What a privileged and enjoyable role it is to advocate on your behalf. I will continue to champion your needs and views on issues from bushfires, to planning, sustainability and community engagement. I welcome your calls and emails on issues affecting your community.
Please excuse the length and size of this e-news! Lots of interesting things have been happening at the VLGA, and in the community. And in future we will be leaning towards briefer introductions with links for more information.
Conflicting Duties – Media Coverage and Other Developments
The passage of the Local Government Amendment (Conflicting Duties) Bill might not be that smooth, with considerable concerns raised by the Parliament’s Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee.
One of the critical points raised is that:
“The Committee considers that the new section 28B may be incompatible with the Charter right of electors in the 2008 local government elections to a guarantee of the free expression of their will.”
Specifically, the Committee has asked the Minister to respond to a series of questions summarised by me below:
a) Does the Bill discriminate on the basis of political activity?
b) Is the ban a ‘reasonable limit’ on the right to be free from such discrimination?
c) Have alternative ways of responding to the Ombudsman’s recommendations been considered?
d) Does the ban on existing Councillors unreasonably annul the results of the 2008 local government elections?
e) Is the 7 day period for Councillors to resign an arbitrary interference in the private rights of the affected Councillors?
See Pages 11 to 16 of the following Alert Digest for more detail.
An amendment to remove the retrospective element to the ban has been proposed by other parties in the Upper House. We will await further debate and provide updates on this issue.
In case you have not seen the wonderfully clear article from Former Hume Mayor and current Councillor Burhan Yigit, you will find links on our website to this and other media coverage of the issue.
Opinion Piece in The Age by Burhan Yigit
Municipal clean-up comes at a price for ratepayers
New Bill may force Geelong by-election
We're just scapegoats, councillors complain
Compo call for councillors banned from working for MPs
Councillors face ban on working for MPs
If articles have appeared in your local papers, we’d appreciate it if you could forward us the weblinks.
Planning Legislation Amendment Bill 2009 – DACS Bill in dispute
On August 11, the Victorian Lower House referred this Bill to the Dispute Resolution Committee. Since 2003, a Bill that is passed by the Legislative Assembly but rejected by the Legislative Council is now referred to as a Disputed Bill and is referred to the Committee.
The Committee must decide within 30 days whether the Bill should pass or be amended and agreement from both Houses is sought.
Alternatively, if no agreement is reached, the Bill becomes as Deadlocked Bill which can be used to trigger an election - like the Commonwealth provisions.
In short, this process can be used to force amendments, passage of the DACs legislation – or an early election.
The VLGA wrote to Minister Madden in April requesting that he consider amendments to the DACs Bill. Watch this space – or contact us for more details.
Bushfires
Last week was an important week for all Victorian communities facing ongoing threats from future bushfires. The Recommendations from the Royal Commission Interim report and the immediate responses from the State Government are being digested by Councils and communities.
Understanding the variety of responses and the enormous efforts of many groups in dealing with fire-related issues and responding to the needs of communities at-risk, the VLGA will continue to seek your feedback and advocate as required. Please contact us if there are specific issues you would like us to raise.
Affordable/Social Housing and Engagement: are the two incompatible?
The VLGA was pleased to host a packed housing forum this week. Four speakers addressed the question Affordable/Social Housing and Engagement: are the two incompatible?
We’d like to thank the presenters and the highly engaged participants for the energy generated to raise the profile of affordable and social housing.
Facilitated by the VLGA’s Affordable Housing Working Group Chairperson, Cr Jeanette McRae, the Forum also warmly supported the need to further build the capacity of Councils and communities to work together to deliver more affordable and social housing. This Forum was so successful that we are thinking of touring the regions. If you would like to hold a Forum of your own, and you are accessible to lots of other Councils, let us know
We will soon load summaries of the presentations and discussions onto our website.
Essential Services Commission – Performance Indicators for Councils
We have welcomed the promise of more resources for Local Government Victoria’s Inspection and Compliance functions, but we await further discussions regarding the Minister’s referral to the ESC to help with a compliance regime.
We are particularly interested in performance Indicators that can reflect different community needs and Council responses to these – rather than uniform assessments that result in comparisons between vastly different communities.
We have also received confirmation from the Minister that we will be consulted on these changes, so we will make sure your voice is heard.
DHS Heat-wave Planning Guide
Many of you will know of the DHS’s groundbreaking work to explore the local impacts, and the responses necessary for heat-waves. The purpose of this guide is to provide local councils with:
• guidance on the development of a heat-wave plan
• assistance to incorporate heat-wave plans into existing municipal plans.
It is intended that this guide will not only be a resource for local councils, but will help other organisations, such as:
• hospitals
• schools
• employers
• Primary Care Partnerships
• community and health services
• Divisions of General Practice
• police, ambulance and other emergency services
• other non-government and government agencies.
Below is a very helpful guide, and it can be downloaded from
http://www.health.vic.gov.au/environment/downloads/planning-guide.pdf
Events
Leading Edge Forum: Women in Local Government
When: Thursday 3rd September 2009, 6.30pm Drinks and Finger Food; 7.00-9.00pm LEF
Venue: Rear Meeting Room, Ground Floor, 60 Leicester Street, Carlton
RSVPs: 03 9349 7999 or vlga@vlga.org.au
Special VLGA Workshop – Residential Amenity Impacts of Licensed Premises…more than just NOISE?
When: Friday 11th September 2009, 2-4pm
Venue: Rear Meeting Room, Ground Floor, 60 Leicester Street, Carlton
RSVPs: 03 9349 7999 or vlga@vlga.org.au
I hope this enews finds you all well. Feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss these or any other issues.
Cr Rose Iser
President
0414 959 427 or Rose@vlga.org.au
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