In this bulletin:
A new 16 member gender equality advisory committee established in Victoria;
A council named one of the best places to work in Australia and New Zealand;
The latest CEO appointment news from around the country,
And declarations of housing and climate emergencies.
Plus a preview of a VLGA Connect interview with Andrew Greaves, the Victorian Auditor-General.
Links:
The Local Government News Roundup is brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association, your go-to organisation for governance news, knowledge and training. Subscribe to the VLGA Connect series on YouTube or on your preferred podcast app.
Support the Roundup and get access to special episodes and regular breaking news updates by becoming a subscriber for around $5 per month. ($3 USD) Click here to subscribe now.
The Local Government News Roundup is brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association, the national broadcaster on all things local government; with support from Davidson, the nationally recognised executive recruitment and business advisory service; and from Ventia, making infrastructure work sustainably for our communities.
Links for stories referenced in the podcast can be found in the transcript, or by visiting the Roundup website.
In this bulletin:
A new 16 member gender equality advisory committee established in Victoria;
A council named one of the best places to work in Australia and New Zealand;
The latest CEO appointment news from around the country,
And declarations of housing and climate emergencies.
Plus a preview of a VLGA Connect interview with Andrew Greaves, the Victorian Auditor-General.
Links:
The Local Government News Roundup is brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association, your go-to organisation for governance news, knowledge and training. Subscribe to the VLGA Connect series on YouTube or on your preferred podcast app.
Support the Roundup and get access to special episodes and regular breaking news updates by becoming a subscriber for around $5 per month. ($3 USD) Click here to subscribe now.
The Local Government News Roundup is brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association, the national broadcaster on all things local government; with support from Davidson, the nationally recognised executive recruitment and business advisory service; and from Ventia, making infrastructure work sustainably for our communities.
Links for stories referenced in the podcast can be found in the transcript, or by visiting the Roundup website.
Hello and welcome to the Local Government News Roundup. I’m Chris Eddy, and this is the bulletin for 25th April 2021.
Coming up in this bulletin:
A new 16 member gender equality advisory committee established in Victoria
A council named one of the best places to work in Australia and New Zealand;
The latest CEO appointment news from around the country,
And declarations of housing and climate emergencies.
Plus I preview my VLGA Connect interview with Andrew Greaves, the Victorian Auditor-General and lots more from around the big wide world of local government.
The Local Government News Roundup is brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association, your go-to organisation for governance news, knowledge and training.
We start with some of the stories making news in Victorian local government this week:The State Government has announced the 16 member Gender Equality Advisory Committee which is charged with driving gender equality initiatives across Victoria’s 79 councils. The committee, to be chaired by MPs Juliana Addison and Kat Theophanus, will provide advice on delivering the government target of 50 per cent female mayors and councillors by 2025, and implementation of the new Gender Equality Act. Committee members have been drawn from across the state, and include Councillors, council officers and representatives of six peak local government associations.
The City of Maribyrnong has entered into a $3 million partnership with the Western Bulldogs AFL team for use of Skinner Reserve in Braybrook as the team’s secondary training base. The club and Council will work together on upgrades to the reserve, which will include the reconstruction of the surface, a two lane running track, 200 LUX LED lighting, and improved spectator amenities and surrounds. The deal gives the Bulldogs access to a secondary ground while major redevelopment works are underway at Whitten Oval.
9 months since the departure of its last permanent CEO, Surf Coast Shire Council has now finalised its recruitment process with Robyn Seymour appointed to the position this week. Ms Seymour is currently the Deputy Secretary Network Planning and Head of Road Safety Victoria. She has previously served as Chief Executive and Deputy Chief Executive of VicRoads. Ms Seymour will take up the position on 12th July.
Meanwhile, Wyndham City Council has appointed an Acting CEO following the departure of Kelly Grigsby, who is taking on the CEO position at the City of Hobart next month.
Natalie Walker, the Council’s Director of Strategy and Policy Impact, has held senior roles in local government for 25 years, and will step into the CEO role on Monday 26th April. In the meantime, the Council has appointed Davidson Recruitment to conduct a recruitment process for a permanent CEO.
