Hello, and welcome to the Local Government News Roundup for 6th October 2021. I’m Chris Eddy.
On the Roundup today… the first Council to mandate COVID 19 vaccinations for its entire staff; a city council attracts criticism over a plan to charge traders for using parking spaces for outdoor dining; major road construction contracts awarded for Melbourne’s southeast; and the launch of a new national plan for closing the gap.
Just some of what’s ahead on 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.
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Bass Coast Shire Council is believed to be the first council in Victoria to require all staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
The Council yesterday announced a new policy classifying its entire workforce as essential, and requiring first vaccination by October 14, and full vaccination by November 26.
If any of the Council’s 400 strong workforce do not comply with the policy, they will be first asked to take annual leave, and then leave without pay. CEO Ali Wastie said most staff had already chosen to get the vaccine, reflective of the region’s first vaccination rate approaching 95%.
A Leader newspapers survey of 14 Victorian councils revealed that most were at this stage only requiring mandatory vaccination for essential workers, in line with state government directions.
We will have more on the legal implications of vaccine mandates for Council workers on this Friday’s edition of the VLGA Connect Governance Update.
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A controversial plan to charge businesses $5,000 per year for converting parking spaces into outdoor dining areas has been passed by Yarra City Council, on the casting vote of the Mayor.
The Herald Sun reports that a vote on the proposal at last night’s Council meeting was tied before the Mayor Cr Gabrielle De Veitri broke the deadlock with her casting vote.
The Premier Daniel Andrews has been critical of the proposal, saying it was not consistent with the state government approach to supporting businesses through the pandemic.
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The Fair Work Commission has rejected a bid by Hobsons Bay City Council to avoid paying redundancy entitlements to five home support employees who did not agree to transfer their employment to a private provider.
The Council has sought to vary its enterprise agreement to remove ambiguity and uncertainty, an argument that was countered by the Australian Services Union.
The Fair Work Commission dismissed the Council’s application, and found that the employees were entitled to redundancy pay even when they elected not to transfer their employment.
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Two construction contracts have been signed as part of a $3 billion package of suburban and regional road upgrades in Victoria.
The Narre Warren Road Upgrade and the South Road Upgrade projects in Melbourne’s south east are expected to create around 600 jobs through construction, and deliver a better travel experience by easing congestion across the region’s roads.
The Commonwealth and Victorian governments are funding the project costs of more than $100 million on a 50:50 basis.
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Melton City Council has announced the appointment of Maurie Heaney as its Acting Chief Executive Officer, to take over from Kel Tori who is retiring at the end of October.
Mr Heaney is a 30 year veteran of local government, and is currently the council’s General Manager of Community Services.
And at Buloke Shire Council, Wayne O’Toole stepped into the role of Interim CEO this week following the departure of Anthony Judd. Mr O’Toole has been the Director Works and Technical Services at Buloke since 2018.
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The City of Casey has launched a Digital Equity Framework, aiming to ensure that everyone has fair access to the internet and other digital technology
The framework was identified as a priority due to increased dependence on digital technologies since the start of the pandemic, and the fact that the outer southeast region has the lowest rates of digital inclusion in Greater Melbourne.
The framework sets out a number of guidelines and activities to deliver digital resources and infrastructure to improve online access, confidence and literacy across the Casey local government area.
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And Greater Shepparton City Council is the latest to support the shift to low and zero emission vehicles, with the installation of fast charging bays in the Shepparton and Mooroopna CBDs.
Four fast charging bays are being installed in two locations, with the Shepparton chargins bays available now, and the Mooroopna bays to be completed soon.
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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 is partnering with Local Government Victoria and FinPro to bring you a live online panel event, discussing the use of debt as a financial resource for Councils.
The session will highlight the recently announced access to Treasury Corporation Victoria loan funds. A council’s decision surrounding the appropriateness of debt will be important in the development of 4 year budgets and strategic plans including council, financial, asset management and rating and revenue plans.
Panellists will include the Minister for Local Government, the Hon Shaun Leane; Victoria’s Auditor-General Andrew Greaves, local government financial sustainability consultant John Comrie, and CEO of Central Goldfields Shire Council, Lucy Roffey.
It will be my pleasure to facilitate this discussion on Thursday 21st October at 10.00am.
Register now to join us.. visit vlga.org.au/events for registrations and more information.
The Australian Local Government Association has published its implementation plan for the national agreement on Closing the Gap.
The ALGA, Commonwealth, state and territory governments are all signatories to the agreement, which sets out agreed priority reform targets and 16 socio-economic targets to improve life outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
ALGA President Linda Scott said the plan was reflective of local government’s strong commitment to giving First Nations people the means to build strong communities, particularly by accelerating new employment opportunities at the local government level.
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A new interactive map has been released to allow the community to see the progress of NSW coastal councils as they implement coastal management plans.
Minister for Local Government, Shelley Hancock, said the innovative new tool makes it easier for people to see what work is underway along local coastlines.
The tool also shows how many grants Councils have received from the government’s Coastal and Estuary Program.
Coastal councils can apply at any time during this financial year for funding towards planning and studies to help develop their coastal management plans.
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An independent report reflecting community experience of housing and the planning system in NSW has been released.
The Regional Housing Taskforce report detailed feedback from consultation with more than 500 people across regional NSW.
Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Rob Stokes, said the report confirms that COVID-19 has accelerated the trend of people moving out of the city which is impacting on regional housing markets.
The taskforce is now preparing recommendations on how the planning system can address housing needs and stimulate supply. The recommendations are due to be presented to the Government for consideration this month.
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The Federal Minister for Urban Infrastructure and Cities, Paul Fletcher has called on the Queensland Government to finalise a city deal for South East Queensland.
The Minister released a statement saying the Federal Government is ready to finalise the deal, which has been in negotiations for over two years.
A Statement of Intent was signed in 2019, and work has continued since then to identify a list of projects that has been agreed between the Commonwealth and the South East Queensland Council of Mayors.
Meanwhile, the Minister has announced $16 million in funding for three new projects under the Townsville City Deal. It includes $12 million for enabling infrastructure to support the Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct, and $2 million each to further a proposed concert hall and a water re-use project to support the green hydrogen industry in Townsville.
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In Western Australia, at the last meeting of Geraldton Council before elections later this month, the chief executive Ross McKim has been granted a new contract for a further five years. The West Australia reports that the decision to offer a new contract was unanimous, reflecting a high level of satisfaction with Mr McKim’s performance since taking on the role in 2017.
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At Canterbury Bankstown Council, Cr Khal Asfour has been re-elected Mayor, while Cr Linda Downey was elected Deputy Mayor, for the period until council elections in early December. The decision extends Cr Asfour’s mayoral term, while Cr Downey takes over in the deputy mayoralty from Cr Rachelle Harika.
The Roundup continues in a moment with the international spotlight falling on the UK and the US..
But first, a word about our valued sponsors, Hunt & Hunt Lawyers.
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Now some stories of interest under our international spotlight….
A plan from the Mayor of Miami, Florida to turn the city into a cryptocurrency innovation hub has so far resulted in a windfall of $7.1 million.
Mayor Francis Suarez says the cryptocurrency scheme could lead to the elimination of taxes in the city.
The Washington Post reports on how the city has partnered with a nonprofit organisation called CityCoins, through which users run software on their computers to create cryptocurrency, with 30 percent going to the selected city.
The mayor is estimating as much as $60 million in income over the next year from the scheme, and is now exploring paying city employees in bitcoin and allowing residents to pay fees and taxes the same way.
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And in the UK, a national shortage of truck drivers which is impacting the availability of fuel and other goods, is being felt at the local government level as well.
South Holland District Council is one local authority that has moved to protect and develop its workforce by introducing measures to support its waste crews and attract new drivers to its team.
The measures include better pay, new working patterns, and training and progression opportunities.
The BBC reports that South Holland was one of nearly 20 councils experiencing disruptions to bin collection services in recent times, amid a national shortage of about 100,000 lorry drivers.
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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.