VLGA President’s Message
Aristotle, Gandhi, and many others have often been quoted that you can judge a nation by the way it enables all its citizens to reach their best potential, or words to that effect. I want to start this eNews by expressing my disappointment that the National Disability Insurance Scheme has not been treated as a higher priority for governments across the nation. In several previous editions of eNews, the VLGA has encouraged our members to support the Scheme. It was very welcome news on Friday that Premier Baillieu had stepped up, after much community pressure, with an extra $42 million to fund a Victorian trial and I look forward to seeing this proceed. It’s been a busy time for events at the VLGA this past week, with our successful ‘Y Council’ forum in Melbourne, our ‘Think Women’ session at Whitehorse, and our Human Rights training at RMIT. There is more to come and we are very excited about our documentary screening on Channel 31 next weekend – stay tuned! Councillors and other candidates, don’t forget to register for the VLGA’s next Candidate Workshop – ‘Practicalities between now and E-day’. This special workshop is designed as a ‘hands on’ session about the tasks you need to complete before election day. You can download the registration form here. Please don’t hesitate to email or give me a call on 0407 364 509 if there’s anything you wish to discuss. Cheers.
Cr Samantha Dunn, President
Keeping you up to date
VLGA and Channel 31 – ‘Think women for local government 2012’ documentary screening
The VLGA, in co-operation with Channel 31, has produced a documentary panel discussion about women in local government and candidacy opportunities starring Cr Sue McMillan (Knox), Cr Charlotte Baines (Monash) and Cr Beth Ripper (Wellington), in discussion with Walkley Award winning former ABC journalist Agnes Cusack. The two time slots for broadcast are Sunday 5 August at 6.30pm and Sunday 26 August at 9pm. Don’t miss this excellent show. The VLGA will be adding the program to our website so those of you who can’t access Channel 31 can view it.
Updated social statistics on the VLGA website
A range of information about social conditions in Victorian municipalities has recently been updated on the Social Statistics page linked from the VLGA website. Among the new features you will find:
* A regional profile builder, enabling you to create a profile of a region of two or more municipalities
* A do-it-yourself mapping tool, for mapping social conditions among metropolitan municipalities, updated with 2011 census findings
* Recent information about birth rates and numbers for all Victorian municipalities
* A file for displaying relationships, or correlations, between social conditions
This information joins other recently-updated data on the page, including 2011 Census municipal, suburb and Indigenous profiles. Detailed information about cultural diversity within Victorian municipalities, including birthplaces and spoken languages, will be added in the next few weeks. You can access these resources via the VLGA website.
More Gen Ys in Local Councils
Last week, the VLGA and the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria (YACVic) teamed up to deliver a very successful Y Council? Forum to encourage young people to get involved with local government. Held in the City of Melbourne Council Chambers, young people had first-hand experience of what it’s like to be a councillor presenting issues and voting on motions. The VLGA and YACVic will be hosting a second forum in Bendigo on Thursday 9 August. For more information about last week’s forum, see the joint media release. The VLGA and YACVic acknowledge the City of Melbourne for sponsoring and hosting the event, and the outstanding efforts of YACVic's Nic Kimberley and our own Jieh-Yung Lo.
‘Think Women’ at Whitehorse
The VLGA’s Getting Elected – A Resource Workshop for Women hosted by Whitehorse City Council last Tuesday was well attended by women interested in standing for local government election in October this year, or considering candidacy in 2016. Cr Coral Ross (Boroondara) and Deputy Mayor Jennifer Yang (Manningham) did a great job on the panel, and feedback told us the event was positive and encouraging. Congratulations to Whitehorse for keeping up the good work following on from their Women’s Community Leadership Development Program.
Local governments attend ‘Applying Human Rights Locally: Reporting what you are doing’
The VLGA in partnership with The Australian Centre for Human Rights Education (ACHRE) at RMIT University ran this workshop last Thursday. Representatives from eleven local governments focussed on how to complete the response to the annual survey required by the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC). Participants also discussed the internal approval process of their council prior to the survey being submitted. The workshop was conducted by Dr Di Sisely, Director ACHRE and Gary Jungwirth from the VLGA, and was also addressed by Kerin Leonard from VEOHRC. Some participants had several years of experience in completing the survey while others were new to this responsibility. The 2012 survey will be identical to last year’s survey and will need to be submitted to VEOHRC in November.
Dandenong demonstrates leadership with CALD communities
The City of Greater Dandenong is holding two Candidate Information Sessions for their CALD communities – one in August and one in September. A flyer was developed in the 10 top languages in the City and distributed through the community via the Community Services Directorate through professional contacts, community leaders, community centres, Council customer service centres, Council libraries and neighbourhood houses. The sessions were also actively promoted to local organisations that intersect with the CALD community. The City’s monthly newsletter will also promote the sessions (in English) but with a translation service available if required. Congratulations Dandenong!
DSE Waste Policy Review update
The Department of Sustainability and Environment and Environment portfolio partners are conducting a review of waste policy, and the consultation period is complete. Since the March launch of the discussion paper, 71 submissions were received. Additionally, an engagement program of 17 workshops was rolled out across the State and over 400 people attended these sessions. Later this year a draft waste policy paper will be released for public comment. You can get in touch with the team by email to join the conversation online at their Yammer group for information and feedback from the engagement sessions.
VicTrack’s quarterly update
Keeping Track is VicTrack's quarterly e-newsletter specifically designed to be of interest to local governments. It aims to share news about relevant VicTrack projects and initiatives and introduce staff members who regularly interact with councils. You can view the latest edition and subscribe for regular updates here.
VCOSS appoints new CEO
The VLGA extends our congratulations to our colleague Penny Wilson, who has been appointed as the new Chief Executive of the Victorian Council of Social Service. Penny is the former Chief Executive Officer of the Responsible Gambling Advocacy Centre and we worked closely with her in that role. We look forward to working with Penny in her new position.
Events for your diary
VLGA Events
‘Y Council?’
Thursday 9 August, 5-7pm
Bendigo Town Hall
195-229 Lyttleton Tce, Bendigo
RSVP by 2 August
Are you interested in running for council in 2012?
Are you aged between 16-25?*
Are you interested in politics?
The VLGA and the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria (YACVic) have teamed up to run a free interactive forum in Bendigo for any young people who are thinking about running for local government in the 2012 local government elections or in the future. Participants will have a chance to ask questions of young councillors in a Q&A session, followed by an opportunity to debate council motions on controversial issues and then amend and vote for them. These are FREE events and refreshments will be provided.
*Note: you cannot run for council until you are 18, but you are still very welcome to come along!
August Leading Edge Forum: Running and winning issue campaigns
Thursday 2 August, 6-9pm
60 Leicester St, Carlton
Local government elections provide an opportunity for local issues to be considered and debated. This Leading Edge Forum will explore how you can get your issue on the local agenda. We invite you to join us for this special LEF, featuring international community campaigns author and practitioner, Tony Milne. Register online or phone (03) 9349 7999.
Candidate Workshop – Practicalities between now and E-day
Tuesday 7 August, 5.30-8.30pm
VLGA, 60 Leicester St Carlton
This workshop is designed for candidates running in the October 2012 local government elections who want to learn about the practical work to be done before Election Day. The workshop will include tip sheets to take away; how to prepare your 150-word candidate statement; and a chance to hear from people with experience and success in campaigning at the local government level – what works and what doesn’t. Download the flyer and registration form here and register quickly as places are limited.
VLGA social media updates this week
Don’t forget to visit the VLGA Facebook page to catch up with VLGA news and activities. This week, visitors can follow our President to the VLGA Board meeting, discussing the Victorian Local Sustainability Accord. Our CEO Maree McPherson speaks to ABC Radio Ballarat about the Think women for local government 2012 project and Human Rights Policy Officer Gary Jungwirth co-facilitates the Applying Human Rights Locally: Reporting what you are doing workshop. Readers can find links to upcoming VLGA events as well as the new VLGA webpage containing information about our advocacy work on behalf of improved councillor allowances and support.
Other Events
ECO-Buy Social Procurement Breakfast Forum
Thursday 16 August, 8-10am
60 Leicester St, Carlton
ECO-Buy is running a Breakfast Forum to help you understand the issues and approaches to addressing social considerations in procurement. Social procurement is a key business strategy both to avoid negative press from poor labour conditions and unethical practices and also to show leadership in developing communities and assisting the disadvantaged.
IAP2 Australasia Leadership Forum 2012
Thursday 11 & Friday 12 October
Sofitel Melbourne on Collins
The Leadership Forum will enable participants to work alongside leading public participation practitioners and researchers. The program is highly interactive, will engage participants and enable knowledge generation and knowledge transfer. For full details of speakers and sessions, click here. To register, click here and find the register button at the bottom of the page.
Law Enforcement and Public Health conference (LEPH2012)
11-14 November
Melbourne
This important event, the first international conference on law enforcement and public health, will take place in Melbourne. More details, including the draft program are here.
Aristotle, Gandhi, and many others have often been quoted that you can judge a nation by the way it enables all its citizens to reach their best potential, or words to that effect. I want to start this eNews by expressing my disappointment that the National Disability Insurance Scheme has not been treated as a higher priority for governments across the nation. In several previous editions of eNews, the VLGA has encouraged our members to support the Scheme. It was very welcome news on Friday that Premier Baillieu had stepped up, after much community pressure, with an extra $42 million to fund a Victorian trial and I look forward to seeing this proceed. It’s been a busy time for events at the VLGA this past week, with our successful ‘Y Council’ forum in Melbourne, our ‘Think Women’ session at Whitehorse, and our Human Rights training at RMIT. There is more to come and we are very excited about our documentary screening on Channel 31 next weekend – stay tuned! Councillors and other candidates, don’t forget to register for the VLGA’s next Candidate Workshop – ‘Practicalities between now and E-day’. This special workshop is designed as a ‘hands on’ session about the tasks you need to complete before election day. You can download the registration form here. Please don’t hesitate to email or give me a call on 0407 364 509 if there’s anything you wish to discuss. Cheers.
Cr Samantha Dunn, President
Keeping you up to date
VLGA and Channel 31 – ‘Think women for local government 2012’ documentary screening
The VLGA, in co-operation with Channel 31, has produced a documentary panel discussion about women in local government and candidacy opportunities starring Cr Sue McMillan (Knox), Cr Charlotte Baines (Monash) and Cr Beth Ripper (Wellington), in discussion with Walkley Award winning former ABC journalist Agnes Cusack. The two time slots for broadcast are Sunday 5 August at 6.30pm and Sunday 26 August at 9pm. Don’t miss this excellent show. The VLGA will be adding the program to our website so those of you who can’t access Channel 31 can view it.
Updated social statistics on the VLGA website
A range of information about social conditions in Victorian municipalities has recently been updated on the Social Statistics page linked from the VLGA website. Among the new features you will find:
* A regional profile builder, enabling you to create a profile of a region of two or more municipalities
* A do-it-yourself mapping tool, for mapping social conditions among metropolitan municipalities, updated with 2011 census findings
* Recent information about birth rates and numbers for all Victorian municipalities
* A file for displaying relationships, or correlations, between social conditions
This information joins other recently-updated data on the page, including 2011 Census municipal, suburb and Indigenous profiles. Detailed information about cultural diversity within Victorian municipalities, including birthplaces and spoken languages, will be added in the next few weeks. You can access these resources via the VLGA website.
More Gen Ys in Local Councils
Last week, the VLGA and the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria (YACVic) teamed up to deliver a very successful Y Council? Forum to encourage young people to get involved with local government. Held in the City of Melbourne Council Chambers, young people had first-hand experience of what it’s like to be a councillor presenting issues and voting on motions. The VLGA and YACVic will be hosting a second forum in Bendigo on Thursday 9 August. For more information about last week’s forum, see the joint media release. The VLGA and YACVic acknowledge the City of Melbourne for sponsoring and hosting the event, and the outstanding efforts of YACVic's Nic Kimberley and our own Jieh-Yung Lo.
‘Think Women’ at Whitehorse
The VLGA’s Getting Elected – A Resource Workshop for Women hosted by Whitehorse City Council last Tuesday was well attended by women interested in standing for local government election in October this year, or considering candidacy in 2016. Cr Coral Ross (Boroondara) and Deputy Mayor Jennifer Yang (Manningham) did a great job on the panel, and feedback told us the event was positive and encouraging. Congratulations to Whitehorse for keeping up the good work following on from their Women’s Community Leadership Development Program.
Local governments attend ‘Applying Human Rights Locally: Reporting what you are doing’
The VLGA in partnership with The Australian Centre for Human Rights Education (ACHRE) at RMIT University ran this workshop last Thursday. Representatives from eleven local governments focussed on how to complete the response to the annual survey required by the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC). Participants also discussed the internal approval process of their council prior to the survey being submitted. The workshop was conducted by Dr Di Sisely, Director ACHRE and Gary Jungwirth from the VLGA, and was also addressed by Kerin Leonard from VEOHRC. Some participants had several years of experience in completing the survey while others were new to this responsibility. The 2012 survey will be identical to last year’s survey and will need to be submitted to VEOHRC in November.
Dandenong demonstrates leadership with CALD communities
The City of Greater Dandenong is holding two Candidate Information Sessions for their CALD communities – one in August and one in September. A flyer was developed in the 10 top languages in the City and distributed through the community via the Community Services Directorate through professional contacts, community leaders, community centres, Council customer service centres, Council libraries and neighbourhood houses. The sessions were also actively promoted to local organisations that intersect with the CALD community. The City’s monthly newsletter will also promote the sessions (in English) but with a translation service available if required. Congratulations Dandenong!
DSE Waste Policy Review update
The Department of Sustainability and Environment and Environment portfolio partners are conducting a review of waste policy, and the consultation period is complete. Since the March launch of the discussion paper, 71 submissions were received. Additionally, an engagement program of 17 workshops was rolled out across the State and over 400 people attended these sessions. Later this year a draft waste policy paper will be released for public comment. You can get in touch with the team by email to join the conversation online at their Yammer group for information and feedback from the engagement sessions.
VicTrack’s quarterly update
Keeping Track is VicTrack's quarterly e-newsletter specifically designed to be of interest to local governments. It aims to share news about relevant VicTrack projects and initiatives and introduce staff members who regularly interact with councils. You can view the latest edition and subscribe for regular updates here.
VCOSS appoints new CEO
The VLGA extends our congratulations to our colleague Penny Wilson, who has been appointed as the new Chief Executive of the Victorian Council of Social Service. Penny is the former Chief Executive Officer of the Responsible Gambling Advocacy Centre and we worked closely with her in that role. We look forward to working with Penny in her new position.
Events for your diary
VLGA Events
‘Y Council?’
Thursday 9 August, 5-7pm
Bendigo Town Hall
195-229 Lyttleton Tce, Bendigo
RSVP by 2 August
Are you interested in running for council in 2012?
Are you aged between 16-25?*
Are you interested in politics?
The VLGA and the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria (YACVic) have teamed up to run a free interactive forum in Bendigo for any young people who are thinking about running for local government in the 2012 local government elections or in the future. Participants will have a chance to ask questions of young councillors in a Q&A session, followed by an opportunity to debate council motions on controversial issues and then amend and vote for them. These are FREE events and refreshments will be provided.
*Note: you cannot run for council until you are 18, but you are still very welcome to come along!
August Leading Edge Forum: Running and winning issue campaigns
Thursday 2 August, 6-9pm
60 Leicester St, Carlton
Local government elections provide an opportunity for local issues to be considered and debated. This Leading Edge Forum will explore how you can get your issue on the local agenda. We invite you to join us for this special LEF, featuring international community campaigns author and practitioner, Tony Milne. Register online or phone (03) 9349 7999.
Candidate Workshop – Practicalities between now and E-day
Tuesday 7 August, 5.30-8.30pm
VLGA, 60 Leicester St Carlton
This workshop is designed for candidates running in the October 2012 local government elections who want to learn about the practical work to be done before Election Day. The workshop will include tip sheets to take away; how to prepare your 150-word candidate statement; and a chance to hear from people with experience and success in campaigning at the local government level – what works and what doesn’t. Download the flyer and registration form here and register quickly as places are limited.
VLGA social media updates this week
Don’t forget to visit the VLGA Facebook page to catch up with VLGA news and activities. This week, visitors can follow our President to the VLGA Board meeting, discussing the Victorian Local Sustainability Accord. Our CEO Maree McPherson speaks to ABC Radio Ballarat about the Think women for local government 2012 project and Human Rights Policy Officer Gary Jungwirth co-facilitates the Applying Human Rights Locally: Reporting what you are doing workshop. Readers can find links to upcoming VLGA events as well as the new VLGA webpage containing information about our advocacy work on behalf of improved councillor allowances and support.
Other Events
ECO-Buy Social Procurement Breakfast Forum
Thursday 16 August, 8-10am
60 Leicester St, Carlton
ECO-Buy is running a Breakfast Forum to help you understand the issues and approaches to addressing social considerations in procurement. Social procurement is a key business strategy both to avoid negative press from poor labour conditions and unethical practices and also to show leadership in developing communities and assisting the disadvantaged.
IAP2 Australasia Leadership Forum 2012
Thursday 11 & Friday 12 October
Sofitel Melbourne on Collins
The Leadership Forum will enable participants to work alongside leading public participation practitioners and researchers. The program is highly interactive, will engage participants and enable knowledge generation and knowledge transfer. For full details of speakers and sessions, click here. To register, click here and find the register button at the bottom of the page.
Law Enforcement and Public Health conference (LEPH2012)
11-14 November
Melbourne
This important event, the first international conference on law enforcement and public health, will take place in Melbourne. More details, including the draft program are here.
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