Campaspe Shire Council is moving towards an ‘arms length from Council’ management model for the Port of Echuca, following receipt of an independent economic assessment of the Council's tourism activities in the precinct. The Council has adopted an in-principle preference for a beneficial enterprise management model which would see a separate body undertake management of the activities with full accountability to the Council. The Mayor, Cr Chrissy Weller, said the aim was to ensure management of the Council’s significant enterprises in the Port of Echuca was both efficient and effective.
Nillumbik Shire Council in Melbourne’s north has been named as one of the best places to work in Australia and New Zealand. It is the only local government government organisation in either country to be recognised on the annual AFR BOSS Best Places to Work List, which is based on a rigorous assessment process managed by leading behavioural science consultancy, Inventium. Nillumbik ranked third in the Government, Education and Not-for-Profit category
Strathbogie Shire Council is the latest Victorian LGA to declare a Climate Emergency. The move came in response to a Notice of Motion put up by Cr Sally Hayes-Burke at the March meeting and a process of gathering community views on the proposal. Climate Change and Environment ranked as the 2nd and 5th service priority during the Council’s recent community engagement program. The Shire will now engage with the community to set priorities for a Climate Change Action Plan.
5 Victorian councils have partnered with VicHealth in an initiative that would see unhealthy food vouchers phased out of kids’ sport.Junior clubs in the Frankston, Greater Bendigo, Yarra Ranges, Greater Shepparton and Nillumbik council areas will replace fast food and takeaway vouchers with healthy activities - such as free or discounted access to a local pool or tennis court. The Healthy Sports Reward initiative is a Victorian first, and follows research by VicHealth and Deakin University that found half of parents say their children had received a fast food voucher at their sports club, with ⅔ of parents agreeing that kids sports rewards should be healthy.
And in Greater Shepparton, a new addition to the Moooving Art Herd of painted cows has arrived just in time for Anzac Day. Poppy, by Mooroopna artist Mandy Charquero, is inspired by the red Flanders poppies and pays tribute to our service men and women. Poppy went on display under the flags in Monash Park on Friday, and brings the Mooving Art herd to over 90 colourful and imaginative decorated cows.
The Local Government News Roundup is brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association .
The VLGA is the peak governance organisation for the local government sector, bringing you local, national and global thought leaders in conversation and panel sessions, online via VLGA Connect, and in-person at regular member events.
The VLGA’s signature forum, Leading the Agenda, is back for 2021, with a focus on demystifying audit committees and answering those questions you always wanted to ask.
Find out more about Leading the Agenda and other upcoming VLGA events at www.vlga.org.au/events. You’ll find a link in this episode’s show notes.
Still to come, the national roundup, including news on CEO-level movements in South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales; and another forward thinking initiative coming out of the Sunshine Coast.
Last week I had the opportunity to speak with the Victorian Auditor-General, Andrew Greaves, about recent audit reports with observations and recommendations for the sector in Victoria.
The results of the 2019-20 audits show that Councils remained financially resilient despite the impact of the pandemic, with a conservative approach to taking on debt.
With no council applying for a higher rate cap this year, all Councils will be subject to the rate cap for the first time in 2021-22.
The Auditor- General has also released the results of an audit of Councils’ management of local roads, with a recommendation that councils improve the information used for road maintenance planning.
In my conversation with Andrew, we also touched on the recently completed audit into Service Victoria and whether it’s meeting its objectives of streamlined digital delivery of government services. You can watch or listen to the full interview with Andrew Greaves on VLGA Connect episode 161, available now on YouTube or as a podcast - links in the show notes.
Now to some stories making news in local government around Australia.
Nigel McBride has resigned as CEO of the City of Prospect in SA, after 18 months in the role. The Mayor, David O’Loughlin, paid tribute to Mr McBride’s leadership through the COVID-19 pandemic, and the development of a contemporary model of service in line with the opening of the new civic centre last year. Mr McBride was the former head of Business SA, and joined the city of Prospect in October 2019. He is expected to work through a three month notice period, while the Council conducts a recruitment process for his replacement.
The interim administrator of Wingecarribee Shire, NSW, Viv May, has decided to readvertise the position of General Manager for the Council. The reopening to applicants follows an initial recruitment process that was conducted earlier this year. Mr May said that despite receiving 46 applications, he was not confident in making a suitable appointment. He has encouraged existing applicants to reconsider their responses to the essential criteria and resubmit by the new deadline of 10th May. Mr May is also seeking a three month extension to his original appointment, which arose after the dismissal of the council in March.
Gold Coast Council has decided to start a new recruitment process to find a replacement for CEO David Edwards, who resigned earlier this month after three weeks in the role. While it was widely expected that the Council would go back to the shortlisted applicants from the recent process, the Mayor Tom Tate is quoted as saying the majority of councillors wanted to go back to the market. The Mayor expects a final decision will be made around September. Chief Operating Officer Joe McCabe will remain as Acting CEO for the time being.
With the Tasmanian state election less than a week away, Launceston City Council is reminding candidates of its priority projects outlined its Four Year Delivery Plan. The $200 million plus wishlist includes the redevelopment of the University of Tasmania Stadium; an upgrade of the Princess Theatre; CBD traffic flow improvements and other sporting ground upgrades. The Council believes the projects would boost the local economy significantly, and is actively engaging with politicians and candidates in the lead up to next week’s vote.
A new accelerator program has been launched on the Sunshine Coast to support home grown entrepreneurs working on innovative and tech-based solutions to global health problems. The 12 week program will provide education, training and support to accelerate health technology businesses. Expressions of interest are invited from people working on digital solutions, such as health-based smart devices, mental health apps, e-treatments and more. Sunshine Coast Council and the Queensland Government’s Advance Queensland are jointly supporting the initiative.
Tweed Shire Council (NSW) has declared a housing emergency, due to a lack of availability and affordability. The Council is seeking Federal and State Government action on delivering additional social and affordable housing in the Tweed. Mayor Chris Cherry said a growing number of residents can no longer afford to live in the Shire, a problem that has been accentuated by the pandemic. The shire currently has a social housing supply of 2.6% of homes, compared to the state average of 4 per cent. The council is also asking the Australian Local Government Association to accept a late motion for the June National General Assembly about addressing the housing affordability crisis in regional Australia.
Now to some items of interest from beyond Australia:
New Zealand’s Local Government Minister has announced an independent review of local government, which will explore how councils can maintain and improve the wellbeing of New Zealand communities. Minister Nanaia Mahuta says the review focus on how the system of local democracy needs to evolve over the next 30 years. A five member review panel will explore the roles, functions and partnerships; representation and governance; and funding and financing for the sector’s future. An interim report is due this September; followed by a draft report for public consultation in September next year, and a final report in April 2023.
A major new study, funded by the European Research Council, will look at why there are fewer female than male politicians around the world, and if sexism, discrimination and violence are to blame. Researchers will investigate the causes and consequences of sexism in campaigns, and how it varies between countries and cultures. The role of the media in reflecting or promoting sexism and violence against women candidates will also be analysed.
From Canada, and the city of Saskatoon in Saskatchewan is benefiting from an injection of over $100 million from three levels of government for 11 green infrastructure projects. The funded projects include a popular local trail system, upgrades to the city’s drinking water, wastewater and waste management systems, and a new solar plant. The projects aim to deliver on the shared government priority to provide reliable, eco friendly and sustainable infrastructure for local communities.
And that’s it for another roundup. You’ll find links to all of the stories referenced in today’s program in the show notes.
You can access episodes and related information on the web at www.lgnewsroundup.com, or you can subscribe to the show with your preferred podcast provider.
If you like the program or find it useful, please consider leaving a rating or a review. Thank you to those who have done so already - it is greatly appreciated.
The Local Government News Roundup is brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association, your go-to organisation for governance news, knowledge and training. Subscribe to the VLGA Connect series of interviews and panel discussions on YouTube or your preferred podcast app.
That’s the program for today. Until next time, thanks for listening.