Australian Local Government Yearbook 2012

The Australian

Local Government 速 Yearbook

2012

ISBN 978-1-921345-22-7

321190A IFCB_Nissan Australia | 1760.indd 1

321190A IFCB_Nissan Australia | 1760.indd 1

18/01/12 12:12 PM

18/01/12 12:12 PM

contents

4

Minister’s foreword

Leading Edge Local Government

5 7 8 10

Campaigning for a permanent roads to recovery program Soft landing More fuel? More savings A new centre of town

Innovation and technology

14 22 24 28

Social media and drivers for local government innovation Why am I so busy these days?

Built rugged for mission-critical work Feed your digital workspace with more information

Green building

64 66 70 72 75

Leader in energy efficiency Local government leadership Dalkia rising to the challenge Cooroy Library MEPS Guide

Management and leadership

76 It’s all about talent management 84 Maxxia Recruitment

86

How to attract and recruit younger workers into an ageing workforce

Fleet management Information technology

30 33

Local government in a digital age Amcom – delivering to Australian business and government

88 90 92 96

Legislation rules A reliable network for local governments The fleet leasing and management alternative Lake Macquarie City Council fleet management operations Helping you save fuel and cut emissions

Best practice

99

34 36

Equipment and machinery

40

Alice Springs: The heart and solar centre of Australia Fulton Hogan – your partner for a smooth and trouble-free journey Dorma leads the way with AS5007

Corporate profile

42

Celebrating 100 years together

Environment, energy and sustainability

46 49 50 56

Sustainability in a regional community – real governance or municipal administration?

Reduce your environmental footprint with Century Batteries Bridge to bridge project – enhancing the Macintyre River through Inverell Livability, sustainability and community engagement

Renewable energy

58 62

Renewable energy options for communities: The story of Newstead Integration of large scale solar projects

2 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

100 102 104 106

Case Construction King put to work Rising to the challenge of government supply Procurement pitfalls and solutions New Holland T4 Powerstar: Small tractor dimensions, big tractor features 108 ‘As new’ checklist 110 Innovation and quality – hand-in-hand for more than 160 years Traffic

112 Enhancing visibility 114 A technological solution to parking 119 New, all-weather pavement marking tapes to improve safety Infrastructure and engineering

121 Gippsland Water Factory 124 Calming traffic down 127 A heavy load for local roads

contents

FEATURES: ARRB Australian Fleet Lessors Association Australian Fleet Management Association Australian Green Infrastructure Council Centre for Sustainable Regional Communities CMEIG FMA Australia Green Building Council of Australia Local Government Managers Australia Local Government Procurement National ICT Australia The Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government The Australian Local Government Association UTS Centre for Local Government

Facility management

129 Facilities management is essential to effective local government Waste management

134 2011 Queensland floods cleanup 136 Network supports the environment and jobs 139 Lusty EMS moving floor trailers Community, health and ageing

140 Response to the UCLG policy statement on culture 2010: What does it mean for local government?

142 McDonald’s in the community 144 A proud contributor 144 Giving back through sport and recreation 145 Ronald McDonald House charities 146 Healthy eating activity and lifestyle (HEAL™) program assisting councils to build healthier communities 148 Make an impressive entrance Education and training

151 Learning in local government 155 New higher education awards by distance for technical staff

Published by

Executive Media Pty Ltd ABN 30 007 224 204 430 William Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000 (03) 9274 4200 Phone: Fax: (03) 9329 5295 Email: media@executivemedia.com.au Web: www.executivemedia.com.au Edited by: Gemma Peckham Design/Layout: Jody Green/Debbie Thompson

Other titles include: The Australian Local Government Environment Yearbook ® and The Australian Local Government Infrastructure Yearbook®.

To discuss an advertising package to promote your company in one of Australia’s leading local government publications, contact Executive Media on (03) 9274 4200 or media@ executivemedia.com.au. © and ® Executive Media Pty Ltd. All rights reserved.

Except as stipulated under the Copyright Act, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form without the permission of the publisher. First Edition 1993, Second Edition 1994, Third Edition 1995, Fourth Edition 1996, Fifth Edition 1997, Sixth Edition 1998, Seventh Edition 2000, Eighth Edition 2001, Ninth Edition 2002, Tenth Edition 2003, Eleventh Edition 2004, Twelfth Edition 2005, Thirteenth Edition 2006, Fourteenth Edition 2007, Fifteenth Edition 2008, Sixteenth Edition 2009, Seventeenth Edition 2010, Eighteenth Edition 2011, Nineteenth Edition 2012.

ISBN 978-1-921345-22-7 While all reasonable care has been taken in the preparation of this Yearbook, the editors and publishers do not guarantee the accuracy of information contained in the text and advertisements. Every effort has been made to acknowledge all sources and owners of copyright. The views expressed in this Yearbook are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the publishers and editors.

Finance and business strategy

156 Creating a strong performance culture the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 3

minister’s foreword

The Hon Simon Crean, Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government, and Minister for the Arts

Australia is on the brink of a new era of strength, diversity and prosperity, and local leadership is crucial to shaping it. Local government plays a significant role in embracing the challenge of a patchwork economy and empowering the regions to achieve sustainable futures.

T

hat is why we are working with local government to help them identify local infrastructure priorities, take advantage of the National Broadband Network, move to a clean energy future and build more sustainable communities.

The Local Government Reform Fund and the Financial Assistance Grants (FAGs) are two programs that enable local government to achieve strategic outcomes for their regions. The Australian Government has provided $37 billion in FAGs to local government since 1974.

The first round of the almost $1 billion Regional Development Australia Fund delivered $150 million to 35 shovel-ready projects worth almost $418 million. We challenged communities to develop creative proposals that stacked up, effectively leveraged other funding and sustained the economic and social future of their regions.

Applications for Round Two, worth $200 million to support priority projects in regional Australia, are now being assessed.

Final funding agreements for the last round of the $1.1 billion Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program were established relating to 6200 projects that meet infrastructure needs identified by local councils. More than half of the $171.9 million Better Regions projects have completed construction. These projects are providing

4 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

important community infrastructure to significantly enhance the livability of regional towns.

Strengthening the 55-strong Regional Development Australia (RDA) network continues to be a priority.

Each RDA committee, made up of local leaders who volunteer their time to work with government, business and community groups to deliver better services to the regions, is required to have at least two local government representatives.

The Australian Government has also commissioned Ernst & Young to conduct a review of regional infrastructure financing to unlock vital investment dollars and enable them to go further. Announced at the first meeting of the newly established Local Government Ministers’ Forum last year, this review will identify additional sources of capital for future local infrastructure.

The government is also committed to progressing recognition of local government in the Australian Constitution. In August 2011, we appointed an independent Expert Panel, headed up by the Honourable James Spigelman AC QC, to consider the level of support for including local government in the Constitution and the options for such recognition.

Following an ambitious national consultation process over several months, the panel has reported back to government and we have considered the findings. I thank the panel, councils and the community for their involvement in this important process.

The Australian Centre for Excellence in Local Government (ACELG) is another mechanism of support for local government. Established with $8 million in seed funding in 2009, ACELG continues to drive innovation, encourage greater participation by women and enhance professionalism in the sector.

Excellence in the sector continues to be celebrated through the National Awards for Local Government. In 2011, the quality of the entries was, as always, extremely high, and it was pleasing that among the overall 17 category winners, seven were small councils. I look forward to the 2012 awards, which will no doubt show the same high degree of creativity and innovation.

I look forward to continuing the dialogue with local government and working together in strong partnership to meet future challenges and improve the social, economic and environmental future of our regions.

leading edge local government

Campaigning for a permanent Roads to Recovery program Genia McCaffery, President, Australian Local Government Association The maintenance of the local roads system is one of local government’s major tasks, and in most councils it is the single largest item of expenditure. The Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics estimated total expenditure on local roads by councils to be $4.2 billion in 2008/09. Since 2001, the federal government has recognised that the needs of local roads are beyond the financial capacity of local government and has provided funding under the Roads to Recovery program to supplement council funding.

T

he continuation of the Roads to Recovery program beyond 2014, when it ends, is now one of the major issues facing local government.

Local roads are the means of linking our homes, schools, farms and businesses. Without local roads there would be no access to schools, health facilities, social amenities and markets.

The local road system is more than 650,000 kilometres in length and makes up more than 80 per cent of all roads in Australia. The National Transport Commission has estimated that 36 per cent of all kilometres travelled in Australia are on local roads. Their economic importance is clear – 30 per cent of kilometres travelled by medium vehicles and 16 per cent of kilometres travelled by heavy vehicles takes place on local roads.

Councils have an obligation to manage their local roads effectively and to continue to improve their asset management. However, improved asset management alone cannot meet the backlog in funding.

ALGA’s 2010 study into local road funding found that expenditure on local roads has been less than the life cycle cost for the past five years, and that the shortfall in funding

the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 5

leading edge local government

to simply maintain rather than improve Australia’s local roads in the period from 2010 to 2025 is estimated to be around $1.2 billion annually.

All of us in local government are grateful for the significant contribution that Roads to Recovery funding has made to improving local roads and for the economic, social and community benefits the program has achieved to date.

It is difficult to imagine what the state of local roads would now be without the $3.5 billion provided so far under the program.

The Roads to Recovery program is a true partnership between the federal government and local government.

Under the terms of the Roads to Recovery program, local government has complete management responsibility for the delivery of the program without federal intervention.

The booklet that I released at the 2011 National Local Roads and Transport Congress in Mount Gambier highlights some examples of the more than 34,000 projects that have been funded under Roads to Recovery, and showcases what local government can do with federal support. Audits by the Australian National Audit Office have also consistently shown how well local government uses this funding for the benefit of our communities. It is a great success story.

Roads to Recovery is a program that has delivered benefits to all Australians in urban, regional and rural areas.

It is unlikely that there is anyone in Australia who has not travelled at some stage on infrastructure built, enhanced or maintained with Roads to Recovery funds. It is a program that has touched all Australians.

There is no question that local government needs the funding. There is more, much more, to do on our local roads.

ALGA has launched its campaign for the permanent renewal of the Roads to Recovery program at an increased level of funding. As a first step, I wrote to all councils asking them to pass a resolution seeking a continuation of the current arrangements, which provide an entitlement for each and every council on the basis of their roads needs. We are also seeking continuation of the simple administrative arrangements that do not

6 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

require complex, costly and time-consuming applications.

Under the current program arrangements, councils know up to five years in advance what they will be receiving and can therefore prepare their budgets and plan their work program with certainty.

While we do not specify the amount of increased funding we are seeking under an extended program, we would like the huge shortfall that councils face to be recognised. In the current financial environment the ALGA Board considers that it would be counterproductive to demand unrealistic increases, but we think the case speaks for itself.

The campaign has already had some impact. The government has said that it strongly supports the Roads to Recovery program as a way of assisting local government to maintain and upgrade local roads, and that it has no intention of withdrawing the financial support for the existing program. This was restated by the Parliamentary Secretary for Roads and Infrastructure, Catherine King, at the 2011 National Local Roads and Transport Congress.

At the same event, Leader of the Nationals, Warren Truss, announced that a Coalition government would extend and enhance the Roads to Recovery program beyond 2014, which was warmly welcomed by councils.

ALGA welcomes these announcements but will continue to seek assurances from both sides of politics that the Roads to Recovery program will become a permanent feature of the federal budget and that program funding will be increased.

leading edge local government

leading edge local government

Soft Landing

S

oft Landing is a social business run by Mission Australia. It is a mattress recycling and refurbishment program. It is an innovative, integrated industry-government community collaboration located in the Bellambi area of Wollongong and Smithfield in Western Sydney.

The business employs indigenous and long-term unemployed locals who are experiencing barriers to the mainstream labour market such as histories of substance misuse, imprisonment and low levels of literacy and numeracy. Soft Landing is eager to expand its Social Enterprise into new local government areas and welcomes enquiries.

Soft Landing provides a costeffective, conscious recycling option for discarded mattresses.

Mattress constituent parts are recycled, including steel, timber, foam, wadding, latex and coconut husk. Customers currently include kerbside collection for large local government areas, transfer stations, hotels, waste service operators, aged care facilities, government departments and the general public. Soft Landing is currently being evaluated by the Centre of Social Impact at the University of New South Wales to determine the social return on investment that is delivered to the community via engagement with this business. Soft Landing is currently working with a number of LGA’s to develop social procurement guidelines to be able to replicate this model across Australia.

For further information please call 1800SoftLanding.

soft landing mattress recycling

www.softlanding.com.au Soft Landing is a social business providing a conscious recycling solution.

If you need to dispose of mattresses or have been sending them to landfill - call Soft Landing today - we can help!

1800 SOFT LANDING

Don't Dump It - Let’s Work Towards A Greener Australia

recycle

(1800 763 852)

X • the australian local government yearbook 2012

the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 7

leading edge local government

More Fuel?

More savings About 7-Eleven

7

-Eleven Stores Pty Ltd, Australia’s first Choice in convenience, is a private company owned by the Withers/Barlow family. The company has a licence to operate and franchise 7-Eleven stores in Australia from the United States based 7-Eleven Inc. The first Australian store was opened in August 1977.

Today, 7-Eleven operates more than 600 stores along the eastern seaboard, including over 400 stores with fuel.

The majority of our stores are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for your convenience. In addition to fuel supplied by Mobil and our iconic Slurpee, 7-Eleven stores offer a range of grab-and-go fresh food, confectionery, drinks, snacks, bread and milk, mobile recharge, gift cards and a handy range of everyday essential grocery lines.

The 7-Eleven Fuel Card provides you with loads of great benefits! Every 7-Eleven Fuel Card customer receives a discount on their fuel purchase* every time they use the card. The more fuel you purchase, the more you save on every litre.

These standard discount bands are allocated to all accounts based on the average litres purchased through your account per year. To find out more about how this is determined for your account, please call our customer service centre.

7-Eleven Fuel Card is cost-effective and convenient • There’s no joining fee and no annual or monthly account fees. With the 7-Eleven Fuel Card, your only expense will be a small transaction fee of only 35c each time you use your card.^ • No contracts, making joining our program a simple and convenient choice for businesses.

• With more than 400** 7-Eleven fuel sites and selected Mobil outlets across New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and Queensland; there are plenty of locations to choose from when you need to refuel. For a full list of store locations please visit www.7elevenfuelcard.com.au

7-Eleven Fuel Card is flexible A range of products is available for purchase using the 7-Eleven Fuel Card. These are in groups or you can pick and choose based on your needs.

• Fuel only* (discount applies to all fuel except LPG) – unleaded, premium unleaded, diesel, LPG and more X the australian australian local local government government yearbook yearbook 2012 2012 8 •• the

• Fuel and vehicle expenses – all of the above, oils and car wash • All – all of the above plus the 7-Eleven shop A flexible range of different card types is available to help restrict or enable usage for your individual cardholders.

• Driver only card – driver name is embossed on your card and a signature panel is used for security.

• Vehicle only card – vehicle registration is embossed on your card and used for security.

• Driver and vehicle card – driver name and vehicle registration are embossed on your card. A signature is required for validation in conjunction with your vehicle registration.

7-Eleven Fuel Card allows for simple administration • Up to 44 payment-free days and the convenience of a number of payment methods. This includes direct debit or you can choose to receive an invoice on your statement.

• On your statement you will find all the information you need. Look for odometer readings, litres purchased and fuel consumption.

• Managing your account is simple with online access available at anytime. With a 24-hour web self-service, you can view, change or update your account and cardholder details and view your transactions, just log on at www.7elevenfuelcard.com.au • Helping make administration and management of your account even simpler, you are also able to access optional ATO approved reports including: FBT statements^, Quarterly BAS statements^, Annual Tax summary^ and email exception reporting^.

Notes: *

does not include LPG

^

Other fees for optional services apply.

**

Projected store numbers following completion of purchase of Mobil/Quix stores from Mobil Oil Australia Pty Ltd.

leading edge local government

Fill up on savings

No joining fee and no monthly or annual account fees^

Save 4¢ per litre

on fuel* for your business for the first 3 months, with ongoing discounts.

Go to www.7elevenfuelcard.com.au or call 1300 711 711 The 7-Eleven Fuel Card is a credit facility provided by Wright Express Australia Pty Ltd (ABN 68 005 970 570), a specialist supplier to the payment industry and the largest multi branded fuel card operator in Australia. *Does not include LPG. the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 9 ^ A small transaction fee of only 35c applies.

leading edge local government

A new centre of town

By Doug Sharp, CEO, Rural City of Wangaratta The Rural City of Wangaratta can now boast that it has a state-ofthe-art performing arts centre – a facility that is the envy of many other regional centres. A facility that won its constructors, Hansen Yuncken Pty Ltd, the prestigious 2010 Master Builder of the Year award, and the venue the Commercial Buildings $5–$10 million category.

A

t its official opening in September 2009 by the then Premier, John Brumby, the venue attracted over 4000 community members to the celebration.

This venue has proven to be a resounding success with performers and audiences alike. The road that led to this project’s success, however, was extremely rocky. The challenges faced, at times, seemed insurmountable. This is the story of the Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre.

Performing arts centres are difficult projects to get off the ground. They are expensive to build and not widely understood. This is particularly true in rural centres where there is often far less exposure to the arts than in capital cities. Community sentiment is often, ‘Why should I pay for something like this – something I will never use?’

The concept of building a performing arts centre in Wangaratta had been around for more than 30 years. The only venue remotely suitable for the performing arts centre

10 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

leading edge local government

Ever wonder what DORMA technicians do on their day off?

We wait for your call.

was the Wangaratta Town Hall, which was built in the early 1960s, primarily to cater for local dances, amateur theatre and community events. While the Town Hall was much loved by the local community, particularly those who remembered it from its early days, it couldn’t provide what is required of a modern, purpose-built performing arts centre.

Over the years there had been several attempts to secure funding for a purpose-built theatre attached to the Town Hall, with no success. In 2005, the Victorian Government announced a potential funding stream through the ‘Moving Forward’ statement; however, the funding was limited. Another major regional centre had the first funding promise, but withdrew.

A big opportunity presented itself – if we were quick enough to act. The Rural City of Wangaratta had been looking at three concepts: two involved revamping the existing Town Hall, and one involved demolishing the Town Hall and replacing it with a purpose-built performing arts centre. The use of a greenfield site had been considered, but higher project costs and the desire to maintain the arts and cultural precinct within the central business district ruled this out.

Door Control

Automatic Doors

Glass Fittings and Accessories

Movable Walls

Service

DORMA Service – opening a door to the future automatic doors · door closers industrial doors · movable walls

The key imperatives that had been identified were the need for a 500-seat theatre, modern ‘back of house’ amenities, a flat floor hall area, a restaurant/café, and the need to fit into a budget of $8 million.

Only one concept met all of those imperatives – demolish the Town Hall and rebuild!

It was now time for real leadership. A decision needed to be made to have any chance of securing the Victorian Government funding. There wasn’t time for protracted consultation or a popularity contest. Key imperatives needed to be met. A recommendation was submitted and accepted by Council.

The reaction to the announcement that Council intended to pull down the Town Hall and build a performing arts centre met with immediate opposition, which came mainly from the local Senior Citizen Club, the Returned and Services League (RSL), and some disaffected members of the community. The media, sensing a big story, quickly embraced the community sentiment and whipped it up to a level bordering on hysteria. A community petition was quickly launched that ultimately gathered over 5000 signatures. The underlying opposition focused mainly on the sentiment that: ‘the Town Hall has served us well – why pull it down for some performing arts thingy?’ Opposition

Door operators and wall systems are complex pieces of equipment that are subject to punishing wear and tear. A regular maintenance program ensures that wearing components are replaced or a malfunction is addressed before it becomes a problem.

Regular maintenance helps prevent accidents, prolongs the life of the product and ensures the safety of users while reducing breakdowns and the accompanying inconvenience.

When you choose DORMA, you are supported by a nationwide network of accredited and fully trained technicians and agents, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

This level of exemplary service applies to our extensive range of DORMA automatic sliding and swing door operators, and to all types of automatic doors, industrial doors, door control products and movable walls.

Public safety and security are our paramount concern and reflected in our prompt response times - making DORMA the unrivalled industry leader in service support.

DORMA Australia 1800 675 411 australia@dorma.com www.dorma.com.au

321195A RHS_Leading Edge | 1760.indd 1 the australian local

24/01/12 2:26 PM government yearbook 2012 • 11

leading edge local government

from the RSL revolved around the Town Hall’s status as the ‘Memorial Town Hall’ and a concern that the memorial status would be forgotten with the development of a performing arts centre.

Council’s communications strategy to counter the opposition focused on a community education process involving four elements. The first of these was to develop full-page advertisements to be placed in the local paper and directly mailed to all residents as a DL flyer. The layout was based on a question and answer format that endeavoured to address all major concerns raised. The second element was to hold a public meeting. While this approach was risky, it did allow the up-to-now silent supporters of the project to be heard. The third element was to conduct a statistically valid independent survey. This was done to gauge the success of the initial community education campaign and because a level of doubt existed around the methods used to obtain signatures on the petition. The fourth element was to enlist well-respected community champions for the project who could talk up the benefits that a performing arts centre would provide.

Each element played a significant part in the process.

The survey revealed that the majority of the population supported the concept. Interestingly, in the under-55 years age bracket, it was overwhelmingly supported. The theme that was becoming apparent was ‘build for the future, but respect the past’.

All of a sudden the tide started to change. One-on-one discussions were held with key protagonists to overcome objections. Agreement was reached with the RSL that a ‘Wall of Honour’ would be developed in the new performing arts centre to honour Wangaratta’s ex-servicemen and women, and the flat floor area would be named the 12 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

‘Memorial Hall’. The RSL was extremely pleased with this outcome. Picking up on the respect for the past, it was agreed that the wall of honour would also feature the history of the site, including that of the Town Hall, and list local citizens who have received Australian Honours. This is now an attraction in its own right. Opposition started to disintegrate. By the time a planning permit was issued, only some seven months after the original Council decision, there were no objections received!

The Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre is now a reality and a runaway success. It was completed on time and on budget, and the Memorial Town Hall was knocked down to do it. That well-known line from the movie Field of Dreams comes to mind – ‘If you build it, [they] will come!’ Sometimes you simply can’t appreciate the value of something like a performing arts centre until you experience it. To underline the success of the centre, in the first 12 months of operation 66,000 people passed through its doors – double the most optimistic expectations.

The key messages for others dealing with the challenges of constructing complex infrastructure are to identify key imperatives through research and consultation, and not to compromise on these key imperatives. Keep in mind that it is not a popularity contest, and don’t design by consensus or public opinion – leadership is about vision, decision-making and the ability to bring others along with you to share your vision. The Rural City of Wangaratta’s community education process achieved this in this instance.

A recent comment from one of the Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre’s chief critics sums up much of the original opposition to the project: ‘I wouldn’t look at it when it was being built. Now, I can’t stay out of it!’

leading edge local government

Interested in preserving your local wartime heritage?

The Saluting Their Service commemorations program offers modest grants to assist local communities to honour the service and sacrifice of Australia’s veterans.

The program is designed to help preserve our heritage from wars and conflicts and encourage community participation in commemorative events.

A wide range of community projects may be supported including: • establishing or refurbishing community war memorials; • restoring vandalised memorials; • restoring and publicly displaying wartime memorabilia; and • commemoration of significant anniversaries of battles and other military operations.

Local councils, schools and community groups such as historical societies and ex-service organisations can apply for grants through the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

Application forms and funding guidelines available from the DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS’ AFFAIRS on: 133 254 – metropolitan callers 1800 555 254 – non-metropolitan callers Website: www.dva.gov.au/grants the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 13

innovation and technology

Social media and drivers for local government innovation Paul Bateson, based at the University of Canberra, in a conversation with Mervyn Carter from the Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government (ACELG) about social media, innovation and local government.

Mervyn Carter: What is social media?

Paul Bateson: It’s an important and growing online channel of communication and for conversations involving society more broadly; and a vehicle or a tool that organisations, including councils, can use to better engage with their communities and their stakeholders. I give the caveat that it is a tool or a channel because social media has to be complemented by the more traditional forms of communication and engagement. Those that just rely on social media, this new technology or these new technological means, are failing to grasp the need for integrated approaches to engagement. Not everyone is going to be on social media, not everyone wants to be, and not everyone has the confidence to use social media, so face-to-face will still be very important, along with other online means of communication.

14 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

MC: So we are talking about Facebook, Twitter, and what else? What are the social media channels?

PB: There’s also Yammer, YouTube, LinkedIn, Flickr, and a growing number of other options for social media.

Obviously Facebook and Twitter are probably the biggest forms of social media worldwide and in Australia, yet there are many other different forms, and it can extend to other online tools, smartphone ‘apps’, websites and web-based opportunities to engage communities.

MC: Most states now require councils to develop long-term community plans. How does social media help councils engage more closely with their communities?

PB: Well it’s one more option, particularly to engage ‘hard to reach’ groups in the community. For example, the youth age community people, who might not warm to other forms of communication and yet really dig using social media. So that’s just one example. Also in terms of using the networks via social media to spread the word; to get important messages out there about the opportunities to participate in community-based planning, decision-making and strategic processes.

MC: You’re becoming an expert on best practice for the Innovation and Knowledge Exchange Network (IKEN) based on the ACELG program. Can you give me an example of really great use by a council of a social media site?

PB: There are a growing number of councils in Australia that are leading the way in social media. We’re starting to document some of these; for example, amongst the smaller councils in Sydney, Mosman is really doing some wonderful stuff. One part of this is their Big Ideas website, which really

innovation and technology

harnesses creativity, innovation, ideas within the community in terms of planning and the provision of services delivered by that particular council.

That’s been done really well; it’s been done strategically. And that’s a very important thing for councils to consider. If you’re going to do social media, if you’re going to use it, do it strategically.

MC: As you know, one of the good things about local government is that it’s quite innovative. One of the really big challenges is that the innovations remain local. The council comes up with a great idea, applies it in its local area, and it works. Other councils have similar problems across Australia, but they’re not aware of the solution to these problems. Do you think social media can make a useful contribution in bridging geographic and intellectual divides?

PB: It certainly can, although it has to be facilitated in the right way and not with a ‘one size fits all’ approach.

It’s very different, as you know, considering remote rural councils that deal with the tyranny of distance, a very dispersed community, low rate base and don’t have the same sort of resources and capacities as, say, a bigger metropolitan council like Brisbane City, which is a national and international leader in the use of social media. So definitely not ‘one size fits all’. This is a challenge, yet an opportunity, for ACELG and our Innovation and Knowledge Exchange Network to document some of the innovation and better practice examples that can be shared nationally that assist with the different types of councils and different demographics.

MC: There are 565 councils around Australia with revenue of 32 billion dollars per year. They are spending about a third of that on their employees – their asset reach – but income is constrained and they’re under great pressure to provide more services, better quality services, more timeliness, and more effective services. How can social media help there, and can it help councils lift their productivity?

PB: Yes. Social media can be a driver for innovation and from innovation comes increased productivity, improved performance delivery and cost savings. It can do this in a number of ways; first of all it can tap into ideas from the community, and I mentioned Big Ideas at Mosman. There are lots of great ideas that can improve service delivery that the council can adopt and work in partnership with the community to plan, design, deliver, and monitor.

Also, use of social media internally (I mentioned Yammer) leads to better engagement and exchange within the organisation itself in terms of facilitating innovation, which often comes from the grassroots staff and middle management level. There’s a great opportunity to harness that. In partnership with other organisations, social media can be delivered most effectively if done in an integrated way. This can be achieved at the local level, and also at the regional level. So I think social media, by linking in the interface or the intersection with, for example, the RDAs and other spheres of government, can be highly effective.

MC: For digital dinosaurs like myself, what’s Yammer?

PB: Yammer is a sort of internal form of social media.

It’s a secure networking platform for staff, workers or researchers to exchange ideas, discussion, and feedback.

The generation of innovation can come from that, and it’s a more inclusive way of involving people within an organisation, not just those who are more ‘out there’, also others who might perhaps be a bit more timid face-toface. It’s a safe space for knowledge exchange within an organisation. City of Kingston in Victoria is using Yammer very effectively, as is the University of Canberra here.

MC: What’s a blog and how do I do a blog?

PB: (Laughs) Good question. A blog usually is an opinion shared online. It could be a punchy, short message or piece of information that’s put out there for others to see, share and comment on, or a longer opinion piece like part of regular column, e-newsletter or forum. I think the key here is you’re sharing it openly and you don’t know where it will go next. It could be the start of a development of a wonderful set of ideas with other people’s input. You can also get vigorous debate, which may well need moderation.

the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 15

innovation and technology

Some of it might not always be what you (as the author) want to hear, although it’s a way for gauging opinion about an idea you might have.

Generally blogs are not overly lengthy and can be accompanied by supporting media like YouTube or video clips and links, or some other forms of information to help reinforce or emphasise the theme or points being made.

Often the online engagement results in bloggers developing healthy and even large online followings and increased profile for the topics they cover.

MC: Some people say that when you have this social media and this rapid exchange of information, that people going online haven’t fully thought through the implications of their posts. It could be distracting for staff working in local government and responding on Facebook or Twitter, by, say, getting a ‘bit of a hit’ from this and the associated excitement, rather than, say, doing work in other ways.

Do you think that council staff are going to become more distracted, less efficient, and less productive because of the availability and array of social media?

