Your Opinions: Good governance in local government is...
Good corporate governance in the context of democratically elected local governments was the subject of a key discussion of the Board at our retreat. What is ‘good governance’ in local government and how should the VLGA continue to assist members in this area? I asked all Board members to complete the following phrase: Good governance in local government is...
... open and transparent questioning without fear or favour. Cr Samantha Dunn, Shire of Yarra Ranges, VLGA Treasurer
... transparent, participatory, inclusive, responsible, accountable, responsive and democratic. Cr Jeanette McRae, Shire of Yarra Ranges, VLGA Vice-President
... the values, policies & procedures adopted by Council and staff to provide ethical, transparent and accountability within the sector. Cr Grace La Vella, City of Manningham
... partnering with the community (among other things!) Richard Brown, community Board member
... not a restriction on input or opinion. It is about when & how that opinion is proffered. Tom Moloney, community Board member
... not only doing the right thing but we need to be seen doing the right thing. Cr Ruth McGowan, Baw Baw Shire, VLGA Vice-President
... time to make informed and considered decisions; commitment; and attention to detail. Maree McPherson, CEO VLGA
... honesty, to everyone, all the time. Cr Rose Iser, Moonee Valley City Council, VLGA President
... respect, and in particular for ratepayers. Bill Penrose, VLGA community Vice-President
… not a natural occurrence; requires education to inform, guide and interpret the process, procedures, expectations and legal requirements; acting in an ethical, transparent, inclusive, responsible, accountable and democratic manner when making decisions arrived at by predetermined policies and procedures; the timely delivery of communication re decisions in many areas that will affect the general well-being of the public it serves. Kate Lempriere, community Board member
We have seen a focus on good governance by way of a review of Conflict of Interest requirements, Code of Conduct Panels, Ombudsman reports, the Municipal Inspectorate, Performance monitoring by the Essential Services Commission – but are these measures achieving the goal of good governance?
Meeting with Minister Wynne’s office
Maree McPherson and I met with Minister Wynne’s advisors last week. We discussed the process for the Conflict of Interest Review now that submissions have been received. We were advised that a summary of the feedback would be available shortly. An important matter for discussion was the absence of ready advice for councillors on the Municipal Inspectorate. It was agreed that councillors, officers and community members would benefit from accessible advice on how to use the Ombudsman and the Municipal Inspectorate, as well as the Code of Conduct Panels. Currently a Guide to Councillor Conduct Arrangements is available at the LGV website. However, we also stressed the importance of a comprehensive guide advising how all of the mechanisms operate.
Congratulations to ALGWA
The WomenCan! Conference held by ALGWA (Australian Local Government Women’s Association) last week and hosted by the City of Melbourne was a great success. At the AGM the following members of the Executive Committee were appointed until 2012. We congratulate them all. The Executive Committee members for the term 2010-2012 are:
President - Kate Lempriere, VLGA Board member
Vice President Metro - Cr Coral Ross, City of Boroondara
Vice President Rural - Cr Jean Wise, Yarriambiack Shire Council
Secretary - Cr Helen Harris OAM, City of Whitehorse
Treasurer - Cr Jill Parker, Moyne Shire Council
Committee Members: Cr Helen Coleman, Nillumbik Shire Council; Cr Bev Colomb, Mornington Peninsula Shire Council; Cr Meg Downie, City of Manningham; Cr Cheryl Bromfield, City of Ballarat; Cr Ellen White, Buloke Shire Council; Cr Helen Relph, Macedon Ranges Shire Council.
Congratulations also to outgoing ALGWAVic President, Councillor Pam McLeod, for her long-standing commitment to women in local government and ALGWA’s goals.
Efficient Street Lighting
As a member of the Public Lighting Taskforce, the VLGA supports the efforts being made to seek funding from State and Federal levels of government for councils to change over streetlights to more efficient lighting – thus reducing greenhouse emissions from lighting by up to 60% and overall council emissions by around 30%. We look forward to supporting efforts being made by the MAV, Maribyrnong City Council and others. This area of innovation and investment in sustainability is an opportunity for partnership across local governments.
Victorian Local Sustainability Accord – next phase launched
On 16 March, The Hon Gavin Jennings MLC, Minister for Environment and Climate Change, launched the next phase of the Victorian Local Sustainability Accord, at the Reservoir Civic Centre. Minister Jennings introduced the Chair and members of the Victorian Local Sustainability Advisory Committee, and announced successful projects in round four of the Accord. Minister Jennings noted the partnership of LGPro, the MAV and the VLGA in this next phase of the Accord which is focused on local sustainability projects that build the community's capacity to adapt to climate change. The VLGA congratulates Cr Janet Bolitho on her appointment as Chair of the Advisory Committee, and other members on their appointments to the Committee including VLGA Vice-President Cr Ruth McGowan.
Social Housing – media
Social housing projects and consultation processes were in the news recently. Click on the following links to see some articles:
* Push for more consultation on housing
* MPs fear backlash on social housing projects
* Locals call for say in $24m project
Essential Services Commission – local government performance monitoring framework
Due to the rescheduling of the Consultative Committee meeting, I was not able to attend. The VLGA was represented at the meeting and we continue to monitor progress in this area and discuss issues with the ESC. The reporting framework is not necessarily accommodating all views put forward, but we are continuing to impress upon the ESC the need for meaningful comparisons and data collection that is of use to communities, councillors and local governments. The value of any performance monitoring is in how the process contributes to continued improvement – rather than shifting priorities away from community priorities as outlined through community and council plans. To date 108 performance measures have been proposed by the working groups and councils may have been sent an early copy of this. A draft report is due to be released on 26 March. We will alert you to the process for submitting feedback about this report.
Liveable & Just: effects of extreme climate events on people explored
The VLGA recently held its metropolitan (Carlton) and regional (Mansfield) launches of our Liveable & Just Toolkit for local governments and communities. As part of the launches, we also held practical workshops where attendees provided feedback on how local communities were dealing with their own challenges. Two themes that emerged from these workshops included the challenge of getting cross-departmental and councillor support, and the need to build responses to extreme climate events into everything we do, rather than singling these out in separate events. Clearly, the VLGA and others will need to ensure that we take note of the different responses of metro and rural areas. While we all know a lot about the economic and environmental impacts of extreme climate events we don’t always talk about the effects on people. If your local government and community groups are not yet talking about these impacts on local residents, then the VLGA's Liveable & Just offers practical ways to start to have the discussions. The toolkit can be viewed on our website. Stay tuned for Liveable & Just Mark II.
Pictured at the Liveable & Just Regional Launch with Mansfield Mayor Cr Tom Ingpen (2nd from left) are (from l-r): Mike Hill – Director Victorian Local Sustainability Accord; Damien Sullivan – Brotherhood of St Lawrence; Cr Janet Bolitho - VLGA Liveable & Just Steering Committee Chair; and Professor John Wiseman - University of Melbourne McCaughey Centre Project Consultant.
Bold Ideas, Better Lives Challenge
Got a great idea for creating better lives for people in Australia? Want access to amazing mentors and a bucket of cash (up to $1million) to get your idea off the ground??
The Australian Centre for Social Innovation is giving you the chance to turn your big idea into big impact. We’re committed to supporting up to 10 projects that show the best and brightest ideas in social innovation across Australia. Your idea could deal with anything from healthcare to education, climate change to the internet as long as it addresses a social need faced by communities in Australia. For more information or to apply online, see their website or contact Erin Green at challenge@tacsi.org.au. Or you can check our website.
Read the Exford Hotel 24-hour bottleshop decision here!
This decision has been in the news since VCAT handed it down on 9 March 2010. While the VCAT decision set aside the Director of Liquor Licensing’s decision to reduce the hours of trading in the applicant’s bottleshop to 11.00pm each evening, this matter may not be over. The bottleshop forms part of the Exford Hotel at the corner of Russel and Little Bourke Streets, Melbourne (“the Exford”). We’ve had some requests for the decision - see it under Additional Articles on our website. It is clear that the decision and the resulting community and local government debate will affect the issue of access to 24-hour alcohol.
Local government role in keeping Victoria litter-free supported with $$
While it is not always the case, when local governments receive funding our partnerships with the State Government are even more meaningful. An example last week is the announcement that local governments will receive funding to employee up to 12 litter prevention officers. Fourteen years ago the EPA issued 1,600 fines compared to today’s 18,000 littering fines. For further information you can go to their fact sheet under Additional Articles on our website.
Over 500 Transport Research Papers now available on the Thinking Transport website!
The Social Research and Transport (SORT) Clearinghouse and Thinking Transport are announcing a partnership today to promote the vast library of transport-related research available via the SORT Clearinghouse online library. The clearinghouse collates research reports focussing on social issues such as disadvantage and inequality, and researchers can search the database to find and access reports, sign up to a newsletter providing updates on new research reports, or submit research to be included on the system. Visitors to the Thinking Transport website will now find a menu on the front page entitled SORT Clearinghouse – Top Five Latest Research Papers, automatically updating the most recent reports available. For further information on these resources contact the VLGA’s Local Government Transport Facilitator, Gordon Young at gordon@vlga.org.au or (03) 9349 7943, or Pauline Forbes at SORT Clearinghouse on (03) 9905 5568.
WPILGC receives Women’s Leadership Grant
The VLGA offers warm congratulations to the Women’s Participation in Local Government Coalition (WPILGC) on receiving a Women’s Leadership Grant to strengthen Victorian local governments’ ongoing commitments to women’s participation and leadership in local political decision making. The grant will be used to support local governments to endorse the Charter’s three principles of gender equality, diversity and active citizenship in local governments and communities. The project, as well as being a symbol of Victorian support for 2010 National Year of Women in Local Government, is designed to build momentum to the 2012 elections and beyond. Let's hope the reduction in numbers at the last election are an aberration, although we will continue to keep the pressure up to see specific responses like this project funded and delivered.
Events
Environment Victoria - WATER & HEALTHY RIVERS
Thursday 25 March, 5.45-7.30pm
Green Building Meeting Room, 60 Leicester St, Carlton
The big challenge at Environment Victoria will be to show all parties contesting the November state election that delivering environmental flows to our stressed rivers is critical – both for rescuing our river systems and to be seen as a credible government.
The Rivers Supporter Evening will be held on Thursday 25 March at the Green Building in Carlton. Environment Victoria would love the opportunity to share with you some of the key issues and campaign themes they will be focusing on this year, and to hear from you about your passionate ideas to deliver water flows to rivers.
For an invitation click here. Please RSVP to Healthy Rivers Campaigner Amelia Young on (03) 9341 8120 or email her at amelia.young@environmentvictoria.org.au by Tuesday 23 March.
Earth Hour 2010
Saturday 27 March 2010, 8.30-9.30pm
This annual event is being held this coming Saturday. For further details and to register your own Earth Hour event, please click here.
Leading Edge Forum: Forethought or afterthought: what needs to happen to improve liveability, funding and strategic planning in regional and rural Victoria?
Thursday 15 April, 6-9pm
Warrnambool Civic Centre, 25 Liebig Street, Warrnambool
Following dinner and networking from 6pm, we will host a range of speakers including Rural and Regional Mayors and CEOs to talk about a range of issues relevant to the topic. Your feedback will also be sought in an interactive session.
Details:
Thursday 15 April
Warrnambool Civic Centre, 25 Liebig Street, Warrnambool
6pm Finger-food and refreshments
7pm LEF commences
Registrations for all LEFs can now be made via our website and current LEF information can be found here.
Regards
Cr Rose Iser
VLGA President
0414 959 427
rose@vlga.org.au
No comments:
Post a Comment