government News Roundup.
Links to all of the stories referenced can be found in the podcast notes.
If you have feedback or story suggestions, you can now contact us directly via email: lgweeklynews@gmail.com.
Coming up on our midweek edition, we meet the new CEO of LGPro Victoria, Jill Brown. You’ll find out more about Jill’s background and her plans for the peak body in the coming months.
The Local Government News Roundup is brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association. Subscribe to the VLGA Connect series of interviews and panel discussions on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.
Until next time, thanks for listening.