PB: Well certainly there is a fear amongst many local government organisations, councils and management that this could open up a ‘Pandora’s box’ in terms of the use of social media, and it could be a distraction beyond the core business of council staff. And yet with social media, if you come up with a coherent strategy and a policy, that’s probably the best way to manage something that people are already very interested in. It’s going to happen anyway.

So rather than come down with a big stick, why not use social media and do things proactively, harness it, and steer it the right way towards productivity and performance improvements of the organisation.

I think it’s important to move beyond the fear, have some trust in the staff, and really facilitate the use of social media in a proactive and a positive way, rather than an overly authoritarian approach.

MC: Now, there will be some people in local government and also in the community who will be unfamiliar with social media. How do we bring those people up to speed? How do we help the ‘digital dinosaurs’?

PB: A good question; and that will always be a challenge with so-called ‘new technology’. The answer is in providing 16 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

a number of options – training clearly is one of those – and education and awareness to break down misconceptions about what social media is, what it isn’t, what it can do and also the limitations. We need an integrated approach that’s going to be a mix of things.

Clearly there is a difference between taking elected representatives and councillors along with us on the social media journey, and the senior managers and practitioners at grassroots level including field staff or customer relations personnel of a council. And there’s the opportunity in terms of, say, the delivery of services of council for the benefit of the community, by better engaging with the community online, and doing that with some leadership.

Councils are in a very good position through their libraries, for instance, to offer training or assistance in the use of social media by communities. From that, they can help to build better relationships with the community. We know, also, not to stereotype the community thinking that it’s ‘old people’ who are having problems and are alienated from social media – that actually is clearly wrong because some of the greatest take-up now of social media is amongst older citizens, and online usage as well. I hear lots of examples, and there’s lots of evidence, about the growth and learning curve for our senior and elderly citizens, which can sometimes rejuvenate them in terms of stimulation as well, through social media and online involvement and engagement.

MC: I think that’s a good point, Paul, because many older people feel isolated and many younger people are well engaged with social media. So as older people adopt social media they, on the one hand, will feel less isolated from their peers, but also, say, from their grandkids or their kids.

They’ll be freer in communication, so I think that’s a good point. I’ve worked in local government for about 15 years and one of the best projects I ever saw was at a place called Eugowra in Cabonne Council in New South Wales. In that project, there was a Community Development Officer, Joy Engelman, and she did something that I thought was a marvellous way of engaging with people. She asked them to take six photos of things they liked in the community, things they loved in their community, and six photos of things they disliked in their community.

These were all posted up in the Town Hall and then there was a debate within that town about what they liked about their community and what they wanted to fix. Once they had identified what they wanted to fix, they started sorting

innovation and technology

Councils are in a very good position through their libraries, for instance, to offer training or assistance in the use of social media by communities. out who would do what. The Lions Club might address the amenities block, the business community might deal with the streetscape, the council might deal with the rejuvenation of the oval, and some functions were handed on to state and federal governments to address. And they did not just do this for Eugowra, but also for other towns within the council because they didn’t really have a centre.

So basically the council was overwhelmed with the needs of very simple communities, and this Community Development Officer found this very clever way of engaging the community and getting some momentum going in terms of addressing some of the issues that were of concern to them. Now, it struck me that this might be quite a good process for social media because you put pictures up, and social media is quite good for pictures. Do you think this could be done in the 565 councils where you could use social media to invite people to post their photos of what they like about the community, what they dislike and maybe get a bit of interaction on how we can solve some of these problems locally?

PB: Yes, certainly that sort of example has got great potential to be adapted elsewhere, and I use the key term ‘adapted’, because it isn’t ‘one size fits all’, and as you know with innovation, it’s usually an original idea that is developed and then implemented. Certainly in terms of better practice, they’re the sort of examples (and you mention the Cabonne Shire), that can be applied or adapted elsewhere, and once again it’s not the same for every jurisdiction or setting.

I believe in encouraging councils to explore a range of options. Certainly social media can complement the faceto-face forums, and increasingly the message that we’re getting from the leader councils in social media is that they’re not retreating away from face-to-face engagement.

They’re doing it in conjunction. This presents a real logistical challenge, and also an opportunity for councils of any size or description, and is about getting the right sort of balance. Tapping into the ideas from the community (like Big Ideas previously mentioned) includes other examples such as Gold Coast City Council’s ‘futures’ process, called Bold Future.

With these examples, the council is in a much better position to be able to respond to better reflect community views, with not just the usual suspects, but by engaging others in the community who can offer fresh ideas and input in a proactive way.

MC: Paul, during the 1990s you worked for a council on the northern fringes of Sydney. It was well known for its innovation in natural resource management. What did it do that was really special and what’s exciting and innovative in the natural resource management sphere now?

PB: The key for my time at Ku-ring-gai Council, in terms of being part of the innovation journey, was that we had a really good team. Most of the ideas came from the middle management that I worked within, and the grassroots level of staff; however, their progression depended on good leadership. We had a succession of directors who were very encouraging of development of innovation. That leadership helped to facilitate the development of innovative programs that became national benchmarks for local government in terms of urban bush land management, for example, and was highly successful.

Natural resource management since the 1990s has come a long way. It has become more mainstream as part of core business of most councils around Australia, whether it’s remote rural, urban fringe or even inner metropolitan councils, which have remnants of biodiversity. Some of the best examples occur in the most unlikely places.

We know, for example, in water management some of the great achievements there are at places like Augusta Margaret River. People tend to think of the Murray Darling as the main hub for dealing with the big water issues, and yet in the south-west of Western Australia, here’s an example of a highly innovative council leading the way on water management in terms of water re-use to save money and conserve water.

We’ve got the Mornington Shire in southern Victoria, which, as you know, is also a very important wine region, doing great things in terms of holistic approaches to sustainability, which includes natural resource management.

Now I’m just mentioning a couple of examples there and the lists are growing month by month, year by year, right across Australia.

MC: You mention the Murray Darling Basin. The issue here is that there’s a bit of distance between the planning of the bureaucrats and the politicians, and the realities of living in a town that’s water dependent, a town like Griffith, where the economy’s water dependent. How can social media help address bridging this gap? How can social media help us address this kind of significant natural resource management problem now? the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 17

innovation and technology

PB: There’s a relevant project just emerging on the use of social media in the Murray Darling Basin, and it’s being run of out the University of Canberra (UC). This is all part of governance, communication and engagement with the communities of the Basin. I think most of us would agree that some of the communications, in fact much of the previous engagement with the community, left a lot to be desired.

Tough decisions are always going to have to be made at the end of the day, even if you come up with the most sophisticated and robust community engagement process.

Social media is one powerful tool to first of all inform the community, which can probably help to dispel myths, and also to be used as a feedback mechanism to the principal lead authorities and agencies. This can then make a difference in terms of facilitating development of strategies of improvements to the condition of the Murray Darling Basin, in terms of a holistic approach to sustainability. So it’s potentially a very powerful tool.

It will be interesting to see what comes out of this social media project run out of UC. Local government needs to be engaged as an equal partner for this process, and as you know, it is closest to the community out of all the spheres of government. It’s in a very, very good position to apply social media in partnership with the other agencies for this huge catchment.

MC: So you see social media, for example, being a useful tool for councillors?

PB: Certainly for councillors who represent their constituents, we believe they need some professional development in this area, because as I have mentioned before, councillors might well be using social media in a different way to other staff. We know that in the United Kingdom the 21st Century Councillor, that’s an online resource, is an excellent guide for elected representatives on how to use social media. I think we probably need something like that developed for Australian council conditions, which are different from the United Kingdom’s.

MC: OK, Paul I’m going to throw you one last question, I think arguably the hardest question in local government.

There are many councils around Australia, small rural councils with large amounts of infrastructure to construct and maintain, but small and often dwindling populations, and as a result they face significant challenges in terms of financial sustainability. Do you have any views on how we can make these councils more sustainable?

18 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

PB: There could be some more radical approaches in terms of the tax system federally, and the way taxes and the revenues are distributed, but I don’t want to get caught up in a big debate like that. I’ll leave that to others. However, I think there’s always going to be a limitation to the amount of money and resources that are available to the local government, and the individual councils. It’s how we best proportion and strategise the expenditure of that limited revenue and resources, and we need to value-add.

We talk about productivity; well, innovation is a great way to do more with less, and that’s always going to be the case. Any council has the capability to be innovative – even the smallest, lowest rate base, most remote councils.

It needs enlightened leadership; it’s about being creative and looking at the partnership opportunities, and sharing services with adjoining councils or like-minded councils.

Shared services; they are very powerful ways of making things go further.

MC: Yeah you’re right. There was a small council up at Shute Harbour in Queensland that found a very clever way of dealing with concrete pylons on their jetties through an electrolysis process to repair the council jetty without interrupting services. It won a small council award and then it went on to win the overall national award for local government. This was a pretty small council doing great things, and so I agree, innovation is one of the answers.

Thanks very much, and good to discuss local government with you, Paul.

PB: Thank you Mervyn, and for the opportunity to share these ideas.

For further details on the Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government visit www.acelg.org.au and www.iken.net.au

Paul Bateson, based at the University of Canberra, is co-ordinating the ACELG team undertaking pioneering research within the Australia context into social media and local government. This includes a national survey completed in 2011 under the expert guidance of Karen Purser, and the recently completed draft issues paper From explanation to engagement: Application and use of social media to enhance local government performance.

Authored by ACELG Research Fellow, Anne Howard, the latter will be published in the first half of 2012.

innovation and technology

Background biographies

Mervyn Carter

Paul Bateson

Mervyn Carter is Project Manager for the National Local Government Workforce Strategy and Data Sets for the Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government (ACELG). He is compiling national data and contributing to strategies to address local government skills shortages, lift women’s participation in the workforce, and measure council progress in financial and asset management.

Since early 2011, Paul has worked as Program Co-ordinator of Innovation and Best Practice with the Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government (ACELG), a position hosted by the University of Canberra.

Mervyn has 16 years’ experience in the Australian Government working on local government funding and reform, including the successful $4.5 billion Roads to Recovery program, which has funded about 30,000 local road projects; and supplementary funding for South Australian local roads.

Mervyn has a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) from La Trobe University.

Over more than two decades, Paul (also known as Pablo) has worked in the fields of environmental management and sustainability, with extensive experience in the ‘not-for-profit’ sector, local government, state government, industry, regional organisations, contract positions for Commonwealth programs, and freelance consultancy.

He has authored numerous publications as well as ‘how-to’ material for educational, professional development and communications purposes for local government. This included Incentives for Sustainable Land Management (2001) published by the Department of the Environment and Heritage in Canberra.

Paul has held numerous honorary positions, including President and Vice President of Environs Australia: the Local Government Environment Network (1995-1999) and member of the IUCN’s Commission on Education and Communication for ESD (20012005).

Paul holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Geography from the University of New South Wales and is a co-recipient of the National Award for Planning Excellence 2002, Planning Institute of Australia.

the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 19

Reducing timbeR sent to landfill

A

lmost half a million tonnes of timber and wood products are sent to NSW landfills each year. A large portion of this material can be repaired, reused or recycled to create new and value added products.

Finding new ways to use old timber and wood products prevents it from decomposing in landfill and producing carbon pollution, and reduces the demand for new landfills.

The Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) is working with a number of industry associations and groups to explore and promote ways to make good use of old timber and wood products.

Old wood pallets for new chicken bedding

Shredded wood pallets trialled as chicken bedding.

Image of chickens courtesy of the Australian Chicken Meat Federation Inc

It is estimated that Australians consume around 44kg of chicken meat each per year – a ten-fold increase since 1963. As a result, demand for chicken bedding is increasing by around 4 per cent each year. Supplies of wood sawdust and shavings from sawmills are struggling to meet this demand.

The Timber Development Association of NSW has received funding from OEH to trial processing of old wood pallets to create chicken bedding. A draft specification for the supply of shredded wood pallets to chicken growers has been developed in consultation with farmer, timber and recycling groups. The specification defines the parameters and quality requirements for optimal production of chicken bedding.

You can access a copy of the draft specification by emailing the Office of Environment and Heritage at sustainability@environment.nsw.gov.au

Counting the carbon savings of pallet recycling

Wood pallets contribute to the half a million tonnes of timber sent to NSW landfill each year

Nearly every business in Australia uses wood pallets for transporting goods. While the vast majority are reused through rental pools, many pallets end up unclaimed and unwanted, and ultimately, in landfill.

X • the australian local government yearbook 2012 20 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

A trial online calculator has been developed by the National Timber Product Stewardship Group in partnership with OEH to help recyclers measure and report on the carbon pollution savings of diverting wood pallets from landfill.

The calculator has received positive feedback from recycling and wood pallet industries. Ward Petherbridge of Waste Converters in Victoria said, “I love it! Please keep it up and running as I intend to supply the information to customers of our timber waste collection service. They are very keen on this information.”

This online calculator can be accessed at: www.timberstewardship.org.au/calculator

Bridging the gap between recycling and infrastructure timber Many councils have old timber bridges that are being repaired or replaced. The practice of reusing timber salvaged from these sources is becoming more important, as supplies of new hardwood timber are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. Reuse and recycling are preferable options; however infrastructure timbers are often subject to preservative treatments, coating with lead-based paints or even chemical spillage. The Protocols for Recycling Redundant Utility Poles and Bridge Timbers encourage maximum reuse and recycling of timbers, assist in clarifying if the timber should be regarded as waste and create confidence in the quality of products produced from the recovered timbers as well as improve awareness of possible regulatory requirements.

The Protocols provides guidance for infrastructure managers, engineers, waste management contractors and timber recyclers to responsibly reuse and recycle.

NSW Roads and Maritime Services have recently used the Protocols in a tender for the sale and reuse of their redundant bridge timbers.

For more information or a copy of the Protocols and case studies visit: www.environment.nsw.gov.au/waste/RecyBridUtilPol.htm Improve the reuse and recycling of timber and wood products in your local government area by promoting these exciting new initiatives.

For more information contact the Office of Environment and Heritage.

Call: Environment Line 131 555 Email: sustainability@environment.nsw.gov.au Visit: www.environment.nsw.gov.au

innovation and technology

Why am I so busy these days?

By Terry Dodds, City of Ryde

The MT55 Pro multitouch table, Image © Ideum, www.ideum.com.

Why does it seem that the new ‘efficient world’ isn’t all that efficient?

Why does it seem that the more I know about things the more difficult things are?

Why does it all seem so relentless, regardless of how hard I work?

‘As long as the centuries continue to unfold, the number of books will grow continually, and one can predict that a time will come when it will be almost as difficult to learn anything from books as from the direct study of the whole universe. It will be almost as convenient to search for some bit of truth concealed in nature as it will be to find it hidden away in an immense multitude of bound volumes.’ – Denis Diderot, Encyclopedie (1755) What Denis Diderot spoke about 257 years ago was the capacity of us to keep up with information driven by the (then) exponential growth in printed material – it is called the ‘human scale’. And he didn’t live with the internet!

• To apply knowledge gained requires effective information management.

• To manage information in a world where ‘exponential growth’ understates the speed of change requires a pragmatic and methodical approach.

• Pragmatism only comes with wisdom.

22 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

And there lies a big problem; wisdom comes with age, experience or repetition. But even then, it cannot be applied if the sheer quantity is outside of our (human) capacity to comprehend!

Much ‘wisdom’ used to be found in workplaces 30 or so years ago in the form of the person who’d worked there for decades. Those days are over, with only one in five people staying in a place of employment for five years now – with the latest generation entering the workforce thinking two years is an absolute eternity.

So, not only are we losing the wisdom of the ‘who, how, when, where, why or if’, related to the questions we should be asking, we’re getting more information to lose at an astronomical rate!

This is made worse by the fact that good quality information is now often mixed in with voluminous amounts of other less important knowledge, which can take an extraordinary amount of time to wade through. Being 10 per cent more efficient each year by working smarter not harder isn’t good enough when the quantity of new information is increasing at 66 per cent.

innovation and technology

The MT55 Pro multitouch table, image courtesy Ideum, www.ideum.com.

The table enables large-scale surface computing.

Additionally, 30 years ago there wasn’t the specialisation within professions that now drives our need for communication and collaboration across so many different fields of expertise on such a large scale. As sophistication in any field of expertise grows – driven by improving economies of scale – so does the interaction required.

We (naively) believe that this should be easier (now) because of our ability to instantly, in real time, communicate with whomever we wish, wherever they’re located.

This ‘belief’ is really a false dawn, as ‘easier’ needs to be assessed against the gain in momentum.

• Is there an end to this madness?

Yes, we can filter anything we want to – quite easily; something that people have been using computers for years and years to do.

• So if we’ve been filtering information for so long, why are we so bad at it?

In other words, why does it seem that the left hand (still) doesn’t know what the right hand is doing?

The left hand probably does know what the right is doing as much as before the information age – the trouble is, with 66 per cent more information to wade through before the ‘hands’ can link, there are other problems!

• We need a way of calculating what information we need exactly – prior to working out exactly how to implement the answer. The trouble is, ‘exactly’ isn’t a word with which data mining seems to be equated!

• But even answers aren’t enough anymore. Our answers will form part of the (now) more integrated world – and are likely to be used by many others in a shorter period of time to lever synergies we can’t begin to fully comprehend.

• Managing any intellectual property so people in organisations don’t duplicate work or miss opportunities will become much more important. As of now, much intellectual property (such as management plans) currently sits on shelves in an office gathering dust.

Defining the problem to date has been flawed, as almost all definitions resulted in solutions that sped processes up, only adding to our problems. So, we have to define the problem better, as filtering so far has not been based on a scale large enough to integrate many different genres without being so complex that only the people who wrote the ‘fix’ know how to use it.

This hasn’t been helped by an IT industry whose (continuing) interest depends on selling us the next

continued on page 26  the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 23

innovation and + technology technology

Built rugged for mission-critical work

P

anasonic Australia, the world-leading provider of purpose-built ruggedised mobile computing solutions, recently announced several key improvements to the company’s flagship Toughbook CF-19 Mark 5 fully-rugged device, designed for field utilities, emergency services, defence, transport maintenance and other mission-critical professions.

With exceptional screen visibility and enhanced usability features supported by double the system performance, the Toughbook CF-19 Mk5 is the ultimate device for the most extreme conditions.

The Toughbook CF-19 Mk5 boasts system performance twice as fast as that of its predecessor with a second generation Intel® Core™ i5-2520M (2.5GHz) standard voltage processor, ensuring that the device can handle even the most intensive applications with ease.

The 10.1-inch Active Matrix Touch LED LCD screen continues to offer the best screen visibility on the market using Panasonic’s Transflective Plus technology. This results in an impressive enhancement of up to 6000 nit of transflective brightness while reducing power consumption and enhancing battery life as no backlight is required in bright environments. This model also incorporates a circular polariser to reduce glare.

Built rugged, the Toughbook CF-19 Mk5 has a Magnesium Alloy chassis and a specialised shockabsorbent damper encasing the hard drive. The unit can withstand knocks, heavy vibrations and sharp temperature fluctuations as well as survive falls from up to 1.8 metres.

The CF-19’s screen rotates 180 degrees and converts to tablet form. The on-screen image can be turned four ways with the touch of a button for added convenience.

The new Toughbook CF-19 Mk5 incorporates improved ruggedisation, offering MIL-STD810G and IP65 certification.

The model features Covert Concealed mode, so that at the touch of a button, the screen display and status LED disappear immediately to protect sensitive information from being read by

X 24• •the theaustralian australianlocal localgovernment governmentyearbook yearbook2012 2012

unauthorised persons. This ensures that data remains confidential – an important consideration for informationsensitive industries such as defence or the police.

The Toughbook CF-19 Mk5 is shipped with 4GB RAM as standard, with a 32bit or 64bit Windows 7® Professional operating system bundle and a 320GB Hard Disk Drive.

HDD options include 128GB SSD, 265GB SSD or 500GB. The new model is now even easier to use, boasting enhanced management functionality with the new Toughbook Dashboard designed to customise each Toughbook according to user preference with ease, providing a user-friendly, quick launch interface. The Toughbook CF-19 Mk5 is shipped with either a Touch Screen or a Dual Touch Screen. There are two keyboard options, rubber or emissive backlit, with a wider distance between keys for more accurate and comfortable data input.

Panasonic’s portfolio of products also includes semirugged offerings.

In 1998, Panasonic created the first semi-rugged computer. Now, Panasonic introduces the latest generation, the Panasonic Toughbook® 53. With a 14” HD LED display, 2nd gen Intel® Core™ vPro™ processors* and an oversized multi touch touchpad, it performs like a desktop.

Options for a sunlight-viewable Panasonic CircuLumin™ touchscreen, backlit keyboard, mobile broadband, make this the most versatile semi-rugged PC ever.

The Panasonic Toughbook CF-19 Mk5 is $5499RRP. It is available from Toughbook distributors. For more information on the Toughbook range, call +61 2491 7418 or visit www.toughbook.com.au.

Windows®. Life without Walls™. Panasonic recommends Windows 7.

Panasonic recommends Windows® 7.

Windows®. Life without Walls™. Panasonic recommends Windows 7.

Windows®. Life without Walls™. Panasonic recommends Windows 7.

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

PAnASOnIc FULLY RUGGEDISED

Our Toughbooks are distinguished by their ability to survive the toughest of environments. It is the of our uncompromising research and TOUGHbOOkS result development. Since 1996 we have as the world leading manufacturer, built our notebooks to fit our customers’ individual needs delivering tailored, Our Toughbooks are distinguished by their ability innovativeare business solutions, Our Toughbooks distinguished by unavailable their ability through to survive the toughest of environments.

It is the alternative manufacturers, based onIt their to survive the toughest® of environments. is therequirements. ® result Now of ourwith uncompromising research and technology Intel Centrino 2 with vPro™ result of our uncompromising research and development.

Since we robustness have as theand world you can rely on1996 extreme also long development.

Since 1996 we as the world Our Toughbooks arehave distinguished by their ability leadingbattery manufacturer, built security our notebooks to fitand our life, improved technology leading manufacturer, built our notebooks to fit to survive the toughest of environments.ourIt is the outstanding connectivity.

After all,tailored, survival is not customers’ individual needs delivering customers’ individual delivering tailored, result of our needs uncompromising research and the only thing that matters. innovative business solutions, unavailable through innovative business solutions, unavailable development.

Since 1996 we havethrough as the world alternativemanufacturers, manufacturers, based on their alternative based on their requirements. leading manufacturer, built our notebooks to fit our EvEryThINg mATTErS. ® Core™ i5-2520M requirements. with® Intel Now withcustomers’ Intel® Now Centrino 2 with vPro™ technology individual needs delivering tailored, Processor technology you can relyand onunavailable extreme you can rely on extreme robustness also long through innovative business solutions, robustness and also long battery life, improved battery life, improved security technology andtheir requirements. alternative manufacturers, based on security10.4” technology and outstanding connectivity. ® After outstanding connectivity. all,®survival is not technology Now with Intel Centrino 2 with vPro™ Dual survival Touch is on notextreme the onlyrobustness thing that matters. theAfter, onlyall, thing thatrely matters. you can and also long

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

PAnASOnIc FULLY RUGGEDISED TOUGHbOOkS

PAnASOnIc FULLY RUGGEDISED TOUGHbOOkS

with 1000cd

battery life,MATTERS. improved security technology and EVERYTHING EvEryThINg outstanding mATTErS. connectivity. After all, survival is not the only thing that matters.

Mention this advertisement to receive your free Carry Case with any Toughbook purchase! (subject to stock availability)

Centrino, Centrino Logo, Core Inside, Intel, Intel Logo, Intel Core, Intel Inside, Intel Inside Logo and Intel vPro are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.

EvEryThINg mATTErS.

10.4” 10.1” XGA Dual Touch with 1000cd

CF-19

10.4”

www.toughbook.com.au Dual Touch with 1000cd

CF-19 Centrino, Centrino Logo, Core Inside, Intel, Intel Logo, Intel Core, Intel Inside, Intel Inside Logo and Intel vPro are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.

Centrino, Centrino Logo, Core Inside, Intel, Intel Logo, Intel Core, Intel Inside, Intel Inside Logo and Intel vPro are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.

CF-19 www.toughbook.com.au

www.toughbook.com.au

innovation and technology The MT55 Pro multitouch table, image © Ideum, www.ideum.com.

The table enables large-scale surface computing.

The answer…



continued from page 23

‘solution’. They will inevitably say that the ‘new’ solution will give us our time back! ‘Umm, yeah… right’, I hear you all say. (Only 20 per cent of what IT we buy we actually use already, so adding to this is just pure folly.)

We all need to link a maelstrom of information from many different areas, from many external and in-house databases, processes or places – half of which we can’t remember how to effectively operate because we rarely use them, and the other half we can’t remember the passwords for anyway! By the time we get there (again) we’ve often forgotten the purpose of what we were doing in the first place. On top of our day-to-day operational needs we need to apply strategic philosophies that are decipherable in a new world that only talks in ‘reactionary speak’ – a world inhabited by those who wanted the result yesterday.

How do I know what to ask so I don’t drown in information, and so I can go to the correct location to gain it?

How do I know how to implement the right answer, and in doing so, ensure it is integrated and able to be used by others?

How does an organisation make information available: • • • • • • • • • •

to any employee economically and when needed within their capacity (human scale), ability and authority anywhere, anytime and in real-time in any language that is relevant, repeatable, reliable and legally defendable that can be tracked that is able to capture hard (physical) and soft (intellectual) property that is technically doable that is NOT likely to become obsolete in a constantly changing world?

26 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

A biological cell consists of very few parts, yet when combined in large numbers they form extremely complex organisms. When viewed as a single cell under a microscope they’re far more comprehensible than the complex organisms they grow into. The same can be said about information, yet in comprehending it we’re always trying to manage it from a whole ‘organism’ basis, not by the lowest common denominator (cell).

If we looked at information based on the lowest common denominators, and used things that never changed, we would all be using the same ‘cells’ even though we’d be ‘growing’ different ‘organisms’.

A real world example of something that has very successfully integrated a common ‘DNA’ is Lego® ™ (the children’s building block toy). Lego has continually evolved over decades, but every piece joins together as it was designed, no matter what decade it was manufactured, what country it was sold to, what language is spoken in the household, what skill-set the user possesses, what shape it is desired to create, what it represents, how long it stays together and who passes it on to who. No matter what happens to it, though, one single philosophy underpins its continuing success: it can be fully integrated, as it has very few common components.

In managing almost anything there are only three common denominators, two of which don’t change, leaving only one common denominator that is subject to change.

Constant denominators 1 Any geographical location never changes. For example, where a building is geographically located today, it will be where a building (or something) will be geographically located tomorrow.

The earth doesn’t change much, barring catastrophes (Alexandria, Knossos), so where something is can be described. If it is a large ‘something’ it simply has a larger geographical footprint (area). The description or name of what we want to know about, in that geographical area, only changes by what we’ve learnt to call ‘it’.

For example, something from which to get a drink of water in a public park can be called a tap, bubbler, faucet or drink fountain, depending on what you were taught or remembered. This could cause a massive

innovation and technology

disconnect and therefore needs addressing. So we must call the ‘something’ by the same name – unless we write yet another program that data-mines the various names, which is what the whole exercise is trying to avoid.

2 Any point in time is a constant

Variable denominator 3 Energy, or the value added or value lost to anywhere – usually measured (in local government circles) as people, plant and materials – is variable.

If we use a way to gain information from the two constants and one variable, everything we want to know that has happened can be easily seen, or anything that should happen can be integrated.

In other words, we use cells to build organisms, not body parts to build organisms – with good reason, as the last person (and his trusty hunchbacked assistant called Igor) that tried to build a body that way created an uncontrollable monster!

There are many more things to contend with, as just about all generic systems have flaws built into them, caused by the same incorrect design philosophies.

Firstly, most off-the-shelf systems are usually designed by one (profession) genre personality type. This is fraught with organisational danger, as these types of ‘tools’ are designed to be used corporately not expert-centric based – if they’re ever going to work! What engineers or building managers or planners would think is terrific won’t ring anyone’s bells from community-oriented sections of an organisation. And whether the technical people understand it or not, under the Integrated Planning and Reporting Framework the community decides what happens – right or wrong.

Everything cascades from the Community Strategic Plan down through goals, strategies, management plans, concepts, budget bids, project management plans, works orders, physical works, commissioning, servicing, asset renewal and then reviewing (whole-of-life-cycle encapsulated by the 10-year financial plan). In private industry it is no different – everything is controlled by what the customer buys. So a system that only catches hard assets is going to become redundant and out of touch very

fast, as this is focusing on the end result, not the whole process. This, in turn, will bring huge organisational risk to any organisation. Perhaps a great example of this is the saga of what happened to IBM when they became expertcentric and internally focused. It wasn’t until they fixed their cultural problem that the company recovered.

Secondly, most generic systems only look at measuring what has happened in the past, or at best, what is scheduled to happen next. Rarely are applications derived that can be used to forecast shortfalls in service levels or finances from previous metrics, management accounting or customer service requests. After all, the whole idea of system integration is to help take risk out of the equation by reducing guesswork, and enable control of the 10-year financial plan.

Thirdly, there is TOTAL interdependency between servicing, renewing and new non-capital/capital works.

Unless the effects of changing one can predict the effect on the other two over the whole-of-life-cycle (10-year financial plan), all that you’ve achieved is collecting a whole lot of useless numbers – at a massive cost!

