What a wonderful time we all enjoyed last Wednesday night, at the ‘Celebrate and Challenge’ event, hosted by the Deputy Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Susan Riley at the Melbourne Town Hall. Mayors, councillors, partners in the Women’s Participation in Local Government Coalition, representatives of government agencies and community groups, and citizens from across Victoria celebrated the endorsement by over 60 Victorian councils of the Local Government Women’s Charter and its principles of gender equity, diversity and active citizenship. Attended by more than 100 guests we also launched successful council models for implementing the Charter’s principles; the fourth edition of the highly successful candidate’s kit, A Gender Agenda, and a new campaign to boost women candidates in the 2012 elections – the VLGA’s ‘Think women for local government 2012’ project. It was wonderful to hear messages of support from Ministers Powell and Wooldridge on the night. Thanks also to Crs Cathy Oke, Jennifer Kanis, Jackie Watts and Brian Shanahan for their involvement in the event and special thanks to Lord Mayor Robert Doyle for dropping in to make us so welcome. I am especially pleased that everyone made it home safely afterwards, given the flood alerts and storm damage, including those of you who had travelled far to be there.
As part of the ‘Think women’ project, on Saturday just gone, Minister Powell opened a forum for the ALGWA Vic North East branch, encouraging women candidates for the local government elections in 2012. I acknowledge the support of ALGWA Vic, and the North East branch, in particular Strathbogie Shire Council, for driving this initiative – the first of our regional forums for the project.
I very much look forward to seeing many of you later this week at the VLGA’s inaugural Essential Councillor Retreat at Torquay. In the meantime please don’t hesitate to give me a call to discuss issues of interest to you on 0407 364 509, or drop me a line via email. Cheers.
Cr Samantha Dunn, President
Keeping you up to date
Draft plans for Melbourne’s growth unveiled
The Growth Areas Authority has released the draft Growth Corridor Plans and is inviting public comment until Tuesday 20 December. New housing, town centres, rail stations and jobs have been unveiled in a draft plan for Melbourne's growth suburbs over the next 30 years. The plan, released by the Victorian Government last Wednesday, guides growth in urban areas as Melbourne copes with an anticipated increase of two million people over the next 30 to 40 years. According to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald, Planning Minister Matthew Guy says the growth corridors and the development within them represent the largest current construction project in Australia. Fifty-thousand new housing lots will be released by March 2012, and jobs and activity centres will also be created in outer urban areas along with investigations into new rail lines to Avalon and Melbourne airports. At first glance, this looks like a refreshingly different approach on the surface to getting infrastructure developed early. However, we remain concerned that the required planning, investment and government funding need to be aligned to achieve this outcome. The VLGA is very keen to hear members’ views so please let us know your thoughts on the draft.
Exciting first year for Responsible Gambling Advocacy Centre (RGAC)
The VLGA encourages members and colleagues to take a look at the RGAC’s first Annual Report. We agree with RGAC Chair Fiona McLeod that it has been an outstanding first year, and that, as Fiona says in the Annual Report, “The organisation has met its mandate of adding value to existing knowledge for all stakeholders in the gambling sector, providing a consumer voice, engaging with local government and the community at large, and keeping the Minister informed in relation to gambling issues.” Highlights include the launch of RGAC’s website (which the VLGA regularly refers local government staff and community members to for up-to-date resources and links), formal participation in the 2011 Responsible Gambling Awareness Week, the production of a variety of publications that have attracted high levels of use, and the development of RGAC’s ongoing discussion series program. We congratulate the RGAC Board, CEO Penny Wilson and staff for their work.
Human Rights Oration 2011 – The Big Picture
The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission is pleased to invite you to this year’s Human Rights Oration. Keynote speaker Bernard Salt is best known for his media commentary on the business implications of demographic and social change. He will blend humour and substance to paint the big picture: How will demographic change shape our community, and what has human rights got to do with it? The oration will be held on Tuesday 13 December, 12.30-1.30pm, at Zinc in Federation Square. This is a free and accessible public event, but registrations are required. RSVP by Wednesday 7 December to (03) 9032 3448 or email. Visit the Human Rights Commission website for more details and to register.
Thriving Neighbourhoods conference papers now available – Capturing the returns from liveable, sustainable communities
Thriving Neighbourhoods showed how emerging techniques for the planning, design and management of communities could radically improve health, social engagement, environmental conservation and productivity in communities. Go online to see the conference report and conference papers.IAP2 Australasia News
This week IAP2 Australasia has published its training calendar for 2012. This year IAP2 has added two new courses to their training calendar: Building an Engaging Organisation focuses on how to build an organisation with engagement at the heart of how it does business. The course is designed specifically for senior practitioners and managers responsible for the community engagement/public participation function in an organisation; Cred! is a new active, practical professional development program that develops your confidence to build strong relationships and personal and professional credibility in your organisation. It is designed for engagement practitioners who want to build respected, influential, credible and valued relationships with key decision makers and leaders in their organisation.
Baillieu Government supports schools to teach second languages
Last week the Victorian Government announced that state schools that do not currently teach a second language will be eligible for $1 million in grants next year to implement second language programs. Wesa Chau, the 2010 Young Victorian of the Year and Deputy President for the Chinese Community Council of Australia (Victoria Chapter), has welcomed the news that the Government will make learning a second language compulsory in prep from 2015.
Statistics from the Victorian Government have revealed there has been a 30 per cent drop in the number of state primary schools teaching a second language over the past decade. The Government has yet to deliver on an election commitment to providing stronger support to community language schools by increasing per student funding from $120 to $190 per year in the Government’s first term.
Yarra Ranges supports the East Africa Appeal – will you?
At its meeting on 8 November, Yarra Ranges resolved to make a donation of $10,000 to the East Africa Appeal and to contact as a matter of urgency all other 78 local government municipalities in Victoria to challenge them to match or improve on this contribution. The crisis unfolding for millions of children and their families in East Africa is the result of years of drought, impacts of climate change and the high price of food and fuel, compounded by exclusion and poverty. Across Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti 13.3 million people, equivalent to two-thirds of the population of Australia, are affected by this devastating crisis, including over 4.14 million children, 1.6 million of whom are under 5 years old. This humanitarian crisis is the result of ongoing conflict and the worst drought in 60 years across the East and Horn of Africa. The UN declared famine in parts of Somalia in September. Hundreds of thousands of starving and malnourished refugees are seeking assistance in aid camps and an estimated 30,000 children have died in Somalia this year from malnutrition. The Australian Federal Government has announced it will match all donations made to the East Africa Appeal by 30 November 2011, on a dollar for dollar basis. Examples of the impact that a donation can have are outlined below:
* $20 will provide a clean water kit – soap, bucket, and water purification tablets for a family of five for one month
* $40 will provide clean water for 175 people for a day
* $75 will feed a family of six for two weeks
* $150 will provide high calorie food for 300 children suffering from severe malnutrition
* $250 will provide a health kit for a clinic to support 150 people for three months
Donations can be made here.
National Rural Women’s Coalition (NRWC) Survey
The NRWC, in conjunction with the Australian Women Against Violence Alliance (AWAVA) and the Queensland Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research (CDFVR) at CQ University, is developing a toolkit of materials to support women in their local communities in implementing the Council of Australian Governments’ (COAG) National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children. They require accurate input from those who already work in the field to ensure that the toolkit developed is complementary to existing resources and that there is no unnecessary duplication. If you have been using a wonderful resource, the NRWC would like to hear about it. If you think there is a gap in resources, let them know, and they can include it in their planning for the toolkit. Click here to take the survey. If you would like to receive ongoing updates on the progress of this project, please contact Sandra Stoddart, Executive Officer, National Rural Women's Coalition and Network via email.
Events for your diary
VLGA events
Making human rights real – Melbourne, Ballarat & Hume workshops
Wednesday 16 November (Melbourne CBD)
Friday 18 November (Hume)
Tuesday 22 November (Ballarat)
Learn more about human rights and how to translate them into the work of your organisation.
The Australian Centre for Human Rights Education at RMIT, the VLGA and VCOSS are hosting a series of free participatory workshops across Victoria to facilitate people's understanding of human rights and to develop a human rights approach to service delivery and policy development in locally based organisations. The workshops are funded by the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department as part of a project to identify the importance of human rights education. The workshops are designed for both the community and local government sectors – for management, service delivery workers, board members, councillors, advocates and members of vulnerable groups – and use case studies to highlight human rights and how to support human rights for people in local communities. The next workshops will be held in:
Melbourne CBD: Wednesday 16 November, 10am-2pm; RMIT University, Melbourne (corner Russell & Victoria Streets, Building 13, Level 3, Room 07)
Hume: Friday 18 November, 10am-1pm; Hume Global Learning Centre Council Chamber, 1093 Pascoe Vale Road, Broadmeadows
Ballarat: Tuesday 22 November, 10am-1pm; Ballarat Town Hall – Trench Room, Sturt St, Ballarat
To register for the workshops, please phone Michelle at VCOSS on (03) 9654 5050 or register online for the workshop closest to you. To see the workshop flyers, click on our VLGA Events Calendar. For further information, contact the VLGA’s Human Rights Policy & Project Officer, Gary Jungwirth, via email or phone (03) 9349 7999.
Climate Justice Roundtable – What does the ‘climate-just’ Australian city look like?
Tuesday 29 November, 9am-12.30pmRMIT Storey Hall, Building 16, Level 7 Conference Rms 1 & 2
*Limited places*
The aim of this roundtable is to bring together a caucus of diverse members of our community to identify and advance climate justice imperatives and opportunities within the Australian city context. The emphasis is on collaborative engagement, deliberation and dialogue focused around key questions such as: What is the climate-just city? How do the practices and stories of climate justice connect people with other elements of the natural world? How does the notion of a ‘climate just’ city challenge, complement, or replace current rights and privileges? Who dominates, who benefits and who gets left behind? Please join us for this inaugural event of the Australian climate justice research network (ACJRN) jointly hosted by the VLGA, Griffith University, Curtin University, Macquarie University, Monash University and RMIT. See our website for the registration flyer.
Other events
Better Roads, Better Buses, Better Trains
Wednesday 16 November, 8.45am-1pm
Monash University Berwick Campus, Lecture Theatre G121 Building 903
100 Clyde Rd, Berwick, Melways ref. 111 C10
This forum has been organised by City of Casey on the state of the Monash Freeway and public transport in Melbourne’s south-east. For more details and to register see the Casey City Council website.
Sustainability Victoria quarterly forum – Distributed Generation
Friday 25 November, 9.30-11.30am
Sustainability Victoria
Level 28, 50 Lonsdale St, Melbourne (also via web cast)
Sustainability Victoria invites you to the latest of its quarterly forums for local government officers and managers. Distributed generation of electricity can play a key role in energy management in Victoria and provides great opportunities for local governments. Navigating the process can be difficult but there is help at hand. This forum looks at the benefits of distributed generation and will launch Sustainability Victoria's guide to getting grid connected. You will also hear how distribution businesses view distributed generation and from the project manager of a successful installation.
Presentations will include:
* Michael Williamson, Sustainability Victoria: Distributed generation – the next frontier for energy
* John Edgoose, Sustainability Victoria: Distributed Generation Connection Guide – Sustainability Victoria's new guide for linking into the electricity network
* Joe Thomas, Powercor Australia: How the distribution business looks at distributed energy
* Rick Kwasek, Boroondara City Council: Ashburton Smart Energy Zone – implementing a shared cogen energy system
RSVP by 5pm Tuesday 22 November to email Nick Bailey or phone (03) 8626 8824.
5th ‘State of Australian Cities’ National Conference
Tuesday 29 November – Friday 2 December
University of Melbourne, Parkville
Australia’s society and economy are dominated by its cities and regions, and the future of Australia’s environment is also linked to urban sustainability. The State of Australian Cities is a national forum, held biennially, to share scholarship directed at the complex and multidimensional issues facing us as an urban nation. Australian cities are highly ranked internationally for their liveability, and have continued to grow strongly through a global financial crisis. Yet we are confronted with significant challenges. These challenges should not blind us to opportunities. For the first time in two decades, the Federal Government is talking about the need to address the infrastructure gap in cities. A growing body of urban researchers is interested in the policy implications of their work, while policy-makers are increasingly turning to the developing evidence base. Unlikely coalitions are springing up to address intertwined social, economic, environmental, governance, and infrastructure issues.
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