Monday 12 April, 2010

Dear VLGA friends and members,

After 15 months of intense activity at the VLGA, I have tendered my resignation as President in order to concentrate on some priorities closer to home. I will finish up on Wednesday 14 April. It has been an immense privilege to represent the interests of councils and community members across Victoria and argue for a more democratically just society with local governments well supported to serve their communities. I thank you for affording me the opportunity of representing you on many occasions. I have enjoyed meeting wonderful and hard working folk across Victoria – keep up the good work and, for those who I don’t see regularly in our local government circles, I wish you all well.

The VLGA will now be well served by Cr Heinz Kreutz who has been unanimously appointed by the Board as the President. Cr Kreutz will be joined by Cr John Doull who was also unanimously appointed as Vice President for the interim until the next Board election in February, as required by the VLGA’s Constitution. They will join Cr Jeanette McRae (Vice President), Bill Penrose (Community Vice President) and Cr Samantha Dunn (Treasurer) on the VLGA Executive. Together with Cr Grace La Vella, Richard Brown, Tom Moloney and Kate Lempriere, CEO Maree McPherson and the VLGA staff will continue the hard work and advocacy on behalf of all of our members. Please contact any of our staff or Board members for support or to bring matters to the attention of the VLGA and our members. The work never stops – and a passionate team will continue to work for progressive social change.

Cr Heinz Kreutz will be well known to many of you as a strong advocate for the environment, multiculturalism and social justice. Cr Heinz Kreutz works as a senior lecturer at Monash University’s School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, and dedicates most of his spare time to his local community, especially the residents of Lynden Ward in the City of Boroondara, where he was first elected in 2002. Heinz' interests cover a broad spectrum. He holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics and has a professional interest in languages, Linguistics and Translation Studies. His community engagement reflects his passion for social justice, local government and the environment at the local community level. In addition to being a VLGA Board member, Heinz is chairman of the Melbourne Metropolitan Waste Management Board, and serves on the Melbourne Metropolitan Transport Forum, Victorian Litter Action Alliance and Environment Advisory Group of the Municipal Association of Victoria. Heinz considers himself fortunate to be able to combine his professional interests and expertise with some of the key principles and underlying philosophies of the VLGA. He is a member of the Centre for Civil Society and the State Government’s Standing Committee for Cultural Diversity in Local Government. His work on cultural learning, neighbourhood cultural exchange, intergenerational education and positive ageing is complemented by a passion for good local government, community governance systems and adequate local support and service delivery to community groups. You can contact Heinz on 0438 006 656.

Presentation skills training
As a result of our recent online survey, we have put together two training courses in the next few months. The first is aimed at officers (14 and 21 May), and the second aimed at councillors (18 and 25 June). The unique feature of this training is that the sessions have a week’s break between them so that participants can practice their learning. This is an introductory program for participants with limited presentation experience specifically focussed on the needs of officers. Participants will work in small groups to learn and practice some of the basic steps in planning, delivering and assessing presentations, as well as responding to questions. Tanya Makin from The Presentation Group has over 30 years experience as a consultant in Learning and Development and is currently working with and supporting many councils in Victoria. Jim Connor from VLGA Training has extensive experience as a councillor, community activist and VLGA Board member, as well as working with and training local government staff in metropolitan and rural councils. Numbers are limited so for more information and registration details, go here.

The power of the human rights charter
Many of you will know of the VLGA’s long-standing work to promote human rights and better access to appropriate and affordable housing. These two issues came together this week following a landmark VCAT decision. President Justice Bell found that the State Government decision to evict a Somali refugee and his young son from public housing leased to his late mother was unlawful and a breach of human rights. See the full article about the landmark decision here and a full copy of the decision here.

Mainstreets and Aged Housing
In the last eNews we talked about the 2010 World Health Day theme of Urbanisation and Health. Two events that are coming up related to these issues:
A Mainstreet Australia Training event on 15 April at Banyule City Council will focus on business and marketing plans, measurement and evaluation of activities and committees’ roles in high performing Mainstreets. For more information and to book a place, click here.
Canadian Aged Care Housing Experts will be in Melbourne on Wednesday 12 May to explore housing options for people seeking affordable housing in their own community. This free forum is brought to you by the VLGA, Department of Human Services, Common Equity Housing Ltd, Community Housing Federation of Victoria, and Aged & Community Services Australia. For more information and to book a place, go here.

Next Leading Edge Forum in Warrnambool this Thursday 15 April
Don’t forget we will be in Warrnambool this coming Thursday 15 April 6-9pm, for our next LEF entitled Forethought or afterthought: what has to happen to improve liveability, funding and strategic planning outcomes for regional and rural Victoria? This event will be webcast live from 7pm and you can go here to view it. Speakers include Mayor Judy Verlin, Ballarat City Council on Regional Cities Victoria: focusing on the future; CEO Anthony Schink, Ballarat City Council on funding for rural and regional communities: challenges and opportunities; Mayor Michael Neoh, Warrnambool City Council on liveability in rural and regional Victoria: what are residents saying and how we need to respond; and CEO Bruce Anson, Warrnambool City Council on land use and strategic planning: challenges and opportunities for rural and regional Victoria.

You can RSVP online here or phone (03) 9349 7999. Accommodation options include Quest Apartments - (03) 5564 1200; Comfort Inn on Raglan -(03) 5562 2755; Choice Hotels Comfort Inn & Suites – (03) 5561 9800; or the Country Comfort – (03) 5562 3866.

Bushfires and transport choices
We bring to your attention a confronting conference paper included on the VLGA’s Thinking Transport website by Professor Graham Currie of Monash University’s Institute of Transport Studies concerning transport disadvantage and experiences during and after the bushfires in Murrindindi Shire. This presentation raises some important questions that need to be asked if we are to minimise the impact of extreme weather events on the most vulnerable in our communities – including those with little or no transport choices. The VLGA’s Thinking Transport website provides an easy way for local governments to share their documentation on a wide range of local government transport initiatives, from long-term strategies to one-off events. Thinking Transport also provides quick access to a database of Victorian Government programs and projects that support local governments in their efforts to provide better mobility for their communities. Visit http://www.thinkingtransport.org.au/.

Availability of residential and industrial lots
The VLGA will continue to speak with many rural and regional local governments about the need for better planning tools to manage future housing and population growth so that we can continue to lobby for these beyond metropolitan Melbourne. Given the currency of urban and population growth debates, the recent release of the Urban Development Program’s 2009 Annual Report makes for interesting reading. The 2009 Urban Development Program has identified that there are 201,071 potential lots on residential broad hectare land across Melbourne and Geelong. The Program has also identified 1,419 redevelopment projects yielding an estimated 106,940 dwellings. You can download a copy of the Annual Report here. You can also see a consolidated map of all residential broadacre areas, major residential redevelopment sites, existing and proposed industrial areas, land suitable for development and significantly constrained land here.

National Youth Week (NYW) is this week, 10-18 April
NYW is a National, State, Territory and Local government initiative that gives young people aged 12 to 25 an opportunity to express their ideas and views, act on issues that affect their lives and have a lot of fun. It’s a week-long party right across Australia where you get to participate in heaps of competitions, events and activities for FREE! If you are young, young-at-heart or care about young people we want you to become involved in an activity, event or project with your school, university, TAFE, local community or just with your mates. For more information on National Youth Week including events, go here.


Regards
Cr Rose Iser
VLGA President
0414 959 427
rose@vlga.org.au