Lastly, most try to place too much emphasis on one database, or worse, move the responsibility to one manager. This is the absolute cardinal sin. To maintain the integrity of any database requires the people who have ‘skin in the game’ to ‘own’ that database. This doesn’t mean it can’t or won’t get data mined in creating ‘pictures’ that will be used to predict, report or warn of opportunities or threats to others. It means if there are 12 or 15 existing sets of information sources that their data integrity would be better managed by the people who know how to do just that – providing authorities are in place and the common denominators correct.

In concluding, it might seem that the solution is actually as complex as the problem. It is not. Providing the three common denominators are adhered to and the humanistic (not just the technical) rules are applied, all information can be gained from one location.

This Geospatial Program Integration Management System (GPIMS) won’t be a luxury in the future – it will be an absolute necessity! Many have tried to produce something, many have gone close, too, but I have yet to see any organisation that has achieved a real-time system that is integrated well enough that the real interdependencies are mimicked in the 10-year financial plan.

I just hope the City of Ryde is the first! the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 27

innovation and + technology technology

Feed your digital workspace with more inFormation Extract valuable information from documents with a solution from Kodak.

D

ocument capture is the first step in creating access to information trapped in physical and digital documents.

Adding this data to your digital workspace can have far-reaching effects in terms of compliance, cycle times, decision-making and cash flows.

This accessibility can help you maximise returns to shareholders by being more efficient and more competitive, translating to greater profits and new growth opportunities.

In addition, organisations can innovate with new services and information access strategies that satisfy constituents.

The challenge is to extract the document information you need and make it available to your operations as quickly and cost-effectively as possible. Doing just that is our business and we have been doing so since 1928.

Over time, we’ve accumulated a deep understanding of imaging applications and what our products and software must do to best support business and government operations. We have also incorporated over two decades’ worth of customer feedback into how we design and deliver scanners, software, services and support to make our solutions easy to use.

In the race to get documents online, Kodak offers a team with depth.

A document capture solution is a bit like a relay race, with handoffs between scanners, software, processes, staffs, and support services. They must run in sync to reach the finish line. A capture solution based on Kodak’s products and services does exactly this.

Get set: Kodak Capture Pro software Digital documents captured from scanners, fax, email, or the Web require some degree of processing before uploading to your systems. Kodak Capture Pro Software is designed to be flexible and capable to manage this leg of the race. The output can include images in wide varieties of file formats/structures along with its metadata/ index extracted from the document’s content. Capture Pro Software’s high performance, ease-of-use, and customised features enable operators to handle your highest volumes of incoming documents. On integration, its openness enables the seamless release of a steady stream of images and data to your workflow and back-end systems.

Go the distance: Kodak service and support It takes integration, training, and maintenance to keep a document capture solution up and running. When Kodak Service & Support anchors this leg of the race your life is simplified because all it takes is one call to get action. We figure out whether parts, software or help desk support are required, so you can continue to operate with the greatest degree of confidence.

Get ready: Kodak scanners A scanner’s role may sound simple—it creates digital images of paper documents. Because documents and imaging applications come in a variety of types, there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ answer. It’s important to get the right scanner/s for the job. Kodak’s expansive and robust scanner portfolio offers the greatest selection of configurations and volume capacities in the industry easily matching specific workflow and types of documents you need to handle.

X 28• •the theaustralian australianlocal localgovernment governmentyearbook yearbook2012 2012

For more information contact: Francis Robert Y. Yanga Business and Channel Manager, ANZ Phone: +613 84178132 Weblink: http://graphics.kodak.com/DocImaging/ uploadedFiles/DoMoreWithKodak.pdf Email: francis.yanga@kodak.com

Š Kodak, 2012. Kodak is a trademark.

information technology

Local government in a digital age

By Dean Economou and Michelle Carden, National ICT Australia

I

Councils now operate in an environment of technological change, where citizens have higher expectations of engagement, transparency and of how services are delivered.

NICTA – Australia’s national centre of ICT excellence – researches the technology behind these changes. NICTA’s Australian eGovernment Technology cluster links government stakeholders with innovative Australian ICT companies and research organisations.

Image above: NICTA’s Automap automatically recognises and geo-locates assets like street signs using advanced video analysis technology.

30 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

n the last decade, technological, economic and cultural changes have combined to the point of fundamentally altering the way government at all levels engages with its citizens. The increasing power and uptake of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets means that more people than ever are online, and in touch. Information is available at our fingertips and in our pockets. This is part of a trend of putting the citizen at the centre of government services, popularly called ‘Government 2.0’, but also sound government and an opportunity to match community needs with improved and more targeted services.

The pace of change can be dizzying at times, but we think this is just the beginning of a revolution in the business of government.

One of the most significant changes in the last five years has been the astonishing uptake of smart mobile phones and, most recently, tablets. More people are online more often, no longer tied to a desk or a landline when they contact government. Australia has the world’s highest smartphone penetration, estimated to reach 62 per cent by 2015 (Frost and Sullivan). This will profoundly affect the way government at all levels interacts with its citizens. It may be as simple as applications to find parking, or as complex as making the entire raft of online local government services available on a mobile device to become an intrinsic part of how services are delivered to the community. A mobile device also allows highly personalised services to be provided. Through its spinout OKLabs, NICTA software is at the heart of the world’s most popular smartphone operating system: Android.

In Australia, the National Broadband Network (NBN) will have a particular impact on local governments in regional and remote Australia. By providing a uniform step increase in the bandwidth available to homes and small businesses in regional and remote areas, it becomes practical to offer health, education and community services directly to the home. This is a transformation opportunity, and has spurred regions such as Coffs Harbour and others to develop digital strategies. The Australian Centre for Broadband Innovation

information technology

is exploring these opportunities in the NBN first-release sites such as Kiama, Coffs Harbour and Armidale.

The NBN represents a generational opportunity to improve the way services are delivered, as well as the foundation for creating new, high value jobs that can now be located wherever there is high bandwidth. But for the NBN to make its biggest impact it needs the support and the engagement of the local community. Without this engagement, and without the community being aware of what broadband can do, we will fall short of what might be accomplished. Local government has a vital role to play in fostering the conversation around NBN and helping the community engage. The federal government, aware of this, has developed the Digital Regions initiative. This program is a four-year, $60 million initiative to co-fund innovative digital enablement projects with state, territory and local governments through a National Partnership Agreement (see http://www.dbcde.gov.au). The continuing pressure for lower-cost computing and storage has reached the point where we now refer to it as the ‘Cloud’. Essentially, the Cloud is made up of scalable servers and software publicly available at low cost over a network. The combination of the Cloud and good quality, ubiquitous broadband through initiatives like the NBN provides a powerful opportunity for cost-conscious government to lower its capital expenditure and concentrate more on developing citizen-focused services than running an in-house IT shop. The Cloud does raise issues around control of data and jurisdictional boundaries, but governments under great budget pressure in places like the United Kingdom are finding these surmountable. The Australian Federal Government has been exploring the use of the Cloud and has published its findings in the Cloud Computing Strategic Directions Paper (http://www.finance.gov.au). NICTA is working closely with government and large enterprises to develop the tools that allow a smooth and safe transition from in-house servers to the Cloud and allow management of hybrids across the two.

There is a host of other technologies and trends that will both have positive impacts and lead to vexing questions in the next decade. Video analytics has now reached the point where licence plates and cars can be tracked, people identified, assets such as street signs can be automatically recognised and geo-tagged, and much else besides.

NICTA’s Automap technology can automatically identify and geo-locate street and traffic signs merely from video acquired by driving past. Geospatial technology allows a

Cluster participants – iCognition talking to Senator Kate Lundy at the FutureGov Australia Conference.

Cluster Steering Committee members, Ann Steward, AGIMO and Don Easter, ICT Supplier Advocate chat to cluster participants at a networking function.

contract to be routed on local government roads. Data mining or ‘Big Data’ allows insight into citizen behaviour, allowing better targeting of services, or even the ability to optimise repairs of essential infrastructure like water pipes.

Smart Grid technology will enable widespread use of microgeneration and smaller sustainable energy systems, helping local government to meet their sustainability targets.

While technology trends are important enablers, it is also important that all stakeholders be engaged in understanding how technology can improve government at all levels and together develop appropriate solutions.

For this reason, NICTA is sponsoring the Australian e-Government Cluster – a national cluster that brings together participants from government, the ICT industry sector and the ICT research sector. the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 31

information technology

The cluster fosters: Innovation through: • trialling and development of new technology innovations for government

The cluster works with government agencies and participant companies to trial new innovative technologies and to disseminate information about those trials to government participants. Previous trials have included tools for visualising public opinion on policy matters obtained from social media.

• growth of business opportunities for innovative Australian companies in the government sector, both in Australia and overseas

The cluster works with local SMEs to promote new technology innovations to government through the sponsorship of stands/promotional material for major international conferences and tradeshows such as FutureGov and CEBIT.

Panellists Brendan Lovelock (CISCO Systems), Fionna Granger (Dept. Health and Ageing) and Anna Wise (Consumers Health Forum Australia) at the eHealth Forum.

Awareness through: • events that promote new technology concepts/ innovations for government

The cluster runs a number of events for government stakeholders to learn about new technology innovation topics, including eHealth, Mobilegov, Cloud computing, et cetera.

• events that investigate ‘lessons learnt’ from ICT deployments for government

The cluster runs a number of events that enable government stakeholders to learn from their industry colleagues’ experiences, including GovCamps, and FutureGov Australia 2011.

The cluster welcomes participants from all levels of government (federal, state and local). Current membership includes state and federal government agencies, multinational corporations, highly effective small businesses and research organisations such as NICTA and universities.

An example of current activity is a survey and analysis of the community perception of mobile payments systems; an area of high relevance to local government.

32 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

For more information on the cluster please go to www.egovernmentcluster.org.au.

information technology

information technology

Amcom – Delivering to AustrAliAn business AnD government

A

s a leading provider of network and communication services, Amcom is one of the few organisations ideally placed to deliver the converging IT requirements of Australian business and government.

Amcom delivers a range of services including Internet and Network services and Cloud and IP Telephony via its dedicated fibre network and on-premise Managed and Integration services.

Amcom’s dedicated local account teams and 24/7 support services have helped to build their reputation as a customer focused and trusted solution provider to over 70 local, state and federal government departments.

‘We will continue to focus on better understanding our customers’ requirements and developing end-to-end solutions to achieve significant cost savings for them.’

A snapshot of Amcom services: • Fibre networks • Datacentre and VPN • Business internet up to 10Gbps* • Cloud solutions • IP telephony, video and conferencing solutions • Managed & Integration Services. * Subject to availability of services.

Visit amcom.com.au or telephone 1800 428 428 to find out more.

What’s your backup plan?

Amcom’s private Cloud – Hosted backup and Recovery.

Reduce your risk and safeguard your data.

Secure, automated backup

Flexible commercial model

Supported migration to the Cloud

Internet | Fibre Networks | IP Telephony | Cloud | Managed & Integration Services

Let’s talk

1800 428 428 X • the australian local government yearbook 2012

amcom.com.au/cloud

the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 33

best practice

Alice Springs

the heart and solar centre of Australia Supplied by Alice Springs town Council The small town of Alice Springs, with a population of close to 30,000, has been developing a reputation for its world-leading expertise in the use of one of the region’s most abundant natural resources: solar energy.

34 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

T

he Central Australian region receives more sunlight than any other region in Australia, with over seven kilowatt hours per square metre per day of incident radiation, according to the Australian Solar Radiation Handbook 1994. Furthermore, whilst the local solar resource is high, the arid climate – which varies from blisteringly hot summer days to sub-zero evening temperatures in winter, creating a high demand for cooling and heating – results in electricity consumption that is above the Australian average in homes and businesses.

Alice Springs also has a longstanding track record of using solar energy, with every second household having a solar hot water system installed – one of the highest installation rates in the country.

These are just some of the reasons why Alice Springs was chosen to participate in the Australian government’s Solar Cities program. Solar Cities was launched in 2004, and seven cities throughout Australia were chosen to participate, with each Solar City delivering a unique trial covering a combination of: •

energy efficiency measures

•

solar energy technologies

•

energy pricing trials

•

smart metering technologies.

best practice

Solar Cities was launched in 2004, and seven cities throughout Australia were chosen to participate, with each Solar City delivering a unique trial.

The successful Alice Springs bid for participation in Solar Cities was led by the Alice Springs Town Council, and is particularly unique among the seven projects for being local government-driven. The other members of the Alice Solar City consortium include the Northern Territory Government, Power and Water Corporation, Arid Lands Environment Centre, NT Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Tangentyere Council.

Launched in March 2008, the Alice Solar City project (www.alicesolarcity.com.au) uses a combination of innovative community engagement programs, alongside high and low technology interventions and measures, to empower the community to make informed and intelligent use of energy. In essence, the project aims to change the way residents think about and use energy.

The Alice Springs Town Council plays a pivotal role in the project, being the lead proponent and hosting the key funding agreements. Alice Solar City is a trading name of the Council and it employs the staff dedicated to the project, as well as meeting its financial HR and IT service needs.

An important and highly successful element of the community engagement strategy was the development of a Smart Living Centre – a ‘shopfront’ on the main street of town that has been fitted out with a wide range of interactive displays and other information on saving energy.

The Centre serves as a hub of activity, and allows for faceto-face engagement between the public and project staff.

In the three and a half years since its launch, the project has attracted more than 2000 (20 per cent) of the town’s households to participate in the voluntary residential program, as well as more than 160 local businesses. Each participant receives a free, comprehensive energy audit and a tailored energy saving report. The project also offers residents and businesses funding to implement measures identified in their audit, such as installing solar PV, solar hot water, shading, window tinting, insulation, and low energy lighting options. Other measures supported include lowtech, simple measures like painting roofs white, which is highly effective in reducing heat loads on buildings during the extended summer season when temperatures typically reach 40 degrees.

continued on page 38 

An important and highly successful element of the community engagement strategy was the development of a Smart Living Centre. the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 35

best practice

Fulton Hogan – your partner For a smootH and trouble – Free journey Fulton Hogan’s suite of services includes: • re-surfacing of regional roads and airports utilising stateof-the art mobile asphalt plants, as well as arguably the most experienced laying crews in Australia • bitumen sealing and/or re-sealing, incorporating the most advanced bitumen spraying equipment in Australia - the Multispray® • complete road and street infrastructure maintenance capabilities, including roads, pavements, street signs and furniture • electronic asset management

F

ulton Hogan is a major resource-based civil contracting company, providing a range of products and services to customers in the construction, surfacing and infrastructure services sector.

Currently employing 5500+ people across Australia and New Zealand, Fulton Hogan continues to grow and diversify.

‘Fulton Hogan’s vertically-integrated business model ensures that our customers will receive innovative solutions and ongoing value,’ contends Andrew Rosengren, Australian CEO. ‘We have the technical and logistical expertise, combined with the managerial strength to deliver value-added outcomes that focus on whole-of-life pavement management.’

With an enviable record in maintaining road infrastructure and associated assets in regions as diverse as the south-west of Western Australia, outback Northern Territory and inner-city Melbourne, Fulton Hogan is assisting road infrastructure owners and operators control costs while maximising their investment’s operational efficiency.

Offering fence-to-fence infrastructure services solutions tailored to the customer’s specific needs, Fulton Hogan promotes a whole-of-life approach to managing assets within our clients’ financial constraints.

This encompasses identifying, prioritising and careful treatment selection of defects using specialised software combined with highly skilled asset management and modelling practitioners to identify the network’s current and future needs.

X 36• •the theaustralian australianlocal localgovernment governmentyearbook yearbook2012 2012

• specialist pavement rejuvenation technology such as the ultra high-pressure Watercutter that leads the industry in pavement texture restoration, providing many safety, cost and efficiency benefits.

In addition to producing a wide range of standard heavy duty asphalt mixes, Fulton Hogan also manufactures its own unique pavement and maintenance products for surface enrichment/rejuvenation, emergency patch repairs, crack sealing, and general pavement maintenance. These include: • SERT – a specialised surface enrichment product to restore life to old seals and airport pavements • Surfix70® – a proprietary high-strength polymer modified emulsion sealing agent • SurfixPS® – a proprietary high-penetration emulsion primer-sealing agent • EZstreet® – an advanced cold asphalt used to permanently repair potholes • Emulseal® – an emulsion-based crack sealing agent for management of cracking in pavements • MEGAtex® – a heavy duty, high-strength, high-textured asphalt • Rigiphalte® – a heavy duty cement impregnated asphalt mix for hard stand areas with very high static point loads.

Working in partnership with Fulton Hogan will ensure you stay at the cutting edge of innovation in construction, surfacing and infrastructure services.

Your partner for a

smooth and trouble free journey Fulton Hogan is a major Australasian resource based civil contracting company, providing a broad range of products and services to customers in the roads, quarrying, civil construction, rail, infrastructure and maintenance sectors.

Our services include civil construction, asphalt surfacing and overlay, sealing and reseals as well as surface rejuvenation and routine maintenance.

Northern Territory

+61 8 8932 2700

South Australia

New South Wales

+61 2 9603 6999

Western Australia +61 8 9454 0100

Queensland

+61 7 3291 5600

Victoria

+61 8 8139 4500 +61 3 8791 1111

www.fultonhogan.com

best practice

In the three and a half years since its launch, the project has attracted more than 2000 (20 per cent) of the town’s households to participate in the voluntary residential program 

Located more than 1500 kilometres from the national electricity grid, like many towns and communities in remote Australia, Alice Springs is serviced by its own local minigrid, with gas and diesel being the fuel sources of a total local generation capacity of around 65 megawatts. Local electricity retailer, Power and Water Corporation, is a key partner on the project, keen to assess the impact of these technological and consumer engagement interventions, including their cost reflective tariff, which was designed to encourage household participants to shift load to off-peak times.

continued from page 35

The project has directly supported the installation of 277 solar power systems (supplied by BP Solar) and 660 solar hot water systems (supplied by Solahart) on residential premises. In 2010, Alice Solar City introduced a bulk purchase scheme for solar PV systems, which proved very popular with local residents – the total number of rooftop solar power systems is now over 460.

A range of other interventions and measures are in place to test their ability to influence energy use behaviour, including smart metering, peak and off-peak tariffs and interactive in-house displays of electricity use. The inhouse displays communicate wirelessly with the smart meters, showing a range of information on occupant electricity consumption patterns, and where solar PV systems are installed, this is overlaid with solar generation data. This important element of the project aims to test whether having detailed live and historical information on electricity consumption available to consumers will lead to longer-term changes in their behaviour, load shifting and overall reductions in energy use.

38 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

Iconic solar energy installations In addition to the residential and commercial streams, Alice Solar City has supported and encouraged the development of major ‘iconic’ projects in and around Alice Springs that will play a critical part in the strategy of making Alice Springs a national and international showcase for sustainable living and the use of renewable energy.

These various projects demonstrate a range of largescale renewable energy technologies, including cuttingedge solar photovoltaic concentrator and solar thermal technologies, and have included many Australian firsts.

best practice

Alice Solar City has supported and encouraged the development of major ‘iconic’ projects in and around Alice Springs that will play a critical part in the strategy of making Alice Springs a national and international showcase for sustainable living.

The Alice Springs Town Council is owner of an ‘iconic’ project, having had a large-scale solar water heating system installed as part of its new Alice Springs Aquatic and Leisure Centre development. Construction of this $19 million facility was completed and opened to the public in April 2011. It incorporates a range of indoor heated pools and water slides, in addition to upgraded outdoor pools.

The heating for the indoor facility is based on natural gas, but incorporates a helicol solar thermal water heating system that covers most of the facility’s roof. This iconic

solar installation is one of the largest of its kind in Australia and will, on average, meet 40 per cent of the heating requirements for the indoor pools, increasing to nearly 100 per cent of the heating requirement during summer. The system will reduce the Centre’s gas usage by an estimated 30 per cent and save over 3450 GJ of natural gas per year (equivalent to 350 tonnes of CO2).

The final Alice Solar City iconic project is also its largest. In fact, at 969 kilowatt capacity, the Uterne Solar Power Station is the largest tracking solar power station in Australia. The system comprises over 3000 SunPower high efficiency PV modules across 254 single-axis tracking frames. The system was installed and is owned

by SunPower corporation, and the energy produced is purchased by Power and Water under a long-term power purchase agreement.

Solar uptake in Alice Springs Despite its impressive scale, Uterne represents only around one-third of the total installed solar capacity in Alice Springs. This is testament to the enthusiasm that Alice Springs households and businesses have shown for photovoltaic installations and for their town’s Solar City status.

continued on page 41  the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 39

best practice

DORMA leADs the wAy with As5007 The maintenance and ongoing safety of a pedestrian door also features prominently in AS5007. The Standard provides requirements for the testing, marking and regular servicing of the complete powered pedestrian door installation. One such directive requires automatic doors to be serviced at a minimum of every four months and outlines a requirement for regular service inspections and maintenance to be undertaken, in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. It is the responsibility of a building owner/facility manager to ensure this requirement of the Standard is adhered to.

DORMA service technicians are trained to the service and commissioning requirements of AS5007 and all DORMA service documentation follows the criteria laid out in the Standard.

A

S5007 ‘Powered Doors for Pedestrian Access & Egress’ is the automatic door Standard that focuses on standardising the ‘design, installation, test and safety requirements of all automatic pedestrian door assemblies.’ These assemblies include automatic sliding, swinging, folding and revolving doors in all types of buildings as classified in the BCA. The changes to AS5007 from previous Standards reflects the extensive technological improvements that have been made to all forms of automatic doors over the last decade.

As market leader in the automatic door industry, DORMA Automatics is committed to complying with all sections of AS5007 and is working toward educating stakeholders in the requirements of the new standards.

The focus on reliability and safety of the Standard and the design, installation and service directives within AS5007 have implications not only for automatic door manufacturers, but also for architects, builders, fabricators and other stakeholders involved in the design and installation of the door system. AS5007 sets out requirements for the design and installation of automatic door operators. Consequently, architects and designers will be creating entrances and doorways that consider the safety distance requirements to avoid head, body and finger trap danger points during the opening cycle of the door.

X 40• •the theaustralian australianlocal localgovernment governmentyearbook yearbook2012 2012

Door signage requirements have also been improved under the new Standard. All automatic doors will now be accompanied by one of four distinctive types of door labels (dependent on the door type). The new labels are150 millimetres wide and 75 millimetres high with a blue background and white arrows. The new designs ensure that all automatic doors and their direction of travel will be easily identifiable by all pedestrians as they approach the door.

For further information on AS5007 and all DORMA products and services please contact DORMA Automatics on 1800 675 411 or infoautomatics@dorma.com.

best practice



continued from page 39

In fact, installation rates have been so high that Alice Springs was chosen as the first town to go under the microscope in a planned series of case studies into high penetration of PV on electricity grids. Commissioned by the Australian PV Association, the case study of Alice Springs was published in November 2011. Its findings included that up to eight per cent of the town’s energy needs are being met by its electricity-generating solar installations, and that the Power and Water Corporation is managing the sudden influx of distributed generation well. The full study can be accessed via the Alice Solar City website.

One of the many local organisations participating in the installation of rooftop solar power was the Alice Springs Town Council itself. It installed two solar PV systems in August 2011 – a 19.5 kilowatt system on its Civic Centre, and a whopping 45 kilowatt installation at its Works Depot.

The Council’s solar systems will generate around 103,000 kilowatt hours per annum and will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 72 tonnes each year.

Combined with the pre-existing smaller scale system on the Civic Centre, they will meet around 10 per cent of the electricity requirements of the Civic Centre, and over 80 per cent at the Depot.

A solar future With less than two years to go, the Alice Solar City project is now focused on revisiting its many participants to help them achieve further energy savings. The Alice Solar City monitoring and evaluation team is also in full operation, assessing and measuring the outcomes of its many trials.

The Alice Solar City project is one that the Alice Springs Town Council and the community of Alice Springs are proud of, and is a demonstration of the effectiveness of local action driven by the local community. One thing is for sure – Alice Springs has a bright solar future!

For more information please contact Alice Springs Town Council on (08) 8950 0500 or visit www.alicesprings.nt.gov.au. The Chief Executive Officer at Alice Springs Town Council is Mr Rex Mooney, and he can be contacted on (08) 8950 0525

the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 41 321195A RHS_Best Practice | 1760.indd 1

24/01/12 2:26 PM

corporate profile

Celebrating 100 years together Commonwealth Bank is celebrating a significant milestone – its centenary year.

F

or 100 years Commonwealth Bank has played an integral role in the lives of Australians and growth of the nation. That’s 100 years of helping customers through thick and thin, 100 years of making dreams a reality, helping businesses, along with supporting the infrastructure and growth of Australian cities.

It began as the government-owned Commonwealth Bank of Australia and has evolved to become a leading publicly listed company with a strong domestic and international presence.

To look back at the past 100 years is to review a century of significant progress in the nation’s infrastructure and economy. Commonwealth Bank is proud to have supported this growth. Whether it be supporting the workers of the Trans-Australian railway from 1912-1917, when a Commonwealth Bank officer travelled 60,000 miles by horse to set up savings accounts for workers, allowing many the means to buy homes when their work on the

X 42• •the theaustralian australianlocal localgovernment governmentyearbook yearbook2012 2012

Above: Commonwealth Bank first opened for business on 15 July 1912 in the Modern Chambers at 317 Collins St, Melbourne.

railway was complete; or providing funding to enable mining in Broken Hill, developing much needed jobs for the area; or the Mobile Banking Trucks of the 1950s, which provided banking services to newly arrived immigrants docking at Fremantle.

Commonwealth Bank has also led the way in the digital banking sphere, pioneering innovative technology to simplify the lives of Australians. From Ledger Posting Machines of 1925, which eliminated the need to handwrite individual transactions; to the Black Light Signatures of 1969 that enabled customers to make withdrawals at branches other than their own; to the technological leaps and bounds of ATMs (1981), EFTPOS (1984), Phone

corporate profile

Commonwealth Bank’s focus on financial literacy throughout its history is seen in the centenary television commercial.

Commonwealth Bank Staff Community Fund.

Banking (1987), CommSec (1995), the first online banking platform, NetBank (1997), and more recently Mobile Phone Banking.

It’s this shared history with the local community that makes the Bank’s centenary year such a significant milestone for all Australians.

Now 100 years on, Commonwealth Bank is proud to offer the largest network of mobile lenders, ATMs and branches of any bank in the country. Looking to the future, the Bank is already pioneering augmented reality applications for Smartphones, and has future proofed its banking platform, to bolster the significant pipeline of innovation expected in the next decade.

Investing even more into the community

At the heart of this progress has always remained a dedicated focus on commitment to the Australian people, including educating kids about financial literacy through the School Banking Program, lending to those who dream of owning their own home, and supporting Australian businesses.

With 13 million customers, 800,000 shareholders and over 52,000 employees, Commonwealth Bank is determined that people remain at the core of the next 100 years. Which is why, to mark its centenary year, the Bank increased its investment into Australian communities, committing an additional $100 million over the next 10 years.

Commonwealth Bank CEO, Ian Narev.

Supporting local governments Commonwealth Bank has always enjoyed a strong relationship with local government. As the local community and its needs grew, Commonwealth Bank was there to help.

From the early 1920s, Commonwealth Bank lent funds to local government bodies around the country for essential community services and infrastructure including roads, bridges and drainage works – just to name a few! theaustralian australianlocal localgovernment governmentyearbook yearbook2012 2012• •43 Y the

corporate profile Commonwealth Bank Chief Executive Officer, Ian Narev, said, ‘By committing an additional $100 million over 10 years we are able to make a far reaching and enduring difference to the lives of Australians. These funds will help expand our Staff Community Fund, where we will match our staff’s regular salary contributions to children’s charities dollar for dollar. We will also build on our tradition of helping generations of young Australians through the Commonwealth Bank Foundation, which cultivates the financial literacy skills of young Australians.

‘The funds will also go towards providing increased support to our talented people, who will dedicate more of their time and expertise to help community organisations, making an even greater difference to the communities we all live and work in,’ Narev added.

Staff Giving Back In celebration of a centenary of supporting Australian communities, Commonwealth Bank asked its staff to put forward suggestions on how it could make a difference within the community. Ideas flooded in ranging from national to local, and after much deliberation, a total of ten ideas were chosen.

The first Staff Giving Back idea saw ten schools around the country each receive five iPads to assist in the education of children with developmental and learning disorders, specifically Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Although by no means a miracle cure, the iPad is able to provide an interactive educational experience. Children with autism have varying degrees of strengths, weaknesses and intelligence levels. Some communicate well through writing but are not confident speakers; many are visual thinkers and have strong technological or artistic skills. The iPad is able to help a child capitalise on their strengths and compensate for certain weaknesses.

Two Commonwealth Bank branch staff, Sharon Goodwin from Lake Macquarie of New South Wales and A scene from the Commonwealth Bank’s centenary television commercial.

Branch Manager, Carl Isais, delivering iPads to local school as part of the Staff Giving Back initiative.

Sonia McCall from Greenacres in South Australia suggested this idea, and it is a cause close to both their hearts.

And this is just the beginning. A new Staff Giving Back idea will be announced every month throughout the Bank’s centenary year until July 2012.

To find out more about Commonwealth Bank’s centenary year visit 100yearstogther.com.au

For the past 100 years, Commonwealth Bank has been dedicated to helping local Australian businesses grow. This commitment to supporting the small business community and a willingness to invest in the tenacious, plucky and brilliant, has led to some of Australia’s most iconic and innovative companies.

From new entrepreneurs to established companies, Commonwealth Bank has helped great Australian dreams turn into reality, and will continue to do so for the next 100 years and beyond.

Z • •the 44 theaustralian australianlocal localgovernment governmentyearbook yearbook2012 2012

To THE nExT 100 yEars of HElping THE CoMMUniTy. since 1917, the Commonwealth Bank staff Community fund has had one mission: nurturing children. This year we will donate more than $1,000,000 to children’s charities nationwide.

Join us today as we help future generations blossom.

Our next century starts at 100yearstogether.com.au

100yearstogether.com.au

environment, energy and sustainability

Sustainability in a regional community:

real governance or municipal administration?

John Martin, Centre for Sustainable Regional Communities Being more sustainable has become a catchcry across Australian governments. Given its wide use, we question the value of the concept in determining whether local public policy is sustainable. Often it is tagged on to interests such as ‘financial’ or ‘social’ or ‘economic’ and so on. Sustainability is a concept that refers to whole systems, not component parts, which is why metrics for the triple bottom line – social, economic and environmental – are often added such that we get a sense of the author’s particular view or their whole systems thinking.

46 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

W

e also see in local government the addition of ‘governance’ to the triple bottom line, which I would include in social and economic, but for the purposes of this paper about sustainability in a regional community we will accept this addition and focus on how governance assists in achieving sustainable outcomes, or not.

Regional councils are becoming commonplace across the Australian Federation as state governments attempt structural solutions to deal with the problems of administration and management across our vast rural and remote communities. We also see in sprawling conurbations like south-east Queensland consolidation into larger geographical areas. Consolidation in urban or rural communities has different impacts. Good governance in either place is essential if these places are to have any real chance of claiming they are more sustainable than they have ever been.

Regional governance is different to municipal administration; yet, we suggest, some councils and their managers have not made the change to the former.

Regional thinking requires spatial comparisons both within and between neighbouring and similar regions across the country. Regional thinking assumes we are inextricably linked to our neighbours, and beyond, and our strategic thinking needs to reflect this idea. For example, where do our farmers sell their produce? And how do particular world events impact their business? Where do our young people go when they finish school? And what is it that draws them away – and might influence their return? Are we asking

environment, energy and sustainability

these types of questions – as they apply to our particular circumstances? Or are we focused on municipal services and who gets what from ever-diminishing resources?

Have our large regional councils made the change from just thinking about municipal service delivery to thinking about what regional sustainability looks like? Having a look at the strategic plans of the new regional councils, this is what strikes you most. So many of their aspirations are about municipal services and not about regional strategy, with sustainable outcomes as a key criterion. Are the towns in our regional councils places to which family and friends return – if only to visit or to holiday in – to enjoy the amenity these places have to offer? Or are they places in decline in which no one seems to know how to respond? In fact, it appears that many councils focus on the major town, and their strategy seems to be to simply ignore the small towns in their area. This is, we believe, not a deliberate strategy but happens simply because they don’t have a regional concept to guide their action. Let us explain why we believe this is happening in many of the large rural shires.

Community interest and engagement occurs around an issue, an important precursor of local governance, and this happens in spite of the best intentions of local government.

Governments both lead and follow on issues. It is part of the leadership challenge for all levels of government to give direction and to respond to community concern.

Spatial proximity influences the likelihood that people will be talking to each other to address the common issues they face. We see this, for example, in our work with senior citizen groups across rural communities in Victoria. While they are delighted when the council supports their activities, they are also active in making things happen through their combined skills and effort. If they are far removed from the seat of council administration and the council does not have a regional strategy in place, they are less likely to be able to influence the community conversation that informs councillors and officers about issues of community interest and concern. Given the large geographic area of our new regional councils, with only a handful of councillors, it is not surprising that many small towns feel they have been marginalised by their regional councils.

Often used interchangeably, governance is about the way we engage with each other to get things done, and government refers to the structures that guide the interaction. Governance is as much about the informal relations as it is about agreed arrangements. Our research on rural ageing shows that seniors in small towns are very resourceful and inventive, and don’t seek recognition

for what they believe is their role in the social contract: helping others because others have helped them. These relations go unnoticed, and in some large regional councils the responsible authorities have not been able to integrate their work with these processes. Many regional local governments I have observed have bypassed local governance. They are simply not engaged with people in these relatively remote small towns.

The regional council’s focus on assets and infrastructure, planning and regulation à la the old municipal administration – from where most senior managers came, and which colludes with the parochial thinking of most councillors – conspires to legitimise their actions, which largely ignore places and communities beyond their main town where the majority of councillors live, and which houses the council’s administrative offices. Have a look at any of the indicators of socioeconomic disadvantage for rural and regional Australia and you will see a growing gap between the communities that have – those in the larger urban centres – and those that have much less: our very small rural towns.

In the absence of any deliberate, wholesale strategy to move these communities to the larger urban centres, we are witnessing the demise of the social contract on which Australia’s Federation was established. Its constitution enshrining states’ rights regardless of size and resources; our system of financial equalisation such that everyone has access to basic services; our welfare system of support through the hard times, and when we are injured, disabled, out of work and become old. Achieving regional sustainability requires thinking about how we include everyone who lives in our jurisdiction, as well as how each prospers and contributes to the greater good of the Australian Federation – a way of life much admired around the world and the reason why so many people wish to move here to be part of our democracy.

But what can a regional council do to ensure the sustainability of its region? How can it facilitate the sustainability strategy in its diverse communities? It can’t do it by itself and should disavow itself of any such notions. The regional council is but one, albeit important, organisation in any regional community. There are many more organisations that contribute to the region. Who are these organisations and what is the nature of the dialogue with them?

First and foremost it should have a works and services program that sees the council staff in each community on a regular basis. By regular, I mean weekly at least. In the

the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 47

environment, energy and sustainability

same way that the basic service that most citizens see each week is waste collection, this is a good starting point.

If council staff and councillors are not seen on a regular basis, how can members of the community begin to relate to them?

Second, a region is a geographical concept, and council strategies and plans need to reflect this. It is as much about the places and activities within the region as it is about the relationship with neighbouring councils and the state. How is the history and culture of the region reflected in the council’s plans? How is the economy of each place recognised, regardless of size and impact? All contribute in some way, and as we have pointed out above, the social contract reflected in the structure of Australian society guarantees all a basic level of service provision, and therefore consideration of how best to deliver these services.

Third, how do these processes of consideration occur? A council meeting once a year in each place may be well intentioned, but it can also appear gratuitous and condescending. Is there a place where locals can at least meet the councillors and staff? Some communities have arranged for a rural transaction centre with modest offices, providing the opportunity to meet other than on the street or in the local pub – which may be entirely appropriate in some circumstances!

48 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

Fourth, can all citizens access the council decisionmaking process, either via hard copy minutes, for example, or via the council’s website? Having access to information is an important first step, but it is just that. Governance is about a conversation between citizens and with their responsible authority, the regional council. This may be facilitated around issues, for example mobility, and the opportunity that people have to travel to larger regional centres and more regular public transport services, or it could be about place management issues, the amenity of local parks and gardens, public halls and the like. The substance of the conversation is varied and ever-changing over time. Having the conversation, regardless of how small the various communities are within a regional council’s jurisdiction, is what reflects local governance.

My own observation from working with regional councils is that they sell themselves, and the communities they represent, short, by arguing that such engagement is costly and inefficient. I would argue the opposite. To not engage with rural places in the way in which I have suggested will create a much larger problem in the long run, not the least being the increasing gap between the health and wellbeing of people in rural and metropolitan Australia. If local government is to argue that it is the level of government closest to the people and that it should be recognised in the Constitution, it must surely be proactive in developing a regional strategy as I have suggested. Developing valid regional strategies is an opportunity for our third sphere of government, one that is being reorganised into larger geographical units, to show that it is worthy of the claims it makes for greater recognition and resourcing.

Only when our new regional councils take on a deliberate regional strategy will they begin to facilitate sustainable outcomes across the communities, large and small, in their jurisdiction. Sustainability is a belief system predicated on the triple bottom line as outlined at the outset. If any one leg of this triptych is not considered, then such claims are false. Local government, including our newer, larger regional councils, are the responsible authority for facilitating the sustainability conversation in communities. Regular, systematic engagement around the issues that matter is fundamental to making this happen.

By investing in this relationship, regional councils will build the capacity of local communities who will become partners in their goal of a sustainable region. This is a development strategy that will work in the long run, ensuring the success of all involved.

environment, energy and sustainability

environment, energy and sustainability

Reduce youR enviRonmental FootpRint with centuRy BatteRies

A

homeowners and motorists can drop off their used lead acid batteries for recycling with the reassurance that they will be recycled in a responsible manner.

What if we told you that 98 per cent of a lead acid battery can be recycled and the components reclaimed for use in the manufacture of glass, textiles, detergents and plastic-based products?

‘As a responsible business it is important that we manage the “cradle to grave” process of manufacture, distribution and responsible disposal of used batteries.

pproximately 4.5 million lead acid batteries are sold in Australia each year and this represents a significant amount of acid, lead and plastic material, which, if not managed responsibly, could end up in landfill, on roadsides, bushland or waterways.

As a waste services manager, fleet manager, contracts manager or vehicle owner, are you, your suppliers and service providers actively practicing and promoting environmental sustainability and product recycling? Does this include used lead acid batteries?

CenturyYuasa Batteries, Australia’s oldest and most recognised battery manufacturer, has established a National Battery Recycling Program designed to assist local councils and businesses with the management and recycling of used lead acid batteries. The scheme provides a national network of battery recycling centres where businesses,

According to Allan Woodford, Marketing Manager for Century Yuasa’s Automotive division,

‘In many cases we have found that people and businesses are simply unaware of how or where to dispose of their used batteries correctly and, as a result, we often see batteries discarded with household waste, at local refuse sites or dumped on road sides.

‘The Battery Recycling Program provides motorists, homeowners and businesses with the outlets and resources to dispose of the batteries correctly and is also focused on informing people on the importance of recycling used lead acid batteries to reduce their environmental impact.’

Century’s recycling program provides a total scrap battery management solution, which includes a regular scrap battery collection service, marketing support and assistance with the environmental issues and legislation associated with the handling and storage of used lead acid batteries. The scheme is ideal for use by councils as a method of promoting battery recycling to ratepayers, local businesses, council service providers and local environmental groups in their area.

To support the scheme, Century has created a dedicated recycling website www.recyclemybattery.com.au where motorists, homeowners and businesses can find their nearest CenturyYuasa Battery Recycling Centre. The site features over 800 approved recycling sites nationally, ensuring coverage throughout metro and regional Australia and also contains useful information and advice on all aspects of battery recycling.

For more information on the CenturyYuasa Battery Recycling program and to see how it can assist your council recycling program, speak to a Century Recycling specialist on 1300 362 287, visit www.recyclemybattery.com.au or email info@cyb.com.au

2 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 49

environment, energy and sustainability

Bridge to Bridge Project Macintyre River at the Junction of Spring Creek

Enhancing the Macintyre River through Inverell Inverell Shire Council’s Bridge to Bridge Project has been recognised at the 2010–2011 Local Government and Shires Association Excellence in Environment Awards for its contribution towards improving the Macintyre River through Inverell. The Project was awarded the Division A winner of the Natural Environment Protection and Enhancement: On-Ground Works category, sponsored by the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service. This award recognises outstanding ‘onground’ initiatives undertaken in the 12 months preceding the awards.

50 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

T

he northern New South Wales project was developed to enhance one of Inverell’s greatest natural assets – The Macintyre River. The Macintyre River runs through the township of Inverell and is home to a variety of native plants and animals. The river provides an attractive atmosphere for the many recreational and community events that are held along its banks each year. To enhance the natural environment and ensure that the Macintyre continues to thrive, a partnership between Inverell Shire Council (ISC) and the Border Rivers–Gwydir Catchment Management Authority (BRG-CMA) was formed.

This partnership developed a project that invested New South Wales Catchment Action funding from the New South Wales Government. The project addressed multiple environmental targets from the BRG-CMA Annual Investment Program and the New South Wales Government State Plan. This project is known as the Bridge to Bridge Project.

A number of project objectives were developed to address these environmental targets. These objectives aimed to enhance the natural environment along the Macintyre River by: • improving water quality • removing exotic vegetation from the riverbanks

• stabilising the riverbanks

environment, energy and sustainability

Before: Willows in the ‘lagoon’

• establishing native vegetation to restore vegetation corridors and the riparian environment • providing habitat to attract native fauna and endangered or protected species to the area • installing gross pollutant traps to capture sediments before they enter the river • providing opportunities for community involvement and education.

Implementation The Bridge to Bridge Project was implemented with a strong community focus. A steering committee was formed specifically for the Project and comprised representatives from ISC, the BRG-CMA and local service clubs.

An information evening was held where steering committee representatives were presented with a review of past conservation activities along the river, and an overview of the current condition of the river. This provoked discussion amongst the representatives of past, present and future activities for the six-kilometre stretch of the Macintyre River through Inverell and its tributaries.

Based on the information presented and subsequent discussions, the steering committee assisted in the development of a proposed works plan for the project area.

The proposed works plan was based on state-wide targets, project objectives and the three project themes: weed removal, community education and participation, and an erosion and sediment control demonstration.

Theme one – weed removal Representatives from ISC and the BRG-CMA completed a visual inspection of the project area’s current condition prior to the steering committee’s information evening. The

After: Hidden native vegetation in the ‘lagoon’

initial visual inspection found that there were a number of types of exotic species established within the project area.

It also highlighted three areas that could be used as focus improvement sites, which included Spring Creek in Lions Park, the flood runner or ‘lagoon’ adjacent to the Macintyre River near Lions Park, and the riverbank at the eastern end of May Street.

All three focus improvement sites required the removal of exotic vegetation and revegetation to improve the riparian environment. These projects were undertaken in conjunction with local service clubs.

Contractors were engaged to undertake the selective removal of the larger exotic species such as willows and privet from the focus improvement sites. Representatives from BEST Employment removed smaller exotic species.

Following the selective removal of exotic species from the riparian zone, school students from Ross Hill Public School and Inverell Public School; members of the Inverell Lions Club; Inverell East Rotary Club; the Salvation Army; Inverell Scouts; Guides from Inverell and the north-west region; and members of the public were invited to help revegetate the focus improvement sites. These volunteers participated in a number of tree planting activities providing opportunities for community members both young and old to interact and work together to establish native vegetation and achieve a common goal.

Theme two – community education and participation As mentioned previously, the Bridge to Bridge Project has been developed with a strong community focus. To complement this, an educational activity was developed to highlight stormwater flow into the Macintyre River.

the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 51

environment, energy and sustainability

Local students from Macintyre High School participated in this educational activity by attending an information session presented to the entire school body. The students learned about the sources of stormwater pollution and its effect on waterways. This was followed by a logo and slogan design activity, in which the students were asked to develop designs that could be used on plaques to help educate others about stormwater pollution based on what they had learned during the information session.

The students created a wide variety of logos and slogans, with two final designs selected. These were transferred onto stainless steel plaques and attached onto stormwater inlets throughout the Inverell CBD by the students themselves.

Macintyre High School Student Laura Beddie attaches a ‘Sapphire City Keep it Pretty’ plaque to a stormwater inlet in the CBD.

The stormwater inlets in the Inverell CBD were selected as a suitable place for the students to display their messages as the area has a great deal of pedestrian movement. Each plaque is visible from the footpath to ensure that the message reaches the maximum number of pedestrians.

To help reinforce the students’ messages to the public, an article was published in the local newspaper, The Inverell Times, informing readers of the motive behind the installation of the plaques.

Theme three – erosion and sediment control demonstration Water quality in the Macintyre River is influenced by the pollutants that enter the river through stormwater.

In addition to the educational plaques attached to the stormwater inlets throughout the CBD, gross pollutant traps were proposed to reduce the amount of pollutants, including sediments and rubbish, entering the Macintyre River from urban areas. A wide variety of gross pollutant traps were investigated, with two selected for installation.

Stormwater outlets along the Macintyre River and its tributaries through Inverell were investigated as part of the project. Two pollution ‘hotspots’ were identified as suitable sites for installation of the selected traps.

Girl Guides (L to R) Abbie Kent, Maddie Sydenham and Tamika Campbell plant native species at one of the focus improvement sites during a tree planting activity.

The traps will help to reduce the amount of pollutants in the stormwater that enters the Macintyre River.

In addition, the native seedlings planted by members of the community will aid in bank stabilisation. This will reduce the amount of sediments that can enter the river through the erosion of unstable riverbanks.

continued on page 55  52 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

environment, energy and sustainability

The Premium Absorbent The 100% organic, non-leaching, oil absorbent.

Used on both land and water spills.

Specifically designed to meet highest EPA requirements.

100% Australian made BUY DIRECT Ph 1300 889 262 Fax 1300 889 253 www.sokerol.com 320182A_Sokerol | 1760.indd 1

29/11/11 12:39 PM

the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 53

ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY STATIONERY SOLUTIONS Pelikan Artline is a large distributor of office products in the Australian market and provides the office products industry with world class brands and services. Pelikan Artline promotes the protection of the environment and the conservation of natural resources.Working with our partners including the Australian Packaging Covenant (APC) to ensure that we are committed to sustainability beyond compliance is core to our company values.

The Esselte Earthwise Desk Accessories range is made in Australia with at least 90% recycled materials and is independently accredited by Good Environmental Choice Australia (GECA). The range includes a stackable document tray and a practical magazine file, as well as a pencil cup that fits neatly into the matching desk caddy.

The range also includes a desk organiser and waste bin to help manage clutter in any work environment.

The Artline brand offers a range of ECO Permanent and Whiteboard markers with over 74% recycled content in a range of nib sizes and colours. The range has low odour inks that are RoHS compliant. More importantly, they are also refillable which further reduces their impact on the environment. A range of smooth writing Artline ECO Ballpoint pens is also available in assorted colours utilising 90% recycled materials.

The Spirax range of recycled notebooks consists of six products.

The range is available in A4, A5, and A6 Notebooks, a Lecture Book and a 5 Subject Book. The Subject Book and Lecture Book have 7 holes punched to suit a 2, 3 or 4 ring binder and are perforated for a smooth tear. The range includes 70% recycled content on a 70gsm quality paper.

The PaperPro Ecostapler range is designed to ensure that stapling is both effortless and great for the environment.

Ecostaplers are made with over 30% recycled materials and 85% recycled packaging printed with soy based inks and recycled PET. These added features along with PaperPro’s proven one-finger spring powered stapling and jam free technology, ensure that the Ecostapler will be the only stapler that’s ever needed.

Pelikan Artline’s range of product is committed to protecting the environment by providing a wide range of green solutions. Now it’s your turn to make the choice.

Distributed by

environment, energy and sustainability

The significant improvements and the extent of the works can clearly be seen within the project area. The vegetation planted by the many volunteers will become a haven for wildlife, improving the environmental amenity of the area. ď ź

continued from page 52

Achievements Excellent community interest has been generated, with a range of community service organisations, schools and individuals becoming involved in the Bridge to Bridge Project. The significant improvements and the extent of the works can clearly be seen within the project area. The vegetation planted by the many volunteers will become a haven for wildlife, improving the environmental amenity of the area.

The number of participants involved in the Bridge to Bridge Project has been a major achievement of the project. Approximately 250 enthusiastic students, scouts, guides, members of local service clubs and members of the public have been actively involved in the project.

Many more students and members of the public have been reached through community involvement activities such as the high school stormwater information session and through the publication of newspaper articles relating to the project.

Active volunteers have helped to plant more than 750 native trees and shrubs during the tree planting days.

These days have been held in conjunction with other environmental initiatives, including Native Fish Awareness Week and National Tree Day. Many positive comments have been received from the community in regards to the significant improvements that the removal of exotic vegetation has made.

The interest generated through this project has helped to increase the community’s awareness of the local environment. It is hoped that this project has helped to inspire people to look at what they are doing in our catchment and to be active in improving the health of our local waterway and riparian environment.

321187A RHS (Environment)_Pelikan Artline | 1760.indd 1

11:02 AM the australian local government yearbook 15/12/11 2012 • 55

environment, energy and sustainability

Livability, sustainability and community engagement Dr Melanie Davern and Athena Williams, Community Indicators Victoria

T

he concepts of livability and sustainability are constantly cited as key drivers in policy and planning decision-making, with a noticeable increase in the popularity of the term sustainability over the past five years. However, the interchangeable use of these terms has added to confusion about the definitions of the terms, and whether livability and sustainability are describing the same thing or something different. In a review of definitions used for livability, sustainability, and environmental quality, van Kamp et al., (2003) found that the central overlapping themes were the relationships between the person and the environment, but weren’t able to formulate a single unequivocal framework. A concise and clear separation between the concepts would argue that sustainability tends to focus on the environment while placing less importance on quality of life factors (Howley, 2009). In contrast, livability refers to places where people want to live (Jenks, William, & Burton, 2000) and experience high quality of life and neighbourhood satisfaction. However, defining livability using quality of life can add to the confusion because it also refers to a broad term without common understanding.

The World Health Organization (1997) defines quality of life as an individual’s perception of their life within the context of the environment, culture and value systems in relation to goals, expectations, concerns and standards. Thus, livability is more closely defined by what residents want from their communities and not just what is necessary in environmental terms. The challenging task facing planners and policymakers is to develop strong thriving communities that achieve sustainability and livability simultaneously.

56 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

How can Community Indicators Victoria assist in the development of sustainable and livable communities?

Community Indicators Victoria (CIV) was launched in July 2007 and is hosted by the McCaughey Centre, School of Population Health at the University of Melbourne.

The project is funded by the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation and was developed to respond to the need for improved citizen engagement and evidence-based community planning and reporting. The development of the project preceded the introduction of Victorian state legislation in 2008, which mandated all Victorian Local Government Areas (LGAs) to submit four-year municipal public health and wellbeing plans encouraging public participation in the planning process.

The CIV framework of community wellbeing includes five broad domains: Healthy, Safe and Inclusive Communities; Dynamic, Resilient Local Economies; Sustainable Built and Natural Environments; Culturally Rich and Vibrant Communities; and Democratic and Engaged Communities.

These domains include 72 indicators of community wellbeing that measure the livability of local governments across Victoria. Measures for the indicators include both survey-based subjective data and pre-existing objective administrative data collected by federal, state and local government departments and agencies. Community indicators provide a tangible evidence base for monitoring, reporting and evaluating policies designed to improve the health and wellbeing of a community. They also provide a starting point for conversations with the community about issues of importance. CIV includes measures of both livability and sustainability according to the definitions provided earlier. In terms of the CIV framework, four domains provide measures of livability and these can be summarised as the social, economic, cultural and democratic indicators of wellbeing. The remaining domain of Sustainable Built and Natural Environment is more closely aligned to sustainability.

environment, energy and sustainability

An essential component of livability is developing a place that people feel connected to, involved with and motivated to be involved with; a place that meets the needs and values of those who live there. Citizens need to be engaged and involved in formulating the vision for their communities and must be proactive in solving problems (Partners for Livable Communities, 2011). CIV and the community indicator movement are based on the foundation of collaborative bottom-up community participation. This is because community indicators are designed to highlight issues of importance to all members of the community, and relevance to the community and community participation are essential for any community indicator project to be successful (Davern, West, Bodenham, & Wiseman, 2011).

Indicators and Community Engagement Using community wellbeing indicators as a tool to engage communities can lead to a number of activities, approaches and strategies. Engagement activities can be used for community visioning, seeking community feedback, informing decisions and connecting residents.

It provides an important role in effective and accountable governance and democracy (International Association for Public Participation, 2005). For these reasons, community engagement is a description recognised by both the public and private sectors expanding across numerous industries as a model for best practice. In a working paper addressing the role of engagement in local government, Herriman (2011) defines community engagement as an umbrella phrase describing information, consultation, engagement and empowering activities. It includes a variety of activities and applications, and to be most effective, engagement must be planned, meaningful and purposive.

The IAP2 Public Participation Spectrum (International Association for Public Participation, 2007) is a useful tool to understand how community engagement can be used to strengthen communities. At the information level, the community may be provided with information to assist in an understanding of what an issue, opportunity or solution is. Informing through community engagement can be demonstrated through the use of fact sheets, websites and community forums. Alternatively, community engagement strategies can be used to empower the community and enacted by giving the community the opportunity to act as the final decision-maker on issues of importance. In this role, the community moves beyond the role of providing advice and innovative solutions, and moves into the position of the ultimate decision-maker.

CIV provides community wellbeing indicators as a

democratic resource for engaging communities and citizens in informed discussions about shared goals and priorities. Strong and thriving communities are those that are equipped to participate in discussions with accessible, reliable and up-to-date data, which can support active participation. CIV is a project that was based on community engagement itself. The five domains of wellbeing on which CIV is built were developed through consultation with the community, local and state governments, and academics to produce indicators and measures to all. CIV recognises and supports community engagement by making these data publicly available, and encourages all members of the community to be actively involved in direct democracy processes.

References Davern, M., West, S., Bodenham, S., & Wiseman, J. (2011).

Community Indicators in Action: Using Indicators as a Tool for Planning and Evaluating the Health and Wellbeing of a Community. In J. Sirgy, R. Phillips & D. Rahtz (Eds.), Community Quality-of-Life Indicators: Best Cases V. (Vol. V). New York: Springer.

Herriman, J. (2011). Local Government and Community Engagement in Australia. Working Paper No 5. Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government, University of Technology Sydney.

Howley, P. (2009). Sustainability versus livability: an investigation of neighbourhood satisfaction. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 52(6), 847-864.

International Association for Public Participation. (2005). The United Nations Brisbane Declaration. Retrieved online 14/11/11 from http://www.iap2.org.au/sitebuilder/resources/knowledge/asset/ files/37/unbrisbanedeclarationcommunityengagement.pdf International Association for Public Participation. (2007). Spectrum of Participation. Retrieved online 14/11/11 from http://www. iap2.org.au/sitebuilder/resources/knowledge/asset/files/37/ unbrisbanedeclarationcommunityengagement.pdf Jenks, M., William, K., & Burton, E. (2000). Urban consolidation and the benefits of intensification. In G. D. Roo & D. Miller (Eds.), Compact cities and sustainable urban development: a critical assessment of of policies and plans from an international perspective (pp. 17-30). Ashgate: Aldershot.

Partners for Livable Communities, W. D. C. (2011). Community Empowerment Manual.

World Health Organization. (1997). WHOQOL: Measuring Quality of Life. Division of Mental Health and Prevention of Substance Abuse.

Community Indicators Victoria McCaughey Centre: VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing, School of Population Health, University of Melbourne Correspondence: mdavern@unimelb.edu.au the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 57

renewable energy

Renewable Energy Options for Communities: The Story of Newstead

By Ross Egleton, and Neriman Kemal, Central Victoria Solar City Every now and then a community comes along that tempts you to pack up your life and move there.

Newstead, 130 kilometres northeast of Melbourne, nestled within the Mount Alexander Shire, is such a town. They have just over 200 households and a population of nearly 500 people. They maintain a strong heritage of volunteerism with over 40 active community groups. They have a vibrant arts scene and are a strong farming, cultural and sporting community.

Compared with state averages, they have a higher age group, higher unemployment rate and a much lower median weekly household income.

W

hat is striking about this community in particular is that they consistently deliver on ambitious projects.

In 2008, when Kevin Rudd held his 2020 summit, Newstead went one better and held the Newstead 2021 summit to discuss important challenges facing the community between now and 2021, and how best to address those challenges. A large number of ideas and projects were generated, begun, and now have been delivered, such as wireless internet access for the town, a 50-kilometre speed zone over the local bridge, a community garden and a children’s playground created in the structure of a ship. Why a ship? Because that’s what the kids wanted. The community also already owns and manages their community pool, has a community bank and a Rural Transaction Centre catering for internet, Centrelink correspondence, photocopying, laundry, an opportunity shop and a play group.

Energy also came up as a central issue – the lack of security the community was facing in terms of their energy source, how it is distributed and higher prices.

In an act of synchronicity not long after, the community received a phone call from Leah Sertori from Central Victoria Solar City (CVSC), part of the Australian Government’s Solar Cities program. She was keen to explore the opportunity for a small town to pilot a model for energy efficiency and community-owned renewable energy.

This initial conversation eventually turned into a partnership between Newstead 2021 and CVSC. CVSC, part of the Australian Government’s Solar Cities program, is studying how households, hospitals, businesses, schools, and communities use energy and how changes to energy use behaviour and infrastructure can impact overall energy use.

CVSC consortium members include Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance

58 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

renewable energy

Today Show weather man Steve Jacobs and kids.

Karly Smith and Ross Egleton.

(CVGA), Origin, Powercor and Sustainable Regional Australia (SRA), the project’s lead proponent. The Victorian Government, through Sustainability Victoria and the Victorian Government Sustainability Fund, is also a key funding contributor. The Mount Alexander Shire is also supportive of Renewable Newstead as well as the CVSC project overall through its membership of the CVGA.

consumption and modelling different energy generation options. In a town with 200 households, over 100 residents attended the public launch of the pilot trial. Over 185 home and business energy assessments have been conducted.

As well as this, a large number of residents took up one or more of CVSC’s energy efficiency and renewable energy packages as part of the product suite offered:

After formalising a partnership with CVSC, the community of Newstead named their pilot ‘Renewable Newstead’. The pilot’s goal was to test the extent to which small communities could collectively reduce their electricity consumption and work together to create enough renewable energy to supply the town with 100 per cent of their stationary energy needs.

• 53 residents took up the Retrofit Package ($500 cash back if over $2000 was spent on energy efficient retrofitting)

The partnership’s aims were to: • support the community on the path to generating their own energy • develop a knowledge base to enable other communities to learn from the experience and achieve a similar goal • answer the research question: ‘Is it more effective to use a micro-engagement approach to residential energy efficiency than a traditional ‘above the line’ market approach?’

The pilot – what has happened thus far Renewable Newstead has now been operating for over 12 months. Project developments, insights and learnings about the benefits of such a partnership have been significant, and are worth sharing.

As of December 2011, Central Victoria Solar City and Newstead’s Renewable Energy Steering Committee have proved successful in engaging the Newstead community and investigating the feasibility of collectively reducing

• 20 residents purchased a Solar Hot Water package ($250 cash back for purchasing any solar hot water system) • 44 residents purchased the Solar Hot Water Package (10 per cent off Origin’s price for a 1.5 kilowatt solar electricity system) • 30 residents also signed up to receive an In-Home Display, which helps energy users more accurately monitor their energy use and how much it is costing them.

A number of energy efficiency and renewable energyrelated activities and events were also held. Workshops on solar hot water and smart meters were hosted and residents were invited to tour the Bendigo Solar Park.

The Renewable Newstead website was created to inform residents about progress within the pilot, the football and netball clubs were sponsored, a short movie was made (Renewable Newstead – the Movie – watch it, it’s great! http://renewable.newstead.vic.au/), and a social survey completed. Importantly, a feasibility report canvassing potential renewable energy options for the town based on their collective energy use was also written and presented to the community.

the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 59

renewable energy

Success factors

Effective communications

Influential and committed community leaders

Well-executed communications enabled residents to be suitably aware of the project and what it was offering.

The Renewable Newstead Steering Committee regularly communicates with the wider Newstead community about the project. Monthly updates in the local community newspaper as well as regular website updates are communicated. Community events are well publicised around town.

The Renewable Newstead steering committee has been a pivotal factor in facilitating progress. There is a good mix of new, established and long-term residents, and ages and genders with a broad range of skills and experience, which makes it easier to engage with different segments of the community.

Strong principles and plan The project had a fundamental principle to strengthen the community. The project acknowledges the community as a cohesive and competent community and has been extremely committed to not going beyond what the local community wants. This project is as much about improving social capital and community connections as it is about renewable energy options. The support and trust of the community for this project has been and will continue to be crucial to its success. The committee is continually ensuring it has the support of the local community and the ‘social licence’ to continue.

Local engagement The project’s Community Engagement Officer has been integral to gaining the local support. She drew on her local knowledge, shared trust and connections to encourage people to have home and business energy assessments, and become involved in the project. She was able to tap into individuals and households that may have been reluctant to be involved in the project.

A quality energy assessment experience The Central Victoria Solar City Energy Assessment involved a 90-minute conversation about energy use in the home or business. An energy assessment begins with a look at existing energy bills to analyse current patterns of energy use behaviour. The assessor then went through the energy assessment booklet with the participant and walked through the home or business, looking at current energy usage with regard to heating and cooling, lighting and appliance use. These energy assessments contributed to increasing the energy literacy of the community – an essential ingredient in stimulating broader community conversations.

60 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

An energy feasibility report and other publications The Renewable Newstead Feasibility Report identified finance models to support the development of a local, medium-scale renewable energy asset, return on investment, small- and medium-scale interventions and generation options. The Report provided a detailed analysis of which combination of energy generation and offsetting would be involved in order to deliver 100 per cent of Newstead’s stationary energy needs over fifteen years.

The Report also opened up the way for the next stage of the project and confirmed the important role that energy assessments, retrofitting and behaviour changes have in reducing energy consumption.

More than 50 people attended the launch of the Feasibility Report and it was clearly evident by the quality of questioning that residents were more energy literate than when the pilot began.

A community social survey was conducted to find out what Newstead residents think about energy. Surveys were distributed in the main shops and community centres, as well as committee leaders holding a public table on the streets during Saturday and Sunday mornings. The majority of the 74 survey participants supported the building of a renewable energy generator and for this to be located within the Newstead district. A solar park was the preferred option for this generation.

The top three most important considerations for a Renewable Newstead energy project were environmental, financial benefits to householders and ensuring energy security for Newstead residents. One idea that particularly resonated with survey respondents was the idea that the ‘100 per cent Renewable Newstead project will show that small towns can produce great projects and inspire others’.

renewable energy

I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to pull together with my neighbours and community to be part of something important.

Newstead resident, October 2011 Case study: The McBeans Star and Fraser McBean live on 40 acres to the south of Newstead with their five daughters (three teenagers and two primary school-aged). They requested a Home Energy Assessment (HEA) to increase their knowledge of how to save energy and make improvements to their home.

They found the experience ‘really positive’. It was friendly, informative and very affirming. ‘We learnt that we were already being good about our energy use.’ It also helped the McBeans learn more about their electricity bills, ‘for the first time we came to understand our energy bills. The [assessor] taught us how to read our energy bills’.

The HEA ‘definitely gave us the incentive to keep going, within our budget, to make changes and reduce our energy use,’ said Star. They have installed improved window coverings, and become more conscious about turning off things like lights and computers, and changed appliances to more efficient ones. They have completed draft stopping, ‘plugging every gap’. As Star said, ‘it is the small things that are making a big difference. It has saved us hundreds of dollars on each bill’.

The McBeans think that the Renewable Newstead project is marvellous. ‘We had lots of conversations. The project has really raised the energy consciousness of our whole family. And we feel like we are doing our bit to help the environment.’

The committee shares a common belief that for Renewable Newstead to accomplish its audacious goals, its activities must be open and inclusive, and contribute to the overall social capital of Newstead and district – this means that while the project has a focus on renewable energy, it ultimately aims to bring social, economic and environmental benefits to the whole community.

Future renewable energy opportunities for communities The experience of Newstead is shaping the model for other communities to replicate. Sustainable Regional Australia (SRA), lead proponent of the Central Victoria Solar City trial, has recognised this and developed its own 100% Renewable Communities Program, which it launched at the Community Power Conference in Bendigo in November 2011. SRA launched the opportunity for another community to partner with them so the benefits of the Renewable Newstead pilot could be expanded.

If your community is interested in partnering opportunities with SRA, please email ross.egleton@centralvictoriasolarcity.com.au for more information.

Future energy opportunities for Newstead The community is now in the process of considering what steps to take next. As a result of the feasibility study, Renewable Newstead is looking at coordinating a household solar bulk buy program and exploring retrofit opportunities for low-income households. They are considering a possible electric car trial. The Renewable Newstead steering committee is now pursuing business planning, company formation, capital raising, and community-owned energy generation possibilities, including a potential micro grid. Watch this space... or at least the website http://renewable.newstead.vic.au/.

Renewable Newstead participants Jenny and Barry.

the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 61

IntegratIon of Large ScaLe

SoLar ProjectS The Australian residential PV scene has moved forward in leaps and bounds in recent years. A great deal of experience has been won in this area by Australian utilities and the local Photovoltaic (PV) industry. As a result many Australian companies are now integrating outstanding small scale residential and light commercial PV systems into the nation’s power networks.

A

new frontier has now been opened up in Australia as the nation now looks towards Large Scale Solar (LSS).

The obvious economies of scale with LSS for national CO2 abatement are clear with the added bonus that LSS offers a real solution to many present day network issues. This is indeed a wonderful convergence of policy fulfilment for governments together with engineering outcomes that can significantly improve power quality and distribution. can inject significant power For example, LSS systems can inject significant power at network nodes to support conventional generation, particularly during peak air conditioning demand. LSS systems can also provide significant localised variable Power Factor (PF) correction during the day should it be required. For example, SatCon Technology Corporation’s PowerGate and Solstice range of central inverters have fast acting control loops available for both PF and Power Output that can allow utilities precision control of an LSS. These advanced features coupled with Satcon’s unique anti-islanding techniques are helping the new local LSS industry to provide the latest and safest technology available. in order to resolve issues At the design level it is most interesting to see how the different engineering schools initially react when first challenged by a call to investigate an LSS proposal. For example Network Engineers at first glance often look at LSS system design from a load based point of view.

On the other hand many small scale PV Engineers look at LSS system design from a localised generation point of view. The answer of course is that LSS designers must take into account the full picture of PV generation, network loads and line impedances in order to resolve issues rather than create them.

1

injection of too much power An easy way to visualise this is to consider the electrical distribution network as a Christmas tree, with generation at the base of the tree, a trunk that is thickest at the base, and branches that reduce in size and diameter as they are located further and further from the base. The loads are located at the tips of the branches. As the trunk and individual branches are reducing in thickness, so too the line impedances of the network increase. As a result, the injection of too much power at too small a node can create a problem rather than provide a solution. associated grid instability This is because an inverter pushes up its output voltage against the line impedance of the network as it tries to inject power into the grid. If the line impedance is too high at the node in conjunction with an average line voltage that is also too high, the inverter output voltage dramatically increases until a trip point is reached and it disconnects itself from the grid. The time of day and season with its influence on average grid voltage adds a third variable that can cause intermittent inverter tripping and associated grid instability.

Engineered solutions of course take full account of such variables and a well designed and positioned LSS can provide tremendous downstream distributed power assistance that helps network operators during these difficult days of rapidly increasing load demand. confirm network behaviour Successful integration of LSS into the Australian grid requires very careful energy modelling based on the central inverter’s transient characteristics as well its static characteristics. This typically requires the central inverter’s detailed performance characteristics to be entered in a utility scale energy modelling software platform so as to confirm network behaviour during various fast and slow acting conditions and events.

Energy Generation

July-September 2011

a

LOW LOSS TRANSFORMER LOW LOSS TRANSFORMER Transformer selection is another critical system requirement for the Transformer selection is of another criticalcentral systeminverters requirement for the successful deployment LSS. Many are supplied successful deployment of LSS. Many central inverters are supplied as “transformerless” units and the responsibility of the transformers as “transformerless” unitsdesigner. and the responsibility of thevariables transformers falls back to the system In this area, many come falls the system designer.

In this area, variableslow come into back play to requiring careful consideration.

A many high quality, loss into play requiring consideration.

A high loss transformer that iscareful carefully matched to the quality, central low inverter’s thatasisthe carefully to is the centralrequirement inverter’s transformer averagematched grid voltage a pivotal topology as well topology as well as the average grid voltage is a pivotal requirement for every LSS implementation. for every LSS implementation.

SUMMARY SUMMARY Successful outcomes at the new frontier of LSS requires ways of outcomes at different the new from frontier of conventional LSS requires ways of Successful both generation thinking that are very from both conventional generation thinking that are very different and small scale residential solar. Within the next few years the and smallofscale residential Within as theAustralia next few years the uptake LSS will increasesolar. dramatically embraces what uptake of LSS will increase overseas. dramatically as Australiaopportunity embraces what is already commonplace A wonderful is now is presenting already commonplace A wonderful is now Australian overseas. stakeholders includingopportunity utilities, engineers, presenting Australian stakeholders including utilities, engineers, equipment suppliers, financiers and others to create cutting edge equipment suppliers, financiers others create cutting edge LSS solutions according to theand unique andtoindividual requirements LSS solutions according to the unique and individual requirements of the various distribution networks around the country. of the various distribution networks around the country.

Editorial supplied by Peter Bulanyi, Managing Director of Si Clean Energy Editorial supplied by Peter Bulanyi, Managing Director of Si Clean Energy

Aspart partofofthe theFederal FederalGovernment’s Government’sSolar SolarCities Cities program, a 1MW solar farm, largest of kind its kind As program, a 1MW solar farm, thethe largest of its in in Australiahas hasbeen beensuccessfully successfullydeployed deployedatat Alice Springs, Australia Alice Springs, NT.NT. Alloptions optionswere wereexplored exploredasastotothe thebest bestinverter inverter solution project it was determined central All solution forfor thethe project andand it was determined thatthat central invertersclearly clearlyoffered offeredthe thelowest lowestinstalled installedcost cost Watt and best long term reliability outcome. inverters perper Watt and thethe best long term reliability outcome.

Thesystem systemuses uses3048 3048Sunpower SunpowerPVPVmodules modulesand and two 500kW Satcon PowerGate Plus inverters.

The two 500kW Satcon PowerGate Plus inverters.

TheThe Satconinverters, inverters,supplied suppliedand andcommissioned commissionedbyby Clean Energy (formerly Solar Inverters Satcon SiSi Clean Energy (formerly Solar Inverters PtyPty Ltd)Ltd) areare knownworldwide worldwideforfortheir theiradvanced advancedtechnical technicalfeatures features and superb reliability.

Combined on-going known and superb reliability.

Combined withwith on-going technicaland andengineering engineeringservices servicesprovided providedbybySatcon’s Satcon’s Australian distributor, Si Clean Energy, technical Australian distributor, Si Clean Energy, thethe inverters to to thethe outback community in Alice Springs. inverterswill willprovide providedecades decadesofofvaluable valuableservice service outback community in Alice Springs.

Providing Providingturnkey turnkeysolutions solutionsfor forsolar solarpower power for forover over20 20Years.

Years.

1300 1300767 767761 761- -02:6655 02:66553930 3930 www.sicleanenergy.com.au www.sicleanenergy.com.au

green building building

Leader in energy efficiency

T

he Local Government Superannuation (LGS) owns the lowest energy intensity and hence lowest greenhouse gas emitting buildings in Sydney, and expects to achieve the same in the North Sydney CBD. This assessment is based on independently measured NABERS energy ratings of the 19-year-old Sydney building at 120 Sussex Street and the 24-year-old building at 76 Berry Street North Sydney.

These outstanding achievements were achieved through the innovative retrofitting of both buildings with Australian developed or owned energy efficient technologies. As a result 120 Sussex Street is Sydney’s first building to be rated as a 5.5 star NABERS base building without any use of green power.

Australian technologies chosen for the energy efficiency upgrades in both buildings includes improved lighting supplied by Envirolite, magnetic levitation cooling plant supplied by Power Pax, and improved air conditioning performance with the Shaw Method of Air Conditioning (SMAC®) developed by Smac Technologies.

LGS is the first building owner to choose these three complementary energy efficient technologies as an integrated energy reduction solution, and LGS can rightly claim to be one of Australia’s leaders in energy efficiency upgrades.

LGS is also the first building owner in New South Wales to install the SHAW Method of Air Conditioning (SMAC®).

Following these outstanding energy reduction results at a

number of LGS buildings, LGS Property Portfolio Manager, Mr Brian Churchill, stated, ‘internally we call it [SMAC®] the Silver bullet because it achieves such a substantial uplift in performance at a much reduced cost over other options.’

As well as the energy reductions necessary to attain a 5.5 star NABERS rating, an independent survey found that SMAC® delivered superior air comfort that has resulted in an annual productivity improvement for the building’s occupants that is estimated to exceed the install cost of all three technologies.

The cost of the retrofit of the three technologies at 120 Sussex Street was $160 per square metre, whereas a report prepared by Arup/Property Council of Australia and titled ‘Existing Buildings Survival Strategies II’ indicates that to refurbish a typical building from a nominal 3.5 NABERS stars to a 4.5 to 5 star rating would cost an estimated $765 per square metre.

Another feature of the retrofit works undertaken at 120 Sussex Street is that they were implemented without the need to decant or temporarily relocate tenants. Mr Wayne Ryan, Technical Director of SMAC Technologies, states ‘the 5.5 star NABERS rating for 120 Sussex Street is even more meritorious because the building itself has many retained original design features that restricted the implementation of additional energy efficiency strategies.’

The retrofit works to 76 Berry Street were commissioned in early November 2011 and will require 12 months of operation before they can be formally NABERS rated. In addition to the three technologies mentioned above, a Bennet Clayton designed and developed tri-generation plant was installed. 76 Berry Street has a 6 star NABERS Commitment Agreement and based upon consumption trends, energy simulation software predicts the building should realise a 6 star NABERS rating (without the need to resort to green power).

The LGS received funding support for the implementation of Australian technologies at 120 Sussex and 76 Berry Streets from the Commonwealth Government’s Green Building Fund.

In October 2011, SMAC Technologies received the inaugural Commonwealth Government sponsored Australian Cleantech Open Award.

Wayne Ryan Director 2011 Australian Cleantech Open Award Winner Ph: +618 8363 3155 M: +618 0419 971 779 E: wayne.ryan@smactec.com www.smactec.com

X 64• •the theaustralian australianlocal localgovernment governmentyearbook yearbook2012 2012

Australian Cleantech

2011

Open Awards Winner

green building

Local government leadership

By Robin Mellon, Executive Director – Advocacy and International, Green Building Council of Australia Never has there been a time when government leadership at the local level was more vital. As national and state governments struggle with major sustainability issues, local governments can take practical action now – and green buildings are one way that councils can make a difference to the environment, the health and wellbeing of their communities, and their council coffers too.

Surf Coast Shire Civic Building 66 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

R

ising utility prices, tightening regulatory requirements and more stringent insurance risk assessments are driving demand for green buildings and placing pressure on local governments.

But there is a wide range of market forces pushing the transition too. Green buildings can increase productivity, improve health and work satisfaction, and hold their value for longer than buildings constructed ‘the old way’.

Take the Surf Coast Shire in Victoria, which is setting a new standard for environmental sustainability in regional areas with its new 5 Star Green Star – Office Design v3 Civic Building, which demonstrates ‘Australian Excellence’.

The building is helping Council to achieve its triple bottom line goals and is providing local workers with green skills for the future.

According to Mayor Dean Webster, the council was determined to design and construct a building that would be a ‘regional flagship in environmentally sustainable design that reflects our community’s efforts to protect our local environment and live more sustainably.’

The building’s environmentally friendly features include an internal atrium that will boost airflow, a rammed-earth wall, which will provide good thermal mass and alleviate the need for heating, onsite stormwater storage, and reduced use of concrete and steel in the building construction. The focus on ecologically sustainable design (ESD) principles will minimise energy use and running costs, reduce water consumption and pollution, and limit the council’s exposure to the risks of climate change.

green building

Energy-smart systems ‘Science shows us the Surf Coast will be affected by climate change in many ways,’ Councillor Webster says. ‘We need to prepare for more extreme weather conditions, higher utility costs, and Council needs to ensure the resources we allocate to mitigating these risks are well-directed.’

The Civic Building is one part of this approach, and is helping the council to reduce climate change risks and achieve its target of a 30 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions on 2010 levels by 2020.

CH2 interior

To meet this ambitious goal, priority was given to energy efficiency measures that reduce the building’s heating and cooling loads. For example, improved air tightness, high levels of insulation and high-performance double glazing all decrease demand for air conditioning systems. Lighting sensors further minimise energy use by automatically switching off lights in empty rooms.

Gas-fired condensing boilers, which have efficiency levels between 90 and 95 per cent, have also been installed, improving energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, photovoltaic solar panels and a small-scale wind turbine generate electricity on site, and solar collectors on the roof heat water for the building.

In addition, a digital noticeboard is located in the main foyer to display the real-time performance of a number of the building’s environmental initiatives, including the photovoltaic and wind turbine renewable energy systems, rainwater harvesting levels, and ambient weather conditions, such as daylighting, that affect the building’s indoor environmental quality (IEQ).

Clearing the air Green buildings consistently outperform non-green buildings in terms of comfort and productivity. Natural light, fresh air and access to views of the outdoors, as well as control over individual workspace temperature and lighting, can affect productivity directly. Staff costs are by far the greatest business expense in most organisations, and an incremental increase in productivity will pay for the small premium on a green space.

One of the most well-known green building productivity studies is of the City of Melbourne’s Council House 2 (CH2), Australia’s first 6 Star Green Star – Office Design v1 rated building. This multi award-winning building has demonstrated that productivity of office building occupants can be enhanced through good, green building design and a high-quality, healthy and comfortable interior environment.

A post-occupancy survey has found that productivity has risen by an impressive 10.9 per cent since staff moved into their green office, with estimated annual cost savings of $2 million.

The Surf Coast Shire also wants to capitalise on the potential productivity improvements that come with a green building. The Civic Centre’s north-south orientation maximises daylight penetration and provides good levels of natural light inside the space. The internal atrium also boosts fresh air circulation, creating a more pleasant working environment.

Paints, carpets and sealants low in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the installation of a photocopier exhaust, which extracts harmful emissions from the building, also contribute to better indoor air quality. Carbon dioxide monitors measure air quality and ensure optimal levels of fresh air are provided, which is then distributed through the efficient and healthy underfloor air distribution system.

Good, green jobs The Surf Coast Shire’s new building has also provided benefits to the wider community beyond a reduced environmental impact. The building contractor, Cockram Construction Projects Limited, used local subcontractors the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 67

green building

for 70 per cent of the work. This provided a boost for the local economy, and equipped the local workforce with the green skills and experience needed for the future.

‘Sourcing local labour and material suppliers helped reduce the impact on the environment from transport emissions,’ says Cockram Constructions’ Jason Ah Sam.

‘Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be,’ Ralph Waldo Emerson once said.

Overall, Councillor Webster is proud that the Council’s leadership has been recognised with Green Star certification. ‘Accreditation was a priority for Council,’ he says. ‘Achieving a Green Star rating for the Civic Building is a solid demonstration of our commitment to environmental leadership.’

Activating green building Many local governments in Australia are beginning to activate green building through the use of incentives and regulations.

Experience has shown that incentives are an effective measure, although some local governments are encouraging further transformation by mandating Green Star for some building sectors.

Providing green building incentives, such as investment assistance, fast-tracking development applications for Green Star projects, rate reductions and sustainable development grants, can encourage innovation, establish long-term pathways towards sustainability and drive the rapid uptake of green buildings.

Some local governments have decided that regulation is appropriate for their community and now require large commercial projects to achieve a minimum 4 Star Green Star rating. They have variously achieved this by inserting conditions within their planning protocols, placing specific controls on large projects, and incorporating sustainability targets that reference Green Star.

The Green Building Council of Australia does recommend caution when regulating with Green Star as it is a voluntary rating tool that constantly evolves and that rewards best practice and above, with many targets set well above the minimum standards within the Building Code. We strongly encourage councils considering regulation to work with us to ensure they get the best possible outcome.

The best way to activate change is to lead by example.

A range of local councils around Australia have kick-started 68 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

the green building trend by adopting early and proving the business case to their communities. Achieving Green Star ratings sends a clear message to developers that green buildings are the future and can establish the local skills base needed to deliver these projects.

Local governments are hearing the message loud and clear: doing nothing is not an alternative. The shift to green buildings is gaining momentum. Those councils that don’t act now will be left behind.

Alternative Energy Pool Heating

AQUATIC CENTRE PACKAGES • Reduce pool heating costs by up to 70% • Payback periods from 2 years • High Efficiencies up to 93% We are a complete design & construct company offering true plug & play alternative energy solutions.

Our experienced install teams operate throughout Australasia. Speak to our engineering department for a free energy audit and custom solution to your energy requirements.

GAS FIRED CO-GENERATION SUMMARY • Generate electricity for heat pumps, lighting & pool services • Recover engine waste heat into pool • Eliminate pool heating electricity costs • Reduce pool heating gas consumption by up to 50% • Upgrade to Tri-generation package to facilitate Air conditioning

Urban Energy Australasia Pty Ltd 1/10 Anella Avenue Castle Hill NSW 2154 Ph: 1300 66 99 81 Fax: (02) 8850 6344 sales@urbanenergy.com.au www.urbanenergy.com.au

green building

Dalkia rising to the challenge

T

he energy stake challenges us to solve a complex equation: meeting the needs of an increasing energy demand while reducing the impact of human activity on the planet. Producing more goods and greater comfort using less energy and fewer fossil fuels, while reducing the impact on the environment – that’s the challenge facing the 21st century. And it’s been Dalkia’s business for decades. In both its own facilities and those of its customers, Dalkia introduces more modern equipment while ensuring more efficient management and an optimal energy mix. Underpinned by its R&D professionals and partnerships, Dalkia provides innovative answers in which renewable energy sources, and biomass in particular, play an increasingly critical role.

Dalkia is the energy division of the Veolia Environnement group operating in 42 countries. With more than 53,000 employees, Dalkia is a major player in decentralised energy production and energy/environmental management for local government authorities and businesses. Designing, building and managing projects using the most advanced energy solutions available, we enhance the operation of energy infrastructures, high-efficiency installations and renewable energy sources, with a firm commitment to long-term results. These services are based on optimising technical, economic and environmental performance of our own assets and the assets under our care – ranging from heating/cooling networks and energy production plants to industrial utilities and buildings of all kinds. Working in close cooperation with our customers, Dalkia provides key X 70• •the theaustralian australianlocal localgovernment governmentyearbook yearbook2012 2012

assistance in the management of energy consumption and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Dalkia provides long-term management of energy installations that ranges from energy procurement to facilities maintenance, mobilising the wealth of experience accumulated from operating nearly 120,000 installations worldwide. This ability to tackle an energy project in its entirety enables Dalkia to guarantee the technical and environmental results of its services. In Australia, Dalkia is capable of offering NABERS rating guarantees for any class of building or the implementation and ongoing management of ISO50001 energy management systems for its customers. Dalkia operates 5000 MW of cogeneration assets and more than 800 district energy schemes, giving it a unique access to innovative commercial frameworks and in-depth understanding of the operational challenge those infrastructure assets present.

Dalkia’s solutions allow customers to reduce energy use and select solutions that emit the fewest greenhouse gases and make the most effective use of local resources. As a subsidiary of Veolia Environnement and a global provider of environmental management services, Dalkia brings to its customers a comprehensive corporate sustainable development culture that can be taken to its most optimum when leveraging the operational synergies of the other divisions for water, waste and mobility solutions in a unique integrated platform for multi-utility service provision.

Creative Energy Solutions For Our Environment Dalkia offers customer focused energy management solutions, applying its skills to deliver a comprehensive package of integrated on-site energy management, district energy systems, local distributed electricity generation and facilities management throughout Australia and New Zealand.

www.dalkia.com.au 1800 DALKIA (1800 325 542)

the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 71

green building

Cooroy library The hinterland community on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast had a very clear vision for its proposed new library — that it be designed in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way.

T

his is not surprising, given that the Sunshine Coast Council’s overarching goal for the Coast is to become Australia’s most sustainable region — vibrant, green and diverse.

The Cooroy library is now a reality, and is an impressive example of environmentally sustainable design and clever planning for community space.

Manager of Library and Gallery Services, Ross Duncan, said the Cooroy library has exceeded community expectations.

72 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

‘Local people are very proud of the Cooroy library; they now incorporate making a trip to the library into their dayto-day business,’ Mr Duncan said.

‘It’s just a great building to be in, there’s so much natural light and fresh air breezing through, it’s an uplifting space.

‘We also provide excellent library service, fresh espresso coffee and a retail store, on top of the advanced technology and information services that are available.

‘Sunshine Coast Council was committed to an environmentally sustainable design for the building that cost $9.7 million to construct.

‘The significant investment has resulted in a building that has a huge “wow” factor when you walk in. It becomes even more impressive when you start pointing out the smart design elements.’

Since opening in 2010, the library has been visited more than 140,000 times, and has conducted many workshops aimed at helping members of the local community to reduce their carbon footprint.

The project’s architects, Brewster Hjorth, and the engineers, Steensen Varming, are leaders in environmentally sustainable design implementation in public buildings and their expertise is reflected in the design.

The building has been cut into the ground, providing substantial thermal mass on the eastern and southern sides. Thermal mass helps control the variation of internal temperatures between diurnal and nocturnal times, and reduces the diurnal heat load into the building. As there

green building

is less heat control required to maintain comfortable temperatures in the building, less energy is expended.

Thermal mass is also employed on the roof of the southern pavilion – an area of 650 square metres of roof covered over with soil and grass to a depth of 300 millimetres. This mass provides thermal insulation and assists in eliminating heat transmittance normally generated through roof surfaces. It also assists in controlling the variations of heat loads during the day, again reducing the energy required to maintain comfort.

A displacement system of air conditioning is installed that conditions the occupied zone only with air entering the spaces at floor level and is relieved at high level. This system uses less energy than traditional systems and provides a better quality of air into the spaces.

A weather station measures temperature, wind speed and wind direction to determine when conditions are suitable for natural ventilation. Sensors on the external doors ensure that natural ventilation and mechanical air conditioning do not occur at the same time.

The building has deep verandahs on its north-western side, and vertical sun shading screens that control the amount of heat load from direct sun hitting the glazed surfaces and entering the space. Shading the glass walls reduces heat load into the building, and maintains a better control of the internal environment.

The displacement air conditioning system has been designed in separate zones for the Global Connect and Community Program Rooms, for separate after-hours usage, without the need to put any of the air conditioning systems on for the rest of the building. Geothermal bores provide approximately 20 kilowatts of free cooling to the outside air.

High levels of diffused natural lighting have been provided to the building through glass walls and through high-level windows in the middle lantern section of the building and on the eastern facades. With this abundance of natural day lighting, the building requires less artificial lighting during the daytime for the normal functioning of the library. This translates to reduced energy consumption. The artificial lighting is also supplemented by the use of task area lighting that can be user-controlled and can be utilised only when needed.

Solar heating of hot water occurs using roof-mounted solar collector heat exchangers. A 20,000-litre belowground rainwater harvesting tank is used for both the irrigation of the landscape as well as for toilet and urinal flushing within the library. Water efficient taps help reduce water consumption on site.

Photovoltaic cells are mounted on the roof and are capable of generating 5 kilowatts of green power. This equates to sufficient power for approximately 40 per cent of the building’s internal lighting needs. Energy efficient lamps maximise the benefits of day lighting.

As yet, there is no data available on the overall reductions of greenhouse gas emissions through the library design elements; however, energy efficiency has been a key factor in the design rationale. It is expected that the photovoltaic cells will reduce the building’s annual CO2 emissions by approximately 13 tonnes, and that the geothermal bores will reduce annual CO2 emissions by approximately seven tonnes.

Natural ventilation is a feature of the building’s operations. Internal spaces will utilise mixed mode ventilation with air dispersed at low level through the floor.

This allows the system to be switched off and opened up to natural ventilation when outside air conditions permit.

On a smaller scale, to help reduce the energy consumption of kitchen fixtures, such as boiling and chilled water units, all of the units have in-built timers to control operation so that they shut down outside of operating hours.

The electrical use of the hot water system is reduced by providing a solar preheat option and sufficient storage the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 73

green building

so that during a peak summer day, up to 100 per cent of hot water used will be via the solar panels and as such no electricity will be used.

The fabric of the building has been checked to ensure that it meets Australian Building Code requirements for energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The library was built with end-of-trip facilities for staff, to encourage them to travel to work using sustainable transport, and there are ample bike and scooter parking facilities located at the front of the building to encourage community members to use sustainable transport, too.

‘Staff members cycle to work regularly as there are showers and space to hang clothes. The Library Coordinator almost has a full wardrobe on site so she can cycle 40 kilometres a day to and from work without having to carry clothes on her bike,’ Mr Duncan said.

‘Council is committed to leading change in the community by operating the building in an environmentally conscious way.

‘The library is cleaned without the use of chemicals, and the cleaning contractors have conducted public information and education sessions across all of the council’s libraries on the Coast on environmentally friendly cleaning.

‘Cooroy library has also conducted many workshops on environmentally sustainable initiatives including Travelsmart options; keeping chickens; building veggie patches; green cleaning; bicycle maintenance; solar panels and pool water conservation workshops.

‘Council is also supporting the development of a community garden on the library precinct – there was a permaculture workshop on last week and now we have a beautiful herb spiral on site.

‘The sustainable design of the Cooroy building lends itself to environmental awareness and education in the community, and that is just one part of the huge variety of services that the Cooroy library provides.’

74 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

green building

MEPS Guide A Guide to MEPS for Incandescent (including Halogen) Lamps Lighting Council Australia has compiled this information to assist understanding of minimum energy performance standards for incandescent lamps. Note that from the enforcement date only lamps registered on the regulator’s website (www.energyrating.gov.au) may be legally sold.

Sale restriction for GLS/ import restriction for other lamps

Product

GLS—incandescent November 2009

October 2010

ELV halogen reflector *

Mains voltage halogen non-reflector

January 2011

Mains voltage reflector lamps including halogen (PAR, ER, R, etc.)

All incandescent lamps >25W candle, fancy round and decorative style

Pilot lamps—25W and below

Notes Most incandescent lamps of these shapes must meet MEPS. Known as a bi-pin lamp. Must meet MEPS. Incandescent lamps of these styles must meet MEPS.

ELV halogen non-reflector All incandescent lamps >40W candle, fancy round and decorative style

Product images

October 2012

Not currently regulated.

To be determined based on availability of efficient replacement product.

Consists mostly of MR16/11 (dichroic) lamps. Must meet MEPS. Visibly different to GLS — has another small bulb inside.

Must meet MEPS. Reflector lamps like those shown must meet MEPS. Unlikely many current lamps will comply.

Most incandescent lamps of these styles must meet MEPS.

MEPS will not apply until appropriate replacement technology readily available.

* Note: After April 2012 MR16 (dichroic) lamps above 37W may no longer be imported.

All ELV reflector lamps must continue to be registered and meet MEPS requirements.

Currently there are no MEPS regulations covering AR111, G9, double-ended halogen, G95, G125 or strip lamps. There may be other lamps that do not need to meet MEPS but generally these will only be used in limited applications.

With the exception of lamps referred to in the shaded box and pilot lamps 25W and below, all illustrated lamps must be registered. See www.energyrating.gov.au for more details.

www.lightingcouncil.com.au

I

nMEPS theguide.indd relentless drive to save energy, the 1 Commonwealth Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency has established a program of mandatory minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) for a range of lamps. The accompanying table prepared by Lighting Council Australia contains a list of incandescent lamps and the date for which lamps have

info@lightingcouncil.com.au

September 2011

already become, or will become, subject to MEPS. Lighting 5/10/11 2:36 PM Council’s CEO, Bryan Douglas, said it is important to note that from the enforcement date only lamps registered on www.energyrating.gov.au may be legally sold. He advises interested parties unsure about a particular product’s status to search the publicly-available database on the website.

the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 75

management and leadership

It’s all about talent management

By John Ravlic, CEO, Local Government Managers Australia

L

ocal government has been experiencing significant skills shortages for a number of years, but was largely unprepared for the challenges this would present. These days, however, the sector is keenly aware of the need for a more strategic approach to such issues as:

which will be released shortly for industry input and comment.

• the departure of ageing baby boomers from the workforce, in increasing numbers

• Why does enhancing people management skills in local government matter?

• the pressure on the pool of available talent from strong mining activity and the breaking of the drought, especially in regional areas

• How we can go about achieving this?

• increased community expectations of local government, requiring an increase in the sector’s workforce.

This has meant that the development of people management skills has become a priority for local government managers and executives. More of the same, in terms of people management, is not going to be the answer as skills shortages continue to bite. We need to identify new pools of talent and find new ways of promoting the capacity of local government to offer not the most money, but better work/life balance than other sectors. And that’s just for starters.

In this task, we are being greatly assisted by the establishment of the Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government (ACELG), which is stimulating a new, nationwide interest and desire to deal with the sector’s workforce challenges. The Australian Government has recently commissioned ACELG to prepare a National Workforce Development Strategy for Local Government,

76 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

In the meantime, three questions that greatly interest me are:

• What is it that gets in the way of the sector taking a proactive approach to current workforce issues?

Why does it matter?

The 2007 National Skills Shortage Strategy for Local Government (the Strategy) identified the important role played by local government and the need for a skilled workforce. It noted the sector is confronted with the challenge of attracting and retaining skilled staff against competition from other tiers of government and the private sector.

The Strategy used the following examples to illustrate the impact of skill shortages: • lack of staff skilled in planning, engineering and building will delay or halt development and building approvals, which has the capacity to dampen the local economy • lack of skilled community, health and welfare staff has the potential to impact on the delivery of essential services such as home and community care that support the aged and disabled in our community.

management and leadership

The Strategy also identified that demand for local government services is growing, and that this growth can be attributed to: • growth in the national economy • transfer of functions and responsibilities from state, territory and Commonwealth governments • increase in population over 55 years of age, with associated increased demand for recreational and community services as people retire and pursue leisure activities • accelerated demand for services and infrastructure associated with a dramatic population growth in regional and rural municipalities chosen by ‘sea change’ and ‘tree change’ lifestylers • growth in population over 65 years of age, who require aged care and support services as they become frail and infirm but choose to ‘age in place’.

This increase in demand for local government services is borne out in expected growth in employment in local government. In 2005, the Monash University Centre of Policy Studies estimated that employment would grow annually by just under 13 per cent in the seven years from 2004/05 to 2012/13. This is consistent with the 15 per cent growth of the local government workforce in the previous decade.

But will there be the people to fill the jobs?

What can be done about it?

The Strategy proposed five key initiatives for action by local government and peak professional bodies in collaboration with state, territory and federal governments to address local government skills shortages: • the establishment of ACELG, which is already inspiring discussion and more informed decision-making • managing the demand side of skills through encouraging greater innovation, including greater uptake of internet-enabled technology advancements • increasing the sector’s already well recognised investment in training and development, including a stronger focus on women and mature age workers

• attracting more workers from underrepresented local populations including people with disabilities, sole parents, the long-term unemployed, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups and migrant and refugee communities • modernising councils’ approach to managing talent so they become ‘employers of choice’.

What gets in the way?

Just as the role of local government has evolved, so the role of managers has changed significantly in the last 20 to 30 years. Those who commenced their careers in the 1980s or earlier will be familiar with the autocratic ‘command and control’ style of management, where the Town Clerk or his equivalent was all-powerful. It stemmed from the highly legislated and technical environment within which local government operated and could be said to have been more about ‘doing things right’ than ‘doing the right things’.

While it may have worked in the ‘roads, rates and rubbish’ era, the ‘command and control’ model became less appropriate as local government’s role evolved with community needs by providing a range of human services.

The decision-making environment became much more complex and required input and skills outside the traditional engineering, planning, building, health, legal and corporate services.

The new, more ‘corporate’, environment gave rise to generalist managers responsible for a range of business units, including units outside their original technical expertise and background. On paper, this was fine, but in many organisations there was an underlying current that continued to pull the organisation towards traditional technical ways of doing things. Many of the generalists defaulted to their original technical disciplines and didn’t evolve into the people managers the organisation needed then, let alone today.

Why did this happen? Because it’s often not recognised that as employees progress into management roles, the emphasis should be on developing management rather than technical skills. Councils that assist their managers and executives to become good people managers are ahead of the game and will be well placed to deal with the challenges of the future. the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 77

management and leadership

This is confirmed by work such as that of Wayne Hochwarter, Associate Professor of Management at Florida State University. In a 2006 study, Hochwarter set out to prove that employees don’t leave their job or company, they leave their boss. He surveyed more than 700 people in a variety of jobs about their opinions of supervisor treatment.

The survey generated the following results:

Many employees will tell you they could do their job better. Management needs to enable this; it needs to know what it means to:

• 31 per cent of respondents reported that their supervisor gave them the ‘silent treatment’ in the past year

• provide the talent with the required skills, tools and equipment

• 37 per cent reported that their supervisor failed to give credit when due • 39 per cent noted that their supervisor failed to keep promises • 27 per cent noted that their supervisor made negative comments about them to other employees or managers • 24 per cent reported that their supervisor invaded their privacy • 23 per cent indicated that their supervisor blamed others to cover up mistakes or to minimise embarrassment.

The survey didn’t cover local government, but does illustrate the great deficiencies that exist in management when it comes to people skills, and I fear our sector’s results would be similar. The lack of commitment to advancing our people’s people management skills is reflected in the fact that HR professionals are still not sufficiently prominent to have been given strategic capacity to deal with workforce planning and development as part of councils’ executive management team.

Capacity of employees Most employees make better choices and have far greater decision-making freedom in their personal lives than they do in the workplace. As if the legislative framework wasn’t enough, in local government we bind our employees with processes, procedures, structures and delegations, most of the time removing what little freedom and initiative may exist.

• unleash the potential of our talent • create highly effective and performing environments by tweaking the corporate culture

• empower the talent to get on with the job of serving their communities.

So are councils doing this? The question was addressed by the 110 teams from Australia and New Zealand who competed in the LGMA’s 2011 Australasian Management Challenge.

The Challenge is designed as a team-based management development program dealing with contemporary issues relevant to Australian and New Zealand local government. In 2011, teams were required to respond to the central question relating to attraction and retention of staff: ‘What does your council need to put into place to challenge and engage critical staff and prevent them from leaving?’

The teams were required to describe the current practices within their councils, factors determining staff movement and existing programs used to recruit, retain and revitalise employees.

One team went down the Hochwarter path, and found that more than 70 per cent of employees leave their jobs because of the way they are led. The findings of other teams confirmed previous discussion that managers are often promoted because of their technical skills and abilities without having the necessary people skills. Teams concluded that the specific areas of skill development for managers include: • communication • recognising, acknowledging and developing good performance • managing poor performers.

78 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

management and leadership

One team found that lack of such skills contributes to low morale of high performers caused by uneven and heavy workloads, not feeling appreciated and underperformance being sidestepped rather than managed.

A lack of career development opportunities was another clear factor in employee decisions to leave a council, Challenge teams reported. Staff surveys confirmed the need for recognised strategies to enhance career development and that careers didn’t have to be linear: staff were looking for a challenge and an opportunity to gain new skills and remain interested in their work while receiving appropriate rewards.

No other risk and insurance advisor understands local government like JLT does.

The Challenge teams identified the following strategies aimed at retaining staff:

Public Sector - Managing Director Stephen Penfold Phone: (02) 9320 2742 Email: Stephen.Penfold@jlta.com.au

• providing opportunities for promotion from within, thereby enabling employees to reach their potential within their current council • providing job fit for people and valuing job satisfaction

Sydney Public Sector - General Manager Contact: Joe Zammit Phone: (02) 9320 2745 Email: Joe.Zammit@jlta.com.au

• utilising personal development plans and promoting further studies • developing a council skill matrix and a council register aimed at defining opportunities for staff to fully utilise their skills • utilising mentoring, interim placement, job swaps, secondments and acting-up as opportunities for staff to perform higher duties.

They also pointed to the creative range of benefits being offered by some councils to attract and retain staff and compete against both the private and public sectors where councils may not have the means to provide the same level of salaries.

Another common theme highlighted by teams was the large number of long-serving staff who are of baby boomer age and quickly approaching retirement. The teams concluded that councils had a big job in developing mechanisms to capture the corporate knowledge held by their ageing workforce. While the teams recognised the importance of these mechanisms, council succession planning strategies appeared patchy.

Brisbane Public Sector - General Manager Contact: Russell Ditchburn Phone: (07) 3000 5541 Email: Russell.Ditchburn@jlta.com.au Melbourne Public Sector – General Manager Contact: Bob Falzon Phone: (03) 9860 3404 Email: Bob.Falzon@jlta.com.au Adelaide Public Sector - General Manager Contact: Gary Okely Phone: (08) 8235 6410 Email: Gary.Okely@jlta.com.au Perth Public Sector – General Manager Contact: Leon Lawrence Phone: (08) 9483 8855 Email: Leon.Lawrence@jlta.com.au Jardine Lloyd Thompson Pty Ltd ABN 69 009 098 864 AFS Licence 226827 www.jlta.com.au 0604_10

PM 3:44 PM 12/09/11 14/12/10 the australian local government yearbook 2012 •2:10:37 79

1 1 | 1760.indd | 1675.indd LloydLloyd RHP_Jardine 321167A 314244A_Jardine

management and leadership

Senator the Hon Mark Arbib, then Minister of Indigenous Employment and Economic Development, addresses delegates at the National Local Government Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment Roundtable, Redfern Town Hall, Sydney, July 2011

Skilling the workforce

High performing workplaces

Skills Australia, in Australian Workforce Futures – A National Workforce Development Strategy (2010), emphasised that Australia’s long-term growth prospects and the future nature of our society depend on the skills of our people and the way those skills are used. Our nation risks missing out on the full benefits of future global growth and the dividends from our investment in education, it says, unless we urgently commit to a new national approach to workforce development that maximises people capability, lifts productivity and increases workforce participation.

It believes that there is much scope for improvement by all parties working together to re-examine how individual workplaces can be organised to make better use of skills, while also highlighting the unacceptably low level of adult language, literacy and numeracy.

The 2011 report by the Society of Knowledge Economics, Leadership, Culture and Management Practices of High Performing Workplaces in Australia (the SKE Report), examined 78 organisations in the service sector, comparing how they fared in six areas:

Literacy Literacy skills are fundamental to workforce productivity. A 2004 OECD comparison found that a one per cent higher national rate of literacy can be associated with 2.5 per cent higher labour productivity and an associated increase in GDP per capita.

In Australia, the 2011 No more excuses report by the Industry Skills Councils found that around half of working age Australians have language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) problems. It’s an issue that requires excellent peoplemanagement skills.

Employees with literacy problems have established long-term coping mechanisms and are unlikely to put their hand up for literacy training. Therefore, many employers and unions have tackled literacy skill issues by embedding literacy development in associated training and development programs, including introduction to computers and occupational health and safety. For councils to improve their productivity, they need employees to deepen their skill levels. The current LLN levels will hamper these desires, so workplace literacy cannot be ignored.

80 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

•

productivity and financial results

•

innovation

•

fairness

•

leadership skills

•

customer experience

•

employee experience.

It concluded that high-performing workplaces were nearly three times more profitable and much better at reaching their stated financial goals than their low-performing peers. It also concluded that leaders in high-performing workplaces spend far more time and effort managing staff. They are more inclined to give ample recognition and acknowledgement to employees and can articulate a clear vision and goals. These work practices are observed in chief executives as well as amongst the managers and supervisors.

When the SKE Report refers to leadership, it refers to leadership at all levels. It doesn’t refer to leadership as a sort of heroic action of the chief executive at the top, but also leadership skills of people lower in the food chain. It says that the failure to define the precise skills of good people management is a barrier to lifting productivity and performance in our economy. It argues that the whole reason for piloting the High Performing Workplaces Index is about gathering data, more insights and more evidence that management and leadership practices make a difference.

Most good organisations rate themselves at about 60 per cent of their potential. Increasing that 60 per cent to

management and leadership

70 per cent and beyond is the job of good management, including good people management. That’s really at the heart of productivity and the way forward to building a highperformance workplace.

The challenge for people managers Many local government line managers and executives are being forced to make tough staffing choices on a regular basis. As a majority of their staff are mature age, it’s likely to be a request for retirement or transition to retirement and more flexible working options; otherwise, they will be dealing with requests for family leave or flexible work arrangements following extended family leave and/or the integration of employees back into the organisation.

Further, most councils have significant turnover of staff; in some authorities this is as much as 60 per cent of staff in their first two years of service. Many managers and executives feel as if they are forever recruiting and training new employees, who, just as they develop the appropriate skills, start to make noises about moving on. And these days, filling the gaps they leave requires managers and executives to explore new pools of talent – pools rich with possibility – because the old ones are drying up.

The traditional approach of appointing candidates that are most like us (i.e. pale, male and stale) is not sustainable, nor does it reflect the diversity of local communities in the way the local government workforce should. Our sector needs to embrace new and creative approaches to attract and retain staff from ‘pools’ including mature Australians, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, people with disabilities, migrant and refugee communities and, in the case of leadership roles in particular, women.

Mature talent Local government’s workforce is substantially made up of workers over 45 years of age. The challenge for many councils is to understand the implications of this.

The best way for councils to achieve such understanding is to undertake an age audit and appreciate the extent to which their workforce is populated by mature employees. In some councils the proportion may well be 60–70 per cent.

decided on and adopted the policies that will govern its approach to such things as training and development, retraining, transition to retirement, flexible work options, study leave for mature employees and mentoring.

Following the discussions around work intentions, managers, executives and councils will be in a better position to understand the implications of an ageing workforce and be in a better position to develop a range of initiatives that will retain the desired talent.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Employing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) staff makes good business sense for a range of reasons: • attracting, retaining and developing the capacity of ATSI staff now will assist organisations to be seen as an employer of choice for ATSI Australians in the future, when the demand for skilled staff is forecast to increase • ATSI employees’ varied perspectives, experience and knowledge can add substantial value to business outcomes and make significant contributions to the development of local government policy and the delivery of government services to the Australian community • increasing the diversity of council employees promotes cross-cultural interaction, enhancing knowledge, awareness and competence in working with people from a range of backgrounds.

Further: • local government will be at the front line in provision of local responses to the new demands of climate change, which will inevitably involve additional human resources and tapping into traditional Indigenous approaches • skills and labour shortages are now even bigger issues in remote and rural Australia, particularly in regions with mining activity.

Local government is able to take advantage of its unique position as a place-based employer, a point that is particularly attractive to potential Indigenous employees given the importance of place in Indigenous culture. Placebased employment in turn has the additional advantage of improving community cohesion.

Managers and executives then need to determine the work intentions of their employees, but not until council has the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 81

management and leadership

Delegates at the 4th National Local Government Workforce Development Forum, Canberra, April 2011 – (L-R) David Jan, Manager Policy Development & Corporate Services, LGANT; Ian Bodill, CEO, East Arnhem Shire Council; and Mervyn Carter, Assistant Director – LG Policy and Capacity Building, Department of Regional Australia, Australian Government.

Women in leadership With more and more baby boomer managers and executives set to retire over the next decade, the participation of women in local government will become increasingly critical. Without women in management, the local government sector is unlikely to have the depth of talent to replace the retiring managers and executives.

The National Framework for Women in Local Government was prepared and adopted by the Australian Local Government Women’s Association (ALGWA) in November 2001. It was disseminated widely across Australia, but a 2007 review found that while some significant advances had been achieved in strengthening the role of women in local government, much more needed to be done. The Year of Women in Local Government 2010 was the platform for such activity.

Local government is not alone in dealing with this issue.

The 2006 At the Table inquiry into women’s representation on regional and rural bodies of influence, chaired by Senator Judith Troeth, urged all levels of government and other organisations to lead by example through their recruitment and promotion practices and removal of cultural and structural barriers to women’s career or representative opportunities.

Senator Troeth commented that: ‘If the proportion of regional and rural women on government bodies has

82 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

not increased significantly by 2010, governments should consider introducing quotas or targets for government appointments.’ In 2011 the Australian Government responded by announcing that it will appoint women to 40 per cent of government board positions, which would be extended to its major business operations.

Women in local government is another topic that has been tackled by LGMA’s Australasian Management Challenge teams, this time in the 2010 Pre-Challenge Task.

The Task Outcome Summary identified the following as the six foundation issues for women in local government – issues that people managers need to acknowledge and address: • corporate culture and attitudes • limited communication and low equity awareness levels • minimal performance accounting and measures • strong and often negative perceptions of women • complexities of people management and leadership • scope, scale and diversity of family flexibility options and approaches.

The 2011 Global Gender Gap Report (the Report) suggested that the most important determinant of a country’s competitiveness is its human talent – the skills,

management and leadership

education and productivity of its workforce. Over time, a nation’s competitiveness depends significantly on whether and how it utilises its human resources pool. Furthermore, innovation requires unique ideas, and the best ideas thrive in a diverse environment.

The Report concluded that countries and companies will thrive if women are educated and engaged as fundamental pillars of the economy, and diverse leadership is most likely to find innovative solutions to tackle the current economic challenges and to build equitable and sustainable growth.

Governments play an important role in creating the right policy framework for improving women’s education and economic participation, the Report said. However, it is also the imperative of companies (employers) to create ecosystems where the best talent, both male and female, can flourish.

Ernst & Young, in its 2011 report Women in Leadership – what will it take to get Australia on target? suggested that gender equity had reached a tipping point in Australia; that in the coming year it would attract increasing attention and a growing number of champions and that regulatory and market pressures would drive wide-scale acceptance of the need for business to act decisively to improve female representation. However, the Australian Human Resources Institute’s (AHRI) 2011 Gender Equity in the Workplace Research Report found clear evidence that executive commitment to gender equity is heavier on rhetoric than action, with only a minority of managers at any level being required to satisfy measurable KPIs on gender equity.

Similarly, there would be very few, if any, local government managers and executives who would have to satisfy gender equity KPIs.

• create genuine part-time and flexible work options • re-look at the economics of child care • re-look at how contribution is valued and rewarded in the workplace, especially for those on flexible work arrangements.

They argue that while CEOs and boards may be well intentioned, for many women challenges still exist for development into senior roles within organisations; hence, quotas may be a short-term intervention that is needed to help us quickly attain close to equal representation. This won’t be the disaster that many are expecting, they say, but the much-needed circuit breaker to drive change that is needed.

Conclusion Managers and executives each have a full-time job. In the past, much of it has been devoted to their professional discipline, but the challenges that they have to face today and deal with in coming years require new ways of thinking, new skills and new approaches.

Maintaining a workforce will become an art form, much like fielding an elite sports team week-in week-out: it’s all about people management, about managing the talent.

The principal strategy has to be directed at retaining talent and the secondary strategy needs to deal with attraction. The following will be significant challenges for many managers and executives in their organisations: • identifying – and utilising – new pools of talent • employing more women in leadership positions

This being so, it’s clear Ernst & Young are right when they argue that boards and industry executives cannot complain about the lack of suitable female candidates for board appointments and leadership positions, if they don’t move from rhetoric to action by unblocking the pipelines of female talent.

• re-training mature workers into new roles

Ernst & Young propose that to keep women in the workforce, we need to:

• piloting flexible work arrangements such as part-time managers

• de-gender parental care

• implementing teleworking from home for staff with family responsibilities.

• create engaging and challenging career options for women

• transitioning baby boomers to retirement • developing and implementing flexible work arrangements to attract and retain Generation Y employees

Good luck for the game!

the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 83

management and + leadership leadership

MAXXIA A single outsourced partner for your employee benefits and asset management needs.

W

orking in local government you know rewarding staff with flexible remuneration packages (such as access to vehicles, additional superannuation contributions or remote housing benefits) can help you gain a competitive edge when it comes to attracting and retaining staff.

Why outsource?

Some of the most significant risks associated with managing employee benefits or vehicle assets in-house include: • Tax and compliance risks – particularly Fringe Benefits Tax and reporting complexities for fleet vehicles and novated leasing arrangements.

• Management of payments – administering salary packaging and novated leasing requires accurate and timely processing of your employee pay each period; having the right processes and systems in place is crucial.

• Resource succession – succession planning can become a challenge as skilled labour becomes more difficult to source.

• Brand or reputational risk – in a competitive recruitment environment employee benefit programs and your asset management capability can have a significant impact on your employer value proposition and what your employees say about working for you.

Then there’s the challenge of managing your physical assets, their finance, purchase maintenance and disposal, to ensure optimised performance and minimal downtime.

Maxxia is a unique organisation, offering outsourced solutions for these two areas of responsibility with unrivalled expertise, experience and resources. We’re an Australianbased company whose philosophy is delivering our customers, ‘all of the benefits, none of the hassles’. Our holding company is the ASX-listed McMillan Shakespeare Limited. Currently, we manage over $3 billion worth of employee benefit transactions for more than 200,000 employee customers annually, and have more than 35,000 vehicles under management.

If you manage your vehicle or commercial assets and employee benefits in-house or aren’t satisfied with your existing suppliers, it may be worth taking a closer look at how outsourcing with Maxxia could work for you.

Managing your own benefits program and assets is complex and onerous – managing maintenance, understanding tax and compliance issues, negotiating with suppliers, ensuring timely transactions, responding to customer enquiries and much, much more.

All of this takes time and resources that may be better spent on delivering your core services.

X 84• •the theaustralian australianlocal localgovernment governmentyearbook yearbook2012 2012

• Occupational Health and Safety – ensuring your assets are well-maintained and managed for the benefit or your business and for the safety of your staff.

Why us?

It takes specialist expertise, robust and mature systems and exceptional customer service to deliver fully outsourced employee benefit and asset management solutions.

When you partner with Maxxia, one senior person takes ownership of the relationship and your business needs.

They have responsibility for delivering a suite of services tailored to your needs with the support of an outstanding team of leaders in the fields of consumer education, taxation, compliance, asset finance and fleet management.

Our depth of care sets us apart – we manage our clients’ employee salaries and assets as if they were our own.

Maxxia works with clients throughout Australia, from every industry sector, including local, state and federal government authorities, SME, charity, health and major corporations.

Call us on 1300 728 801 to arrange a personal visit, or share an initial discussion on how we can work together.

Employee Benefits Asset Management

At Maxxia, we work with you to develop, implement and manage outsourced employee benefit and asset management solutions that help deliver your business objectives.

• Employee Benefits • Salary Packaging • Novated Leasing • Insurance

• Asset Management • Asset Finance • Fleet Management • Commercial Assets

Maxxia. Your employee benefits and asset management partner.

Call Maxxia on 1300 728 801 or visit maxxia.com.au to find out more.

Maxxia Pty Limited ABN 39 082 449 036 Authorised Representative (No. 278683) of McMillan Shakespeare Limited (AFSL No. 299054)

recruitment

How to attract and recruit younger workers into an ageing workforce Recruitment and Consulting Services Association, Australia and New Zealand (RCSA)

A

ll organisations have continuing challenges and the local government sector is no different. One of its challenges, with which it is struggling at present, is how to attract and retain younger workers. How can we turn this situation around?

sector. An employee can work for one council for a period of time and then take up the opportunity to change jobs several times, not only internally, but also by moving to councils in other regions, cities, or even interstate. Always promote this great benefit.

Youth who are community-minded and people-focused individuals are highly likely to be attracted to working in local government. Gen Y is the most environmentally and community-minded generation out of the past few generations, so they need to be educated about the local government sector and what it has to offer.

Today’s young people want to work for organisations that understand how to manage them well. They are well adapted to change and have strong ambitions. Be up-front about the opportunities available. If organisations have earmarked key young people in their organisation, they should communicate this to them. Be up-front about the succession plan too. Be proactive and talk to your workers early in order to ward off boredom. Ensure that your young workers know that they have a future in the organisation and, more importantly, exactly what that future is. Involving young workers in steering committees, decision-making groups or simply seeking out their opinion all go a long way to developing a culture of inclusion.

And what does local government have to offer?

The sector places a strong emphasis on being environmentally friendly in the workplace, offering young people the opportunity to really make a difference locally. This will attract a younger, more aware generation that is looking to serve the local community.

In return, highly motivated young people will see the experience they can gain from the local government sector as increasing their options and a valuable asset to their career prospects. The opportunity for training and career progression is vital. In many instances, the first thing young workers will ask about is training and learning pathways, so structured development strategies are important.

The flexibility to integrate workplace hours with external and lifestyle commitments is another key selling point to younger workers. Local government offers the opportunity for work-life balance – they are not asking to work less hours, but to have the flexibility to work different hours. Many employers of choice are now building controlled ‘work from home’ options into their overall employment offering.

Where previous generations were told to pick a career as they left school and then were very much stuck in that role, this new generation wants to learn all aspects of a business.

It would not be unusual for them to work in three or four different ‘careers’ in their lifetime.

Local government is in a good position to offer this variety and to retain young workers by setting out a career path at the start of their working life. This path needs to include new experiences, lots of change, and opportunities to work in different departments. Don’t expect to hire them in one role and have them work out their career in that area. Take advantage of the hundreds of different activities that local government performs daily, which can be easily marketed to the young as a reason to stay.

The multiple ‘industry-specific’ skills young people gain are highly transferrable, and this is something unique to the

86 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

Easy and regular access to management both increases the sense of inclusion and provides a highly credible sounding board for younger workers and their ideas and initiatives. Regular feedback in groups and one-on-one access will facilitate this.

Acknowledgment of achievement is critical to young workers. They need to know that their positive endeavours and efforts are recognised and communicated. Younger workers are highly social and enjoy listening to and interacting with peer groups. It would be advantageous to encourage this and utilise both social and workplace platforms to facilitate interaction.

Educating young people early, before they leave secondary school, of the benefits of working in the local government sector is pivotal. Get to know your local schools, make contact with career advisers and establish those key relationships. Keep talking to them and make it easy – keep the recruitment process simple.

Young people are not making a conscious choice about NOT working in local government. We just need to shift their focus, grab their attention and communicate to them the many positives of working in the sector.

This article has been submitted by the Recruitment and Consulting Services Association, Australia and New Zealand (RCSA), with thanks to HORNER Recruitment and McArthur.

Search the Corporate Member Directory at www.rcsa. com.au to find an RCSA Member.

TUNED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT LOGO

was the first specialist local government employment agency in Australia and has been providing Australian councils with reliable, qualified and experienced staff for over 30 years. Our reputation is based on being responsive, professional and adaptable. Our expert industry knowledge enables us to source people with the specific skills and experience you require.

time on training and focusing more on getting the job done.

LOGO has an experienced local government team happy to travel and engage in temporary positions in country and remote areas. We can deliver the same standard of professional recruitment services anywhere in the country.

You can rely on us for professional service to provide stress-free appointments. Our database is made up exclusively of people with local government experience – available where and when you need them.

Accountants, customer service officers, engineers, environmental health officers, finance and rates specialists, general managers, health and building surveyors, human resource officers, information technology and town planners are just a few of the professionals represented by LOGO.

As the team consists of local government staff, you can be confident your LOGO temporary employee has the previous experience and skills, thereby saving

We offer complete contract flexibility – whether you need staff to complete a specific project, handle peak workloads or cover for staff on leave, LOGO can help.

The Local Government Staffing Specialists

fleet management

Legislation Rules

By KEN THOMPSON, Australasian Fleet Management Association

The Fringe Benefit Tax Conundrum Company Supplied Passenger Vehicle

Parked overnight at Company premises Owned

There is a lot of activity in the legislative area that has an impact on the management of vehicle fleets. We have had major changes to Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) from 10 May 2011, the introduction of a new carbon tax (2014), the implementation of the fuel excise equalisation program (1 December 2011) and the introduction of the new uniform occupational, health and safety (OH&S) laws from 1 January 2012.

A

ll of these will require the managers of the organisation’s transport activities to devote more time to fleet activities. Some of the changes are quite straightforward, while some, such as the uniform OH&S laws, will require substantial input and resources to ensure that the organisation is not at risk.

Fringe Benefit Tax From 10 May 2011, there was a major change in the FBT system, affecting all company-provided passenger vehicles available for private use and novated vehicles.

It should be remembered that although levied on the private use of company-supplied vehicles, it is in fact a company tax, not a personal tax.

FBT becomes applicable when a company-supplied vehicle is available for private use. The term is defined by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) as not being parked overnight at the organisation’s premises. This means that even if the assigned driver is interstate and the vehicle is parked at the airport, the vehicle is still available for private use.

There is often some confusion as to just what is, or is not, FBT applicable. See inset for a basic explanation.

Some companies allow private use of vehicles in return for some payment from employees to offset the FBT charge. This is an arrangement between the employer and the employee, so this receipt of a reportable fringe benefit can be recorded against the employee by the ATO. For vehicles acquired before 10 May 2011, the old system is still applicable. On replacement, the new system will automatically become applicable.

88 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

Leased

Changes to Fringe Benefit Tax: May 2011 Company Supplied Passenger Vehicle Privately owned

Subject to Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) Vehicle available for private use.

Owned

Leased

Salary Packaging Salary Sacrifice

Vehicle available for private use

These are not leases or methods of ownership they are simply financial instruments a method of payment usually using pre-tax dollars.

Confusion arises as these terms are often used when referring to ‘Novated’ leases.

Defined as not being garaged overnight at the company premises. Even if the assigned driver is physically unable to drive the vehicle by being overseas for example. If the employee is home office based then FBT is generally not applied.

In addition the days when the vehicle is not available due to repair or servicing are not subject to FBT.

Subject to Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT)

Privately owned

Vehicle available for private use.

Owned

Novated Lease

Novated Lease A Novated lease is a three way agreement between an employer, employee and a vehicle supplier. The vehicle owner is the employee but by paying in pre-tax dollars it is deemed to be subject to FBT by the ATO. The FBT payment is usually paid by the Employee who also holds the vehicle residual value risk.

FBT and other Confusions FBT is a company tax not a personal tax. Some companies allow private use of vehicles in return for some payment from employees to offset the FBT charge. This is an arrangement between the employer and the employee not between the employee and the ATO although the receipt of a reportable fringe benefit can be recorded against the employee.

Vehicles acquired pre 7:30 (AEST) May 10th 2011.

Applicable Fringe Benefit Tax Distance travelled Pre May 10th (1 April – 31 March) 2011 0 – 15,000 km 26% 15,000 – 25,000 km 20% 25,000 – 40,000 km 11% 40,000 km Plus 7% For vehicles already acquired there will be no change to the current method.

Leased

Novated Lease

Vehicles acquired post 7:30pm (AEST) 10 May 2011

Applicable Fringe Benefit Tax From 10th May 1st April 1st April 1st April 2011 2012 2013 2014 20% 20% 20% 20% 20% 20% 20% 20% 14% 17% 20% 20% 10% 13% 17% 20% FBT rate will be that applicable on the vehicle acquisition date and the rate will increase in subsequent years until the maximum of 20% is achieved.

Organisations can still use the cost reduction or the logbook method for the calculation of FBT

Transitioning, over a four-year period from May 2011 to 1 April 2014, the applicable FBT rate changes to where all newly acquired vehicles become subject to a flat 20 per cent rate (see inset).

AfMA lobbied for a change to the FBT legislation to ease the administration burden of fleet managers through the introduction of a flat rate rather than the current multi-level system. We were pleased when a flat rate was announced; however, we were disappointed by the rate chosen. At 20 per cent, according to the Henry review, FBT will, when fully implemented, result in an additional $2.4 billion in tax for the organisation.

In brief, the new FBT arrangements retain the old system for vehicles already acquired by an organisation before 10 May 2011 until their disposal.

Vehicles sourced after 10 May 2011 will be subject to the new system. Phased in over four years, the new system begins with three levels, depending on distance travelled, transitioning eventually to a single 20 per cent rate for all vehicles from 1 April 2014.

Carbon Tax The full effects of the introduction of a carbon tax will not be known for some time. While fuel is not directly included in the tax scheme, from 2014 the existing fuel rebate will be reduced by an equal amount to that which it would have been if fuel were subject to the carbon tax.

Excise Equalisation Program This program was introduced by the previous government but its introduction was delayed. Since 1 December 2011, gaseous fuels used for transport purposes are subject to excise or customs duty. Gaseous fuels are compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Phasing in of the duty rates began on 1 December 2011 starting at 2.5 cents per litre for LPG, and 5.22 cents per kilogram for LNG and CNG. A final rate of 12.5 cents per litre for LPG and 26.13 cents per kilogram for LNG and CNG will apply from 1 July 2015.

fleet management

Also from 1 December 2011, entities that have acquired, manufactured or imported gaseous fuels for use in eligible business activities may be entitled to fuel tax credits, provided relevant eligibility criteria are met.

However, for heavy vehicles travelling on a public road, the road user charge may reduce any fuel tax credit amount payable for gaseous fuels to nil.

Generally, most entities using gaseous fuels for nontransport purposes will not be able to claim a fuel tax credit because either:

 no duty has been paid on the fuel as it was supplied for non-transport use, or

 a fuel tax credit has already been claimed for the fuel by a business earlier in the supply chain.

Information about the fuel tax credit can be found on the ATO website.

Uniform occupational, health and safety laws January this year saw the introduction of uniform occupational health and safety laws, and most states have already indicated that they will adopt the legislation as a replacement for their own state-based systems.

Directors and managers are expected to become a lot more attuned to the ‘duty of care’ requirements for their transport activities, as there is a greater emphasis on the identification of risk and the organisation’s actions to ensure that the employee is not exposed to that risk.

The responsibility of the organisation is to identify risk to anyone in the workplace; employees, workers, contract and sub-contract workers, even volunteers and visitors.

AfMA’s experience indicates that at present there is little emphasis by organisations’ senior management on OH&S and their transport activities. This is surprising because, on average, about 12 accidents or fatalities occur in Australian workplaces during every million hours worked, with 41 per cent of these transport related.

This area of business activity is at last receiving the attention it deserves from lawmakers who also seem to be, by design, expanding both the scope and reach of the duty of care responsibility.

Of course, things become a little harder and more complicated when the workplace is in a vehicle and mobile.

More importantly, when an employee is undertaking company business in a privately owned vehicle, the risks can multiply.

For example, how does the company manage a privately owned vehicle being used to perform company business? It has to ensure that it is fit for purpose of the

task being undertaken, and determine if it is adequately maintained and insured for business activity.

If an organisation outsources its transport activities, does the OH&S responsibility go with the contract? The answer is still in the balance as to how much the contract giver must ensure that the contracted organisation is managing the risks associated in moving their goods. There is no doubt that a responsibility does exist.

A hard reality of the legislation is that in the event of an accident, it’s a weak defence to argue that an employee or employees were careless, disobedient or negligent. It is the company’s responsibility to ensure that the workplace, wherever it may be, is safe, and if there is an incident it may be a judge who decides whether that was the case.

Changes could see individual directors fined anywhere between $100,000 for a category 3 offence to a $600,000 fine or five years imprisonment, or both, in the most severe OH&S breaches. We also believe that the new requirements will see the maximum penalties for duty of care breaches climb from $1 million to $3 million.

CONCLUSION There is no doubt that the last six months has seen more fleet related regulation changes being introduced with the potential to impact an organisation’s bottom line.

Those with the responsibility for managing the fleet will need to apply their full attention to ensuring that the introduction of these new regulations is well managed.

AfMA is a not-for-profit association for fleet managers, those professionals who manage vehicle fleets within organisations. Our 575-plus members (November 2011) are represented across all levels of government and the private sector.

With over 800,000 vehicles under their control, our members play an important role in the Australian economy and the fleet/transport industry. It has been estimated that about 75 per cent of locally produced passenger vehicles is purchased by fleets, and in excess of 50 per cent of all yearly new vehicle registrations is taken up by fleets.

N.B. The Australasian Fleet Management Association (AfMA) has attempted to provide a brief description/ explanation of each of the issues involved. However, this article is presented as information only and it is not meant to be definitive in any way. Each organisation should independently identify any issues that may affect or impact on its operations.

the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 89

fleet fleet management management

A reliAble network for locAl governments

B

P Australia is a major fuel and lubricant supplier to all levels of government.

Our network of domestic terminals and refineries combines with a strong, national network of fuel stations and depots to meet the fuel needs of every customer – whatever the product required.

With high-quality supply chain and logistics operations, a range of value-adding services, and fuel efficiency solutions, BP aims to be the leading fuel provider to all Australian government.

Within the construction plant, automotive fleet and transport segments, BP delivers quality assured product and reliable service whether it is in bulk fuel delivery or service from one of more than a thousand strategically located service stations and truckstops.

Our national network ensures reliability of supply to meet your existing and future fuel and lubricant demands and we are continuing to invest in our supply chain to ensure we deliver more for our customers.

BP truckstops provide excellent on-road service facilities answering the everyday needs of Australia’s transport industry, whether it is a council vehicle fleet or local or interstate road freight.

We are also focused on our customers’ experience and comfort whilst on the road. Our major truckstops offer a range of services including showers and laundry facilities and food options including fresh-cooked and healthy meal alternatives.

Your fleet expense management can be a whole lot easier too. The BP Plus fuel card delivers convenience for efficient administration of your fleet – big or small – with secure cashless payments for fuel and many other purchases at BP and select providers’ locations Australiawide, coupled with online account management and a single monthly invoice.

With GST substantiated reports, a BP Plus account takes care of receipts and has a range of electronic reporting features for added control of your fleet.

BP Plus delivers flexible options when it comes to our customers’ fleet management needs – meaning access to products and services can be tailored to each cardholder’s requirements. Rest assured, BP takes security seriously – our BP Plus card PIN security is encrypted to bank level standards.

A BP Plus card allows access to a range of third party suppliers including Kmart Tyre & Auto Service, Bob Jane T-Marts, Goodyear Tyre & Auto, Windscreens O’Brien and Ultratune.

And doing business with your BP Plus card is now even easier with an improved online experience and our BP Locator iPhone App for when you are on the road.

X 90• •the theaustralian australianlocal localgovernment governmentyearbook yearbook2012 2012

Fuelling the success of your business. + Access to over 1,300 outlets nationwide + Tools to keep a close eye on expenditure + Up to 51 days interest free credit

A plus for your business.

Apply now at bpplus.com.au

fleet management

The fleet leasing and management alternative

By John Bills, Executive Officer, Australian Fleet Lessors Association

Fleet leasing and management offers a range of options for fleet operators, providing organisations with alternatives for sourcing, maintaining and maximising the vehicle fleet. These services are provided to organisations of all sizes, enabling them to focus on their everyday operations rather than dealing with the many administrative issues and risks of running a fleet. Outsourcing fleet management reduces the risk and complexity of operating your own fleet.

92 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

O

ther benefits include eliminating assets and maintenance risk, flexibility of fleet composition, reduced administrative burden, and up-to-date management.

The types of services that fleet leasing/management companies provide include: • buying new and replacement vehicles • registering vehicles with the relevant vehicle registration authorities • paying tolls on roads • dealing with traffic infringement notices • organising fuel card suppliers, and managing the process of issuing new cards and retrieving old cards that are no longer required • selling cars when they have reached the end of their useful or economic life • assessing that the vehicles you use are fit for purpose.

What types of leases are there?

There are many types of leases available to an organisation, each with their own benefits.

Common leases are: • novated lease • operating lease • finance lease.

Novated lease Novated leases have become an increasingly popular form of vehicle utilisation over recent years. A novated

fleet management

lease combines many features of more traditional forms of vehicle leases to deliver some attractive benefits for both employers and employees.

A novated lease is an agreement between the employer, the employee, and the financier. The obligations to meet the repayments under the lease sit with the employer, with the employee salary sacrificing a portion of salary to cover the lease rental. A novated lease can be structured as either a finance or operating lease.

The employee has the right to take the vehicle with them if they change jobs.

Operating lease An operating lease can be viewed as a rental agreement.

Some of the benefits of this type of lease are: • no risk associated with ownership and residual value liability • at the end of the lease the vehicle can be returned • working capital is maintained • lease rentals are fully tax deductible if the vehicle is used to generate taxable income • no resale value risk at the end of the lease.

Another important feature of an operating lease is that the finance cost is known for a fixed period of time – great for budgeting the cost of new vehicles.

Finance lease A finance lease is an agreement that obliges the lessee to indemnify the lessor in relation to the residual value of the vehicle at the end of the lease.

The lease agreement sets out the residual value, term of the lease and monthly rental.

Any shortfall in the residual amount and GST is the responsibility of the lessee.

What if I only need a short lease?

Some fleet leasing companies provide short or ‘mini leases’. These are ideal for interstate visitors, new employees on probationary periods, and short-term projects and contracts.

What if I need a range of different vehicle types?

Most fleet leasing companies can provide a range of vehicles, from passenger, to utility and heavy vehicles. You can discuss all of your leasing needs with them.

What if I need materials handling vehicles like forklifts?

Many fleet leasing companies can also provide materials handling and industrial vehicles. You can discuss all of your leasing needs with your leasing partner.

What happens if an employee with a fleet vehicle leaves?

What happens to the fleet vehicle depends on the type of lease structure your organisation has with your fleet leasing company. If you had a novated lease, the employee would normally take it with them. This type of lease reduces the administration on your organisation and the need to return or reallocate the fleet vehicle.

What happens if an employee with a fleet car is retrenched?

Again what happens to the vehicle depends on the type of lease structure. There are insurance policies available to cover employees’ lease repayment obligations in the event that they find themselves involuntarily unemployed.

Employees should check their own fleet leasing company.

What is considered fair wear and tear on fleet vehicles?

Reasonable wear and tear depends on the vehicle, its average mileage and the purposes for which it is used. The Australian Fleet Lessors Association (AFLA) has published a Fair Wear and Tear Guide, available on the AFLA website.

The Australian Fleet Lessors Association is the industry body representing the fleet leasing industry in Australia (see www.afla.com.au for members of AFLA).

How do I know which lease is right for my organisation?

Your fleet leasing company will work with you to determine the best type of lease for your organisation’s needs. This may in fact be a combination of different types of leases.

the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 93

SHIFT YOUR THINKING ABOUT YOUR FLEET’S POTENTIAL.

“The intelligent

ALL MODE 4x4-i system, lets the driver change between three driving modes at the twist of a dial: 2WD, AUTO or LOCK.”

SHIFT WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM A COMPACT SUV. The Nissan X-TRAIL is the compact SUV that is going places – onroad, offroad, city or regional. Now available in both 2WD and 4WD, the versatility of the Nissan X-TRAIL caters to a wide range of fleet applications.

The 2.0 litre petrol 2WD, 2.5 litre petrol 4WD and 2.0 litre turbo-diesel 4WD each offer heaps of power, as well as providing great fuel economy. The 4WD versions also feature an intelligent ALL MODE 4x4-i system, which lets the driver change between three driving modes at the twist of a dial: 2WD, AUTO or LOCK. The X-TRAIL may be a compact SUV but there’s nothing compact about its interior.

Inside, the rear folding seat system can be reclined to five different positions or you can fold them down entirely to create a completely flat rear area for carrying larger items. To make cleaning easy, there are removable, washable luggage boards in the rear plus plenty of clever storage compartments.

X-TRAIL doesn’t scrimp when it comes to safety. Both the 2WD and 4WD models feature six airbags, VDC (Vehicle Dynamic Control), as well as a variety of braking systems to keep you in control during emergency situations. And the X-TRAIL 4WD has a 2,000kg braked towing capacity.

X-TRAIL Ti, shown in Flame Red.

X-TRAIL ST-L, shown in Brilliant Silver.

NIS2122

SHIFT WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM A UTE. When there’s heavy work to be done, you can rely on a powerful fleet of Nissan Navara’s to tackle any task. No matter your fleet utility requirements, there’s a Navara model that’ll get the job done, and in various configurations – be it 4x4 or 4x2, Single Cab, Dual Cab or King Cab, Pick Up or Cab Chassis, Diesel or Petrol.

The Nissan Navara range offers not only Australia’s most powerful ute, but also has the strength and practicality to fulfill any fleet’s needs.

“There’s a huge

range of Navaras to suit any fleet requirements.”

There’s a huge range of Navara’s to suit any fleet requirements, including the new best in class power conquering ST-X 550 and the new base model RX series that has been specifically designed for fleets. The RX series provides not only the power you would expect from Navara but also great value with features such as cruise control, remote keyless entry, power windows, air conditioning and heavy duty floor mats all as standard.

If you need to ramp up the power, then the Navara ST-X 550 Dual Cab can easily tackle the most challenging job.

Its class leading 3.0 litre V6 turbodiesel egine produces a massive 170kW of power and 550 Nm of torque to provide a 3,000kg braked towing capacity.

Available in a 7 speed automatic transmission with manual mode, the STX550 delivers an impressive fuel economy and low emissions plus a switch operated 4WD system, Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC), six airbags and a host of other features.

Navara D40 RX, shown in Burning Red.

Whichever Navara you choose, you can be certain your fleet will have all the power, performance and safety features you need to get that job done.

For more information and for all general fleet sales enquiries, please email fleet_sales@nissan.com.au, visit nissan.com.au or call 1800 035 035.

“No matter what

kind of fleet you’re looking for, whether big or small, there’s a Nissan vehicle to suit.”

Navara ST-X 550, shown in Midnight Black.

MAKING IT EASIER TO ‘SHIFT’ YOUR FLEET

fleet management

Lake Macquarie City Council fleet management operations Lake Macquarie City Council owns and operates a large local government fleet of cars, trucks, mobile plant and equipment, and small plant. Due to increasing pressure to reduce its carbon footprint, Council adopted a policy to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by three per cent annually when compared to 2007/2008 emission levels. This was in response to community concerns for the environment.

T

he GHG reduction targets have a direct impact on Council’s fleet, as it consumes a significant amount of fuel and generates subsequent GHGs. The implementation of a GHG reduction strategy is highly dependent on available technologies and the ability to continue providing cost-effective services to the city. Due to limited options available in the heavy vehicle fleet, the focus of the initial round of reductions was on the passenger vehicle fleet.

In June 2007, four-cylinder vehicles made up only 15 per cent of the passenger vehicle fleet. Four years later, in June 2011, four-cylinder vehicles make up 74 per cent of the passenger vehicle fleet, with hybrid vehicles making up 10 per cent of the total fleet numbers. This has reduced fuel consumption by 12 per cent, GHG emissions by almost 20 per cent, and achieved fuel savings of more than $120,000 since the 2007/2008 financial year.

The strategy employed an approach whereby it restricted six-cylinder vehicle choices, but in return offered a wider range of four-cylinder vehicles, and discounted personal contribution rates for hybrid vehicles (Toyota Prius and Honda Civic) as an incentive to make the switch.

The process involved establishing a baseline value for GHG emissions of the passenger vehicle fleet in terms of fuel usage and total GHG emissions. The vehicle selection process restricted vehicle selections to vehicle GHG ratings of 220 grams per kilometre of carbon dioxide (CO2) or lower.

A number of fleet-mix scenarios were prepared to balance the needs of reducing fuel costs and subsequent GHG emissions, without significantly diminishing our employer of choice goals or impinging on day-to-day operational requirements. A vehicle choice list was then prepared to identify GHG ratings and personal contributions for eligible staff. This included subsidised contribution rates for more expensive hybrid vehicles.

The final part of the process involved communication with affected staff to outline the reasons for change, and the future impacts if change did not occur, including financial and social costs for future generations.

continued on page 98 

96 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

Make an iMpression without l e av i n g a d e n t i n y o u r b u d g e t

With its striking design and highly fuel-efficient engines, the new Hyundai i40 Tourer would make an impressive yet economical addition to your fleet.

2.0 Active manual 1.7 CRDi Active manual

130kW of power 100kW of power

213Nm of torque 330Nm of torque

6.8 l/100km * 4.7 l/100km *

159g CO 2 /km 124g CO 2 /km

Visit your Hyundai dealer, go to hyundai.com.au/fleetadvantage, or contact FleetAdvantage@hyundai.com.au

*ADR81/02 fuel consumption will vary depending on a combination of driving habits and the condition of the vehicle.

M AK E AN I M P R E S S I O N

fleet management



continued from page 96

Managing expectations

Changes to fleet composition

Council identified and managed various stakeholder expectations through the process, which included:

The following graph outlines the changes from four-cylinder to six-cylinder mix since 30 June 2007.

Staff expectations: Council has developed recruitment and retention strategies based on ‘Employer of Choice’ principles. This has required changes in fleet management practices to provide greater vehicle choice for staff eligible for private use vehicles. Over time, this saw a move away from purely operational vehicles to more ‘lifestyle choice’ vehicles, and it has become an expectation that this should continue into the future.

Environmental expectations: Environmental specialists identified plant and fleet operations as a major polluter of the environment and emphasised a need to lift the environmental profile of vehicle purchases. There was a perception that the passenger vehicle fleet was too large and private use entitlements too generous. There were calls to restrict private use conditions for staff because it was perceived that this would significantly reduce GHG emissions. Alternatively, consideration for a dedicated hybrid vehicle fleet was suggested to minimise fuel usage.

Business expectations: Council pools its passenger vehicles during the day for general business needs, and during peak demand complaints were received regarding the lack of available vehicles. It was perceived by some sectors that the fleet needed to expand in size to meet peak demand periods.

Business usage patterns also dictated a need for station wagon vehicles to transport equipment. Most station wagons on the market with adequate cargo space were six-cylinder vehicles.

Managing these expectations: The solution required a compromise that involved staged improvements. Smaller, incremental improvements were considered more sustainable over a longer period because they required minor adjustments in behaviour, whereas severe change is more noticeable and requires greater effort. If managed poorly, severe changes have the potential to shift problems from one stakeholder area to another with little overall business improvement. All stakeholders had to give a little to gain a little in return.

98 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

Changes to fuel consumption The following graph outlines reductions in annual fuel consumption for the passenger vehicle fleet as the number of four-cylinder vehicle numbers has increased. For GHG reduction target measurement, 2007/2008 is the baseline year (520,230 litres).

fleet management

fleet management

Helping you save fuel and cut emissions

A

ustralia’s climate and working conditions create havoc for batteries. Extreme temperatures, excessive vibration, punishing environments and gruelling shifts attack a battery’s internal components, leading to premature battery failure.

To avoid increased vehicle down time and associated costs, it is important that fleet managers and plant operators choose a battery that has been designed and built specifically to combat these causes of battery failure.

Australian-made for Australian conditions Some imported batteries are made for softer overseas climates and often focus on delivering higher starting power at the expense of critical design features more relevant to Australian conditions.

Century batteries are designed and manufactured right here in Australia. They incorporate advanced design features, specialist hardwearing components and over 80 years of Australian manufacturing and technical expertise to deliver longer life and ultra reliability with less down time.

Smart Drive Technology – Power to save fuel and cut emissions.

Drawing on over 80 years of manufacturing know-how and technical expertise, Century Batteries has developed the revolutionary, SmartDrive™ technology in their Ultra Hi and Hi Performance range of products.

Extensive product range.

From 4WDs to excavators, prime movers and B-Doubles to UPS systems and scissor lifts, Century Batteries has the power solution. Century’s product portfolio includes one of the widest selections of batteries available in the marketplace, featuring some of the most technically advanced products available in the battery industry.

Quite simply, we have the solution whatever your power needs.

Extensive Distribution & Support Network Wherever you are located in Australia, Century Batteries has the distribution and sales support network to promptly service your battery needs. A network of regional agents and metro distribution centres spans the length and breadth of the country, ensuring you have access to locally held products and battery specialists on-hand to service your complete battery requirements.

Less fleet down time, fuel and emissions savings, a diverse product range, plus access to locally held products and battery specialists – it’s easy to see why Century Batteries is the leading manufacturer and supplier of batteries in Australia.

To find out more information or to speak a Century specialist, call 1300 362 287 or visit www.centurybatteries.com.au

Suitable for use in passenger vehicles, 4WDs, B-Doubles and light commercial vehicles, fitted with regulated charge control systems, Century Smart Drive™ batteries have the potential to reduce fuel consumption and cut vehicle emissions by up to two per cent.

If you’re running a fleet of 4WDs or light trucks the potential fuel and emissions savings can soon add up.

X • the australian local government yearbook 2012

the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 99

equipment and + machinery machinery

Case ConstruCtion King put to worK

D

ecember 2011 – The return of the Case Construction King Super T Series loader backhoe is set to impress with safety, productivity, reduced running costs and operator comfort the standout features. The introduction of the range is testament to Case’s commitment to innovation. As the first company to introduce a factory-built tractor loader backhoe, Case has continued to lead the market with over 700,000 backhoes manufactured worldwide.

Safety A standard handling kit comprises a safe lifting hook with hose burst valves on boom and dipper cylinders with an overload warning device.

The power braking system assures less braking effort and better braking efficiency.

Daily check and fill points are accessible from ground level, reducing daily maintenance and cutting downtime.

Four front, four rear, plus exclusive side lights (one per side) provide better visibility in poor light conditions.

Power and fuel efficiency The ST models are 10 per cent more fuel efficient than the previous model, while breakout force has been boosted by eight to 10 per cent to deliver increased power while reducing fuel costs. With the 145-litre fuel tank, operators can generate two days’ work on one tank of fuel.

Engine power on the 580ST is rated at 72kW (98hp), while the 590ST boasts an 82kW (110hp) engine.

Reduced fuel consumption The ST range is built with variable displacement pumps and load sensing hydraulics, which delivers power on demand, while reducing fuel consumption by up to 10 per cent.

Operator comfort Both models are available with hydraulic side shift.

This allows for precise positioning of the backhoe without damaging the surface, engaged simply by a switch inside the cab. Fully adjustable control lever towers and an air suspension seat with adjustable lumbar support are standard. Low noise levels are delivered, with a rating of

X • the australian local government yearbook 2012 100 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

77 dB (A). All four cab windows can be fully opened for improved ventilation and the rear screen can be titled up to provide a clear view of the working area.

Available with Powershift or Powershuttle transmissions, pilot and mechanical backhoe controls, operators can specify the machine best suited to the job at hand.

Ease of maintenance The Case Electronic Service Tool (EST) can be used with the standard common rail engines to rapidly diagnose any faults, reducing repair times.

Reduced operating costs The new brake system also uses the machine’s hydraulic oil, so there is no requirement for a separate brake fluid reservoir, therefore reducing operating costs.

Ease of transport Transport height is under 3.5 metres on the 580ST, thanks to the overlapping backhoe boom cylinder design.

The low transport height will cut downtime on site and ensure faster movement of the machine between operating areas.

For more information please visit: www.kingisback.com

Productivity

Now available with factory hydraulic side shift

Safety

Exclusive side lighting for improved visibility

Safety

Hose burst protection & overload sensor

Productivity

Fuel Efficiency

Power assisted braking for minimal effort

Increased fuel savings with new variable displacement pumps

With the introduction of the Case Super T Series, the Construction King once again sets new standards of reliability and operator safety engineering.

Contact us now for a demonstration of the safest machine in class.

SUPERIOR | RELIABILITY FUEL EFFICIENCY OPERATOR ENVIRONMENT SERVICEABILITY

1300 99 CASE | www.casece.com

the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 101

equipment and + machinery machinery

Rising to the challenge of government supply

B

lackwoods has been a vital part of Australia’s industrial landscape for decades. The Blackwoods brand is proudly associated with thousands of strategic projects with businesses both small and large, and government at all levels nationwide.

Blackwoods learned that customer needs and expectations are as varied as our product range, but the aim is clear: customer satisfaction through dynamic and innovative sales and service solutions.

Investment in people, technology and resources makes it easier for all levels of government to do business with them. That includes an unsurpassed product range, a world-class website and superior delivery performance – all working to support the important work of Councils, Defence, Education, Health, Police Emergency Services, and other government functions.

Web capability to support government needs Blackwoods recently enhanced its website capabilities, with the launch of a world-leading search and product selection platform. The new platform makes information sharing easier and smarter, and presents users with a range of benefits, including: • Intelligent Search – Start typing and the intelligent search function will seek out the best results and recommend relevant products.

• Enhanced Search – Additional options to make searching quicker with the ability to search by keywords,

X • the australian local government yearbook 2012 102 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

equipment + machinery equipment and product name, brands, part number, manufacturer number, colour, weight and a range of other product attributes.

• Explore The Range – New navigation function lets you navigate not only through groups of products, but also by attributes. Browse through our range by colour or size for clothing, or by metric or imperial for spanners – the combinations are limitless and intuitive.

• Compare Products Side-By-Side – To assist in purchasing decisions, the new comparison tool allows product features to be displayed side-by-side.

Many local government agencies are already using the Blackwoods website as their main purchasing method and seeing the benefits of increased efficiency and accuracy in orders. Depending on internal requirements, we also have a range of online solutions to suit your organisation, whether it is just taking advantage of our standard online ordering system, or upgrading to ‘Punchout’ or ‘B2B’ options, which integrate your purchasing system with Blackwoods.

Blackwoods Greener Workplace range In response to the growing need of their customers, Blackwoods has launched the Greener Workplace range to help government and other industry sectors operate more sustainably. The range includes a number of types of sustainable alternatives – organised into the following categories: Energy Conservation; Water Conservation; Sustainable Wood and Paper; Cleaner Alternatives; Responsible Packaging; Waste Reduction and Green Cleaning. If the product is certified (according to a recognised independent third party), the certification is displayed to help government agencies and other customers make informed decisions as to whether a product will meet an organisation’s sustainability goals.

Some products fall into categories that are able to be certified to international standards, such as paper products with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification. FSC certification ensures that the wood or paper fibre in the product is from responsibly harvested and verified sources, which are traced from point of forest origin through the supply chain. If the product can be certified, the relevant certification will be displayed next to the product.

In addition to certified products, the range includes products that have environmentally preferable attributes in categories where standards have not yet been developed.

Non-certified products include products that reduce energy, waste or water consumption in the workplace.

The Greener Workplace range will be easily identifiable within the upcoming 2012 Blackwoods Catalogue, featuring in its own chapter. The range will also grow as more products are certified and recognised for their ‘green’ credentials. This initiative is again supported by the Blackwoods website, which will showcase the everincreasing range and help the process of certification, by displaying the relevant sustainability category and certification for easy verification.

the australian local government yearbook 2012 •Y the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 103

equipment and machinery

Procurement pitfalls and solutions Many in our field work hard to lift the profile of the procurement profession. It can be an endless justification but we continue to burn the candle of hope. The light has dimmed a little in recent times with the inquiries into some dubious activity in local government. Thankfully, we are not completely in darkness. The flame will never be extinguished, and will undoubtedly burn brighter.

I

nappropriate activity is detrimental but it can also work in mysterious ways. It highlights the need to tighten processes, review policies and treat procurement roles with much higher regard. The reality is that many local government employees wear multiple hats – they are expected to be experts in category management and manage the expenditure of public funds. One council department that knows this scenario all too well is plant and fleet. There is considerable expenditure in the categories of small plant and outdoor power equipment, various trucks, including garbage compactors, and heavy plant, such as earthmoving equipment.

Carefully orchestrated replacement programs will include a schedule for critical equipment turnover and ensure that the funds are available for the replacements to happen. Budgets will vary from council to council, but they will generally always be significant relative to other areas of expenditure. Rollers and graders are perhaps the more frequently purchased of the heavy plant items. The price of a grader can range from $300,000 to $375,000,

104 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

By Angela Tesoriero, Business Manager, Local Government Procurement

and a roller from $150,000 to $200,000. These amounts well exceed the tendering threshold. It is not easy to defer the replacement of such equipment as it is required for road maintenance, and failure to replace impacts on vital services. Small plant, such as mowers, brush cutters and chainsaws, are not so significant in cost but have a shorter usage life and are replaced more frequently. An annual replacement budget for small plant can creep up to threshold heights.

So what is this threshold and how does it impact local government? Included in s55 of the Local Government Act 1993 are the requirements for tendering. One of the requirements, amongst others, pertains to the value of a contract expected to exceed $150,000 including GST. If this is the case, a tender must be called. Interpretations among the procurement fraternity can vary, but essentially it boils down to a few core considerations. The purchase may meet or exceed the threshold in a single procurement, for example a piece of heavy plant, or it can be cumulative, for example frequent purchases of small items of plant.

The Local Government (General) Regulation 2005 refers to an undetermined contract period over which the threshold expenditure applies. Whilst it is undetermined in the length of time, the timeframe can be viewed as the period of time over which it is intended that the vendor will be engaged for goods and/or services. Great consideration should be given to associated risk pertaining to expenditure of large amounts, as well as the low value but frequent engagements that do not have contractual protection such as agreed terms and conditions.

Calling for tenders and managing contracts is timely and requires resources that are not always available. The Local Government Procurement (LGP) solution can ease some of the pressure by offering a suite of contracts that local government can access without the need to tender. In both the regulation and the legislation, LGP is named as a prescribed entity. This means that councils can be exempt from tendering if they access the arrangements that LGP has in place. LGP arrangements provide a framework that allows local government to make a competitive assessment from an already qualified panel and provide contractual protection.

equipment and machinery

The incredible variation amongst the 152 local governments in New South Wales is such that LGP arrangements need to be flexible enough to cater for any requirements. How do we do this? The contract will have a scope that is detailed enough to communicate what is required, but not so detailed that too much is eliminated.

Some goods and services are easily priced and a schedule of rates can apply. This is the case with the LGP5808 Small Plant contract. The user can review the pricing and product specifications for all manner of outdoor power equipment from various vendors and make a decision based on that information. Generally, the local dealer will be able to assist with demonstration, assembly and servicing if required.

A schedule of rates is not so easy to apply to large plant and trucks. Whilst a basic machine may at times be affected by exchange rates, it may still come with a stable price tag. Generally, though, the intended use for the machine requires additional specifications and external work that cannot be included in the price tag. The other advantages that could be missed if pricing were to be locked into a schedule are discounts for aged inventory, old model run outs or stock surplus. So how is this managed?

Some LGP arrangements have the facility to seek a quote from the panel. This is not a new concept for LGP but it is certainly one that evolved out of the need to provide a managed and secure process. Much time and investment has gone into a product called VendorPanel.

It is an innovative online gateway for accessing the LGP approved contractors. The user will post their Request for Quotation (RFQ) in the portal and it will be received by the appropriate panel contractors. This approach is targeted and offers the confidence of a secure process. Vendors everywhere have been crying out for streamlined tendering and quoting processes and templates. They are all too often the forgotten ones in the procurement universe. The cost to their business and time commitments can be a significant impact; sometimes for little gain. We do not forget our contractors at LGP and we feel we are a little closer to streamlined process with this tool. VendorPanel is changing the face of procurement and the various awards that LGP has won, and been nominated or a finalist for, are testimony to this: WINNER of CIPSA 2011 Best Process Improvement, NOMINEE CIPSA 2011 Most Innovative use of Technology, FINALIST in Department of Finance and Deregulation 2011 Excellence in e-Government Awards and FINALIST in Smart 2011 Awards for Excellence in Supply Chain Innovation in New South Wales.

LGP has had great success with three contracts where VendorPanel is integral. These are the LGP707-2 Heavy Plant, BUS198 Trucks, Vans and Omnibuses and LGP1608-E1 Garbage Compactors and Street Sweepers.

In the last financial year, reported sales under these arrangements totalled well over $30 million. Feedback from council users is generally around time saved, tendering cost saved and excellent results.

LGP does not work alone; we are not so naive to think we can do it all. Our partnerships are key. We have worked closely with Magnetised Markets in developing the VendorPanel portal for local government needs and it has subsequently been adopted by our counterparts in Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia. LGP has also enjoyed successful liaisons with the Institute of Public Works and Engineers Association (IPWEA). We acknowledge their presence amongst their profession and welcome their introductions to new groups of engineers that could benefit from use of the LGP contracts. In most councils, especially regionally, approximately half of the council’s expenditure comes from projects hatched by the engineering division. This is a huge responsibility and one that makes them part of the procurement fraternity.

Our most valued partnership is with New South Wales’s councils. They are the reason we exist and assisting them is our main driver. We welcome and rely on their feedback for our own improvement programs and to take us into the future.

For more information, visit www.lgp.org.au or call 02 8270 8700

the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 105

equipment and + machinery machinery

New HollaNd T4 PowerSTar: Small TracTor dimeNSioNS, big TracTor feaTureS

N

ew Holland’s completely new T4 PowerStar utility tractor range is set to redefine farming comfort in this fast expanding segment. This range of tractors offers three models: the T4.55, T4.65 and T4.75, producing engine powers from 56 to 75 hp.

The new entry level T4.55, together with the entire line up, enhances the choice available to farmers, local government / municipalities and other operators who are looking for a highly versatile tractor. It offers excellent manoeuvrability, ergonomic comfort and fuel efficiency. The complete range is ideally suited to a wide range of both agricultural and non-agricultural tasks, including front loader activities, high speed transport and PTO work. The entire T4 PowerStar series benefits from New Holland’s acclaimed ergonomic excellence and distinctive styling cues.

New Holland knows that operator comfort is a prerequisite for optimum productivity. Following extensive consultation with current users the entire cab has been redesigned to offer unparalleled ergonomic excellence in this segment. The new VisionView™ Cab was designed around the operator using advanced virtual reality techniques, which has ensured that all controls fall perfectly to hand for all operators. The principal controls have been placed to the right of the operator in an ergonomic ‘Command Arc’ to reduce fatigue and increase precision.

This is combined with a 15° swivel seat for those who extensively use rear-mounted equipment. The clearly visible instrument cluster moves in conjunction with the fully tiltable steering column, which means operators will always have an unobstructed view of key operating parameters. It also facilitates easy entry and exit from the cab.

X • the australian local government yearbook 2012 106 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

The new VisionView™ Cab offers industry-leading levels of visibility for loader work. The transparent, fully opening roof hatch guarantees perfect loader visibility throughout the entire operating range, even at maximum height. The roof hatch almost meets the front glass to reduce the obscured area to the lowest in the segment for improved precision during loader operation. Visibility is further enhanced by the large glazed areas offering an unobstructed view of front, rear and mid-mounted equipment.

The VisionView™ Cab offers operators a home away from home, with up to three power outlets for equipment monitors or a ready supply of electricity for personal equipment including mobile phone chargers and MP3 players. Furthermore, the optional full-size instructor’s seat, equipped with seat belt, means that two adults can enjoy the PowerStar in ultimate comfort.

NEW HOLLAND T4 POWERSTARTAKING COMFORT TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL New Holland has designed and developed the all-new T4 PowerStar range around you with improved comfort and productivity high on our priority list. With 55 to 75hp on tap for responsive performance, distinctive styling and extensive customisable options, you can tailor your T4 PowerStar to suit you.

Long working days in the New Holland T4 PowerStar now fly by thanks to the all-new VisionView™ Cab, and with a super flat floor and wide opening doors entry is made even easier. Sit back, relax and enjoy the ride during transport, PTO and front loader work. in the all new T4 PowerStar range of tractors.

Visit your new Holland dealere today to find out more

www.newholland.com

Own a bright future

equipment and machinery

‘As new’ checklist Prospective purchasers of ‘as new’ construction machinery from auction houses or from overseas sources need to be aware of the potential pitfalls in purchasing these machines outside of the authorised OEM channels.

T

hese potential pitfalls include non-compliance with Australian safety and environmental compliances, limited or no warranty coverage, and limited parts availability when imported machines are different to those imported by authorised OEM distributors.

OEMs have a number of different machine specifications, with those built for the Australian market having the highest safety, environmental and machine monitoring and maintenance specifications, such as ROPS cabs, hose-burst protection and Tier II or Tier III lowemission engines.

Some ‘as new’ internationally sourced machines may have a different specification to those built for the Australian market, resulting in a lack of coverage for spare parts in the event of machine breakdown or component failure. While these parts can be sourced from the overseas factory, the time taken to import these parts may prove to be very costly in terms of machine downtime.

CMEIG has developed a checklist (see opposite) for end-users who are thinking of purchasing an ‘as new’ or lowhour machine either from offshore or at local auctions. This checklist outlines important questions that potential buyers should be asking before they purchase or bid for a particular machine.

108 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

equipment and machinery

WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS ‘AS NEW’ MACHINE? The pitfalls of buying ‘grey’ or ‘parallel’ imported machinery

GET THE FACTS Make sure you ask the seller these questions when looking at a machine. Answers to these questions can help you check the facts with local distributors.

1 2 3 4 5

Grey or parallel imported machinery is imported outside authorised distribution channels, either direct from overseas or at auction. Offered at a ‘bargain’ price, if it sounds too good to be true it usually is.

Ownership can be a nightmare and a risk to your business.

If you’re thinking of buying a ‘bargain’ grey or parallel import, think twice. Make sure you get the facts before you put your business at risk, talk to the authorised Australian distributor or email: inquiry@cmeig.com.au

6 7

What is the make, model number, serial number and year of manufacture?

What is the claimed warranty on the machine?

Is there supporting documentation?

Are the parts available for the machine locally?

(The serial number and year of manufacture can help you confirm this with your local distributor.)

Will the local distributor provide a warranty?

What safety equipment is fitted to the machine?

Does it meet Australian standards?

If it is an excavator, does it have an ROPS cabs?

If so, is there an OEM compliance plate?

What emissions standard is the engine built to?

© 2011 Copyright Construction Mining & Engineering Industry Group Ltd (CMEIG) ABN 16 416 851 536. the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 109

equipment and + machinery machinery

InnovatIon and QualIty – hand-In-hand for more than 160 years.

T

he vision of innovative new products to improve our customers’ processes has always been the company’s top priority, and lies at the heart of the Wacker Neuson success story.

Our innovations have set new standards in markets worldwide, changing the way people build, compact, transport and go about their everyday work. This leadership stretches back more than 160 years to the earliest beginnings of the Wacker name and brand in Germany, and is recognised and rewarded by our customers across the globe.

During the 1930s, Wacker Neuson innovation brought forth the world’s first electric rammer for soil compaction, and the first internal vibrator for concrete compaction.

That was followed by the first rammer equipped with a combustion engine, forever freeing legions of operators from the constraints of a power cable. During the 1950s Wacker Neuson released the first breaker (jack hammer) with a petrol engine, and followed that with the world’s first reversible vibratory plate compactor during the early 1970s.

Rather more recently, Wacker Neuson innovation has the introduction of the first telescopic undercarriage for mini excavators (in 1988) and the unique Vertical Digging System (VDS) for compact excavators up to five tonnes.

In the early 1990s Wacker Neuson came to market with yet another first – the articulated trench roller and, in the

Wacker Neuson’s VDS (Vertical Digging System) makes working on uneven ground a breeze. Being able to incline the excavator superstructure by up to 15 degrees compensates for gradients up to 27 per cent.

interest of operator safety, the first infrared remote control for trench rollers and, later, vibratory plates. And, only last year, Wacker Neuson innovation again came to the fore with the release of the world’s first twin base plate remotecontrol vibratory plate – the awesome DPU130.

Our customers continue to benefit from the high standards we set for our products. Our design, engineering and manufacturing processes and technologies are aimed at one thing – providing our customers with the smartest, most durable, reliable machines they can buy.

In Australia, Wacker Neuson has been making a difference since 1966. Our name has become a byword for reliable, hard-working machines that get the job done.

Our huge range of equipment, from 25 millimetre internal vibration heads to 7.5-tonne excavators (and everything in between) has ensured that the hire and rental industry, civil engineers, local councils, road and building construction contractors, concreters, and even farmers, know the benefits of Wacker Neuson’s products.

With the compaction power of a seven-tonne roller and the ability to turn in its own length, the DPU130 remote control vibratory plate can compact large areas quickly and efficiently.

X • the australian local government yearbook 2012 110 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

For more information, or to discuss your equipment needs, contact the Wacker Neuson branch in your state, or call 1300 WACKER.

All you need Hard-working equipment for your next job.

From initial excavation, through compaction to final trowelling, Wacker Neuson construction equipment is everything you need.

It’s tough, reliable and efficient, so your job is done when you need it to be done.

Wacker Neuson’s complete range of light and compact equipment fits any job, anywhere.

Call 1300 WACKER for further information www.wackerneuson.com

Branches: Wacker Neuson, NSW – 02 9748 0366 Wacker Neuson, Qld – 07 3208 9577 Wacker Neuson, SA – 08 8262 8855

Wacker Neuson, Vic – 03 9547 4033 Wacker Neuson, WA – 08 9361 5366

traffic traffic

Enhancing visibility

Following changes to the UN/ECE104 regulation, the use of partial or full contour reflective markings will become mandatory on all heavy vehicles operating within the European Union from October 2011.

A

ccording to a leading university study in Germany, more than 95 per cent of night time accidents from the rear or side of a truck could be reduced by using outline vehicle visibility markings, as a truck with outline reflective markings is recognised earlier than an unmarked truck. The reason for this is that outline vehicle visibility markings assist drivers to determine the total size of the truck, allowing more time to manoeuvre safely in traffic.

According to a report released by the Laboratory of Lighting Technology at Darmstadt University of Technology in Germany, it has also been proven that a truck retrofitted with outline reflective markings can reduce rear end collisions by up to 41 per cent and side collisions by up to 37 per cent.

It is said that 40 per cent of all road accidents occur at night as the ability for people to see objects and vehicles at night is reduced.

3M™ Diamond GradeTM 983 and 987 Series Reflective Tapes are used worldwide for truck markings to help combat this issue. These markings deliver outstanding truck visibility and continuous protection, especially when trucks or trailers are parked on the side of the road.

According to 3M™, only 5 per cent of the information we see during the day can be seen at night. This night visibility is also reduced with age. Typically a driver needs

X • the australian local government yearbook 2012 112 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

twice the amount of light to see an object or vehicle to the same capacity every 13 years.

The new European legislation that will soon come into play in European Union countries will require the use of approved retroreflective products that carry the E-mark symbol, which is proof that the product complies with all UN/ECE104 testing and performance requirements.

As a minimum, trucks will be required to carry Partial Contour Markings. However, due to the low cost of this safety initiative, many fleet owners are opting for Full Contour Markings to maximise truck and fleet safety.

In Australia, the average financial loss per truck incident for fleet owners is close to $128,480, as identified in the Major Accident Investigation Report 2009 – National Transport Insurance, National Centre for Truck Accident Research. This figure relates to vehicle damage and repair costs only, and does not take the significant emotional trauma and devastation that accidents can have on families and loved ones into account.

The Australian Trucking Association has produced a free Technical Advisory Procedure booklet that outlines best practices in reflective markings for trucks in Australia. Free copies or more information can be obtained by calling the ATA on 02 6253 6900, or emailing ata@atatruck.net.au.

3M Traffic Safety Systems Heavy Vehicle Safety Solutions

Keeping your fleet safer with 3M™ Diamond Grade™ Reflective Technology It’s a fact. The risk of an accident between a truck and a car is 30 TIMES GREATER when a truck does not have high visibility vehicle markings1.

3M is a global leader in high performance fluorescent and standard colour reflective tapes. 3M™ Diamond Grade™ 983 & 987 Series Reflective Tapes are used worldwide to deliver outstanding, continuous safety and visibility of trucks and trailers, even when they are not in use.

Powerful 3M protection against

collisions

a Reduces chance of an accident

up to 30 TIMES Less vehicle downtime and repair costs Protect your company against potential legal action High workplace safety for employees Maximises your corporate image

a a a a

For more information or your nearest distributor, contact your 3M Traffic Safety Systems Representative, or call us on 136 136.

3M and Diamond Grade are trademarks of 3M Company. © 3M 2011. All rights reserved. PB5021/0311 1. Prof. Dr.-Ing. H.-J. Schmidt-Clausen, Laboratory of Lighting Technology, Darmstadt University of Technology, Germany: Contour Marking of Vehicles, Final Report FO 76 / 00

traffic

A technological solution to parking

By Tom Gladwin, Parking & Local Laws Projects, Maribyrnong Council.

At Maribyrnong Council we have utilised new technology as a means to deal with a problem known to any council: parking congestion and safety issues.

We have had the opportunity to test the technology in looking at permissive parking (turnover), parking safety offences and general safety around schools.

114 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

T

here are always competing demands to ensure the turnover of parking spaces to maximise opportunities for potential shoppers, and the need to improve safety for pedestrians and motorists alike by reducing the incidence of safety-related parking offences. This is particularly important in the central activities district (CAD) and near schools, hospitals, business and commercial areas.

Traditional means of parking management meant there were limited resources for purely safety-related enforcement.

In 2004, Council commenced using, as a trial, inground parking sensors that alerted Council Officers to an ‘overstayer’. The sensors, referred to as Parking Overstay Detection Systems (PODS), were developed by a local Victorian company, Vehicle Monitoring Systems Pty Ltd, (VMS). Maribyrnong was the first council to use such technology in this way.

Council worked in partnership with VMS to allow sensors to be placed in parking bays during the testing and proving stages of development. Council enforcement officers used prototype equipment in some of these trials and were able to provide direct feedback to management as well as the VMS during this time.

The PODS system consists of an in-ground unit (IGU), buried several centimetres under each parking bay. Once covered with cold-mix, the location is not distinguishable from the road surface. It determines vehicle movements into and out of a bay by measuring changes in the magnetic field immediately above it. Each IGU has a unique identifier and each parking bay is numbered in accordance with that. The

traffic

unit can be firmware upgraded to accommodate changes to parking restrictions and the changes confirmed. The IGU detects the movement of a car into the bay. Once the vehicle has remained stationary for a period, it commences a count of the stay. In effect the unit discriminates between a ‘no car state’ and a ‘car state’, and counts accordingly, regularly polling the space above it for any change to the state.

Officers patrolling PODS areas are equipped with a hand-held receiving device, deployed either whilst in a vehicle or when walking. The IGU emits a radio signal translated into the receiver carried by the officer with information that there is an ‘overstayer’ and identifying the particular bay. The PODS equipment integrates with the officer’s parking infringement issuing device, creating an accurate transmission of the key elements to the offence, for example location, day, date, time, sign tariff, and bay number. Based on this information, the parking enforcement officer makes a decision and issues an infringement notice, or a warning notice, or takes no action, depending on the circumstances. The system was designed to include a grace period to take into account differences in time keeping practices and to avoid taking action against the genuine accidental overstayer.

operators and their staff, with occupancy rates of parking bays rising significantly.

Officers have been successfully using PODS in the general patrols of parking areas since the early trials in 2004.

Council’s current contract for the provision of PODS with VMS expires in August 2012.

PARKING SAFETY IN FOOTSCRAY CAD In October 2008, a trial was conducted by Council with VMS assistance, using PODS to monitor vehicles in four separate no-stopping zones in Leeds Street, Footscray, between Irving Street and Chambers Street. This location was chosen because of: • high volumes of vehicular traffic • high pedestrian use including multiple informal crossing points • concentrated bus routes and tram terminus at Leeds Street and Irving Street intersection • Footscray railway station at the southern end of Leeds street • Footscray Market and gateway to Little Saigon area

The immediately recognisable benefits of PODS were: • The health and safety concerns for officers in the field were being addressed through the use of highly accurate devices, the use of which significantly shortened the time an officer spent at each vehicle as well as physical improvements in eliminating the need to bend and stretch in close proximity to vehicles whilst marking tyres.

• An increase in the numbers of offending vehicles detected in a normal patrol period (by a factor of three to five times).

• The apparent acceptance by traders, their workers and other long-term regular visitors to the CAD that there was a greater certainty that they would be infringed if the vehicle overstayed the time limits.

• Commercial car park operators indicated that they had observed an increase in the number of earlybird parking and an increase in long-term permit holders.

Previously underutilised parking on the periphery of the CAD became the location of choice for many business

• knowledge that the last five deaths on roads in Maribyrnong were all pedestrians.

The survey was conducted for 12 hours each day over 12 consecutive days. Results showed that there were in excess of 1200 illegally parked vehicles in four no-stopping zones in Leeds Street alone. The PODS ignored any vehicle stopping for less than 90 seconds. The worst no-stopping zone averaged 46 illegal parkers per day. This represents more than 13,000 illegally parked vehicles per year. With the area containing a tram terminus, railway station and bus interchange, and a busy market, it was important to consider the safety of pedestrians moving along and across this street in such an environment. The numbers of vehicles detected during this trial was far in excess of numbers of vehicles identified by officers and issued with infringement notices in this location in the previous 12-month period.

Cameras were installed as a fixed array, targeting specific locations. Apart from no-stopping zones, the cameras captured offenders in bus stops, taxi zones, loading zones and also cars that were double-parked. the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 115

traffic

Initially the cameras resulted in a high number of infringements being identified with notices mailed out averaging 5000 per month during the October 2009 to January 2010 period. There was, however, a rapid reduction in the number of offenders identified and subsequently reported.

The digital cameras operated by taking an image every second over a 12-hour period each day. The images were stored, time stamped and securely located on hard drives to be uploaded to a secure server at the end of each day.

VMS then provided Council access to a secure web server whereby an authorised officer could view the images and make a decision on whether or not an infringement notice was to be served.

Council commenced issuing notices in mid-April 2009.

In October 2009, a further nine cameras were installed in arrays on a total of three more poles at other locations within the CAD, in and near the Little Saigon and market area. In November 2009, after a series of discussions with local traders, Council issued warnings to first-time offenders and continued to issue infringement notices to repeat offenders.

Initially the cameras resulted in a high number of infringements being identified with notices mailed out averaging 5000 per month during the October 2009 to January 2010 period. There was, however, a rapid reduction in the number of offenders identified and subsequently reported. At the time Council ceased operation of the cameras in March 2011, there were less than 2000 offenders per month. The levels of infringements issued generated high levels of revenue that could be put back into various programs benefiting the CAD in general as well as initiatives for the broader municipality.

SAFETY AROUND SCHOOLS In 2008 and 2009, there were two school crossing-related accidents in the City of Maribyrnong. A child ran across a supervised crossing and was struck by a passing vehicle, and a school crossing supervisor staffing a pedestrian crosswalk in proximity to a school was struck by a turning vehicle. Both locations were busy thoroughfares. Neither resulted in serious injuries; however, they were seen as catalysts for the conduct of a direct campaign around safety at schools.

In December 2009 and March 2010, there were three forums held with school principals, councillors and council staff to discuss campaign ideas, strategy and possible future initiatives. During these sessions, we produced a 90-second film depicting a parent dropping a child off at school and allowing the child to alight from a doubleparked vehicle. We used Council staff, their children

116 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

and friends, a school crossing supervisor, Victoria Police members and a local school principal as actors in the film, which was professionally shot and edited. This was funded out of revenue from Council’s parking cameras.

Council also introduced the deployment of four Parking Information Officers. These people were drawn from the local community, all with a variety of non-English speaking backgrounds. They were trained in road safety parking laws and were given the responsibility at the street level to engage with the public in a range of parking education initiatives. Primarily they are the key face of the campaign during the education campaign and rotate through all of the school crossing locations on a regular basis. They work in close consort with the parking officers and some of the team are also authorised officers for the purposes of parking enforcement and can therefore take a secondment in the parking teams to gain greater experience in their principal role.

The campaign cost in the vicinity of $25,000, paid for through revenue generated through the parking camera initiative. In conjunction with the road safety campaign, Council also was able to fund and undertake a road safety audit of all school crossings locations and hot spots near schools. This was conducted by former Victorian Assistant Police Commissