Hello, and welcome to the Local Government News Roundup for 26th September 2021. I’m Chris Eddy.
On the Roundup today… new household waste disposal contracts secured for 30 Melbourne councils; the city of Melbourne set to turn inside out; sector reform discussions to commence in Tasmania; a report released revealing the reasons for a Council CEO’s sacking; and lots of councillor and senior executive news to roundup.
Just some of what’s ahead on the weekend edition of the Roundup, which is brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association, an independent governance organisation supporting councils and councillors to achieve the highest standards of governance;
And by Hunt & Hunt Lawyers - providing advice to help Councils achieve the best for their communities.
New contracts—for 30 councils across Melbourne—have secured reliable disposal of Melbourne’s household waste to landfill. The contracts were negotiated by Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Group (MWRRG) as part of a collaborative procurement on behalf of the councils, and are for four years, with two by two year options for extensions.
The contracts, which manage over 940,000 tonnes of Melbourne’s household waste, bring together the largest number of councils ever to participate in a collaborative procurement in Victoria.
MWRRG CEO Jill Riseley said the contracts are the culmination of over two years work, including consultation with industry and councils to ensure modern and robust contracts that meet everyone’s needs.
Citywide, Cleanaway, Hanson and Suez have been engaged through the contracts to deliver the landfill services.
Strathbogie Shire Council’s new councillor, David Andrews, has been officially sworn in this week.
Cr Andrews was elected via a countback following the resignation of Melanie Likos. He joins Cr Reg Dickinson in representing the Council’s Lake Nagambie Ward.
Buloke Shire Council has appointed Wayne O’Toole as interim Chief Executive Officer from 4th October when current CEO Anthony Judd leaves the council.
Mr O’Toole has been with Buloke Shire since 2017 and is currently its Director of Works and Technical Services. He will perform the role until the completion of the current CEO recruitment process.
The City of Melbourne has announced an initiative to turn the city ‘inside out’, by bringing indoor trading, dining and entertainment outdoors and into the streets to bring the buzz back to the CBD.
The program, to commence from late October, could see the closure of selected laneways on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights to allow hospitality businesses to trade into the evening. Retail hours could also be extended, and there are plans to employ buskers to entertain the crowds.
The initiative is designed to capitalise on the 70 percent double-dose vaccination rate trigger to allow retail and hospitality businesses to trade outdoors.
The Victorian Government is calling on regional Victorian developers and landowners to bring forward developments or vacant land that could be used for social or affordable housing.
$80 million has been allocated to address a critical shortage of housing in regional Victoria. Recent rental market data shows that housing affordability has fallen to its lowest level since 2000, when data was first collected.
While the Government says all regional areas will be considered, it has issued a list of priority areas covering most regions in the state.
Landowners and developers are encouraged to partner with community housing providers, local government and other organisations to submit proposals to Homes Victoria by Thursday 7th October.
Tasmania’s Local Government Minister has announced a process of direct engagement with the local government sector in relation to structural reform of the sector in the state.
Structural reform of the sector was a recommendation of the Premier’s Economic and Social Recovery Advisory Committee report handed down earlier this year.
The Minister, Roger Jaensch, said his attempts to gain cross-party support for the recommendations have been unsuccessful. The government will seek to develop a program of reforms through engagement with councils, communities and users of local government services.
The suppliers have been chosen for the upcoming e-scooter trial in Hobart and Launceston.
Major micro mobility suppliers Beam and Neuron have been jointly selected to provide variety and competition for users, and to allow the councils to observe both in an active market.
Safety features to be offered include a low-speed beginner mode, pedestrian detection sensors, and dangerous rider behaviour detection. The two cities will work with the providers on geofencing to control where the scooters can be ridden.
The initial 12 month trial is set to start before the end of the year, pending enabling legislation being introduced by the state government.
The Roundup continues in a moment with more news from around the country.
The Local Government News Roundup is brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association.
The VLGA presents Fast Track 2021, The Journey Continues - the second part of its highly regarded Councillor Leadership Program - online, Friday 1st October.
The program will include a welcome and Q&A discussion with the Local Government Minister, the Hon. Shaun Leane, and three timely and topical moderated panel discussions.
Topics include the Council Term So Far; the Influence and Strategy Continuum, and When Conduct Disappoints - Individuals Working as a Team.
Registrations are open now on the VLGA website - vlga.org.au/events.
More detail has emerged about the investigation which led to the sacking of the Shire of Ravensthorpe’s CEO, Gavin Pollock.
Western Australia’s Corruption and Crime Commission has released the report of its investigation, which found that Mr Pollock had created false invoices to generate payments totalling nearly $55,000 to pay for sexual services.
The Commission says its action prevented the processing of a further $13,000 in payments. It is recommending the consideration of criminal charges, and its investigation is ongoing.
Shire President Keith Dunlop told the ABC this week that Mr Pollock had offered to repay the money.
At its latest meeting, Bathurst Council considered an investigation report into allegations against Cr Alex Christian brought by a local resident.
The Council formally censured the councillor in relation to four posts on his Facebook page which were found to be in breach of the Council’s Social Media Policy for Councillors, and of the Code of Conduct.
A second complaint brought by fellow Councillor Jess Jennings was deferred for consideration at a later date, pending the receipt of information relating to two meetings from earlier in the year.
Local Government NSW has described the outcome of a state government plan to resume responsibility for local roads around the state as a massive disappointment.
It says less than three percent of the promised 15,000 kilometres of local roads has been delivered, with only 5 of 120 applications from councils having met government criteria.
LGNSW President Linda Scott said they would be seeking assurances from the government that councils would not be worse off under road reclassification and takeback arrangements, and that council jobs would be protected in the process.
Lots of news this week in relation to senior exec and mayoral appointments. Here’s a roundup of those we’re aware of:
The mayor of North Burnett Regional Council, Rachel Chambers, has announced her resignation to take effect from 11th December. In a statement, Cr Chambers said her decision was for personal reasons, and she quashed rumours that she was planning a tilt at state or federal parliament.
Queensland’s Central Highlands Regional Council has appointed Sharon Houlihan as its new Chief Executive Officer.
Ms Houlihan has been General Manager Community and Culture at Wellington Shire Council in Victoria for the past 7 years. She takes up the position from 29th November.
Shellharbour City Council has re-elected Cr Marianne Saliba to serve as Mayor until council elections on 4th December. Cr Saliba has held the mayoralty since 2012. Cr Robert Petreski was voted Deputy Mayor, replacing Cr John Murray who did not nominate for re-election.
Waverley Council has re-elected Cr Paula Masselos as Mayor, an extension of the two year term that commenced in September 2019. Cr Elaine Keenan was re-elected as Deputy Mayor.
At Kiama Council, Cr Andrew Sloan has been unanimously re-elected as Deputy Mayor; at Leeton Shire Council, Cr George Weston has been re-elected Deputy Mayor for the remaining term of the current Council; and at Bathurst Council, Cr Ian North was elected mayor unopposed, while Cr Monica Morse was elected Deputy Mayor, also unopposed.
The International County/City Management Association Annual Conference will be held starting at the end of next week from the 3rd-6th of October.
Local Government Professionals Australia National President Jonathan Throssell, and Immediate Past President Victoria MacKirdy are taking part in this year's ICMA conference virtually.
Their presentations will be about the gender balance in Australian Local Government leadership, including what Local Government's are doing to achieve the sector's 40:40:20 gender balance targets, and what Local Government Professionals Australia has been and is doing to support the sector's target.
The conference, to be held in the US state of Oregon, is highly accessible to an international audience with free registration for virtual attendance for anyone outside of the US & Canada.
A link to the registration page for the conference is provided in this episode’s show notes.
The Roundup continues in a moment with the international spotlight falling on the US and France...
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Now some stories of interest under our international spotlight….
In the US city of Chicago, the City Council has voted to lift restrictions on marijuana sales in most of its downtown area, and to ease zoning rules across the city.
CBS reports that the intention is to help more minority cannabis license holders to set up dispensaries.
It says the new rules will also remove the seven cannabis zones that currently exist, and lift the cap on the number of dispensaries allowed in each zone.
In Aspen, Colorado, the city is overhauling its grants process by recruiting volunteers to determine how $1.5 million in grants will be distributed.
The Aspen Times reports that the city will replace its traditional four person committee with three different committees focusing on arts and culture, community programs, and health and human services.
It is recruiting community members to fill five positions on each committee, who will review applications and make recommendations to the Council on recipients and funding amounts. The new process is expected to start early in the new year.
And finally to Paris, where officials are considering closing many of the city’s streets to cars in pursuit of a 15 minute city concept.
The BBC reports that under the proposal, urban areas will be transformed into multi-use areas, prioritising pedestrians, cyclists and public transport over cars. The aims include improving air pollution and reducing traffic congestion.
You can find a link to a short video explaining the concept in this episode’s show notes.
And that’s it for this edition of the roundup. Visit www.lgnewsroundup.com for more on each episode, including show notes, links to the stories referenced and extra features.
The Local Government News Roundup is brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association, the home of VLGA Connect - an ever growing library of interviews, updates and panel discussions on YouTube and podcast
And by Hunt and Hunt Lawyers - providing advice to help Councils achieve the best for their communities.
Join me next time for more local government news. Until then, thanks for listening and bye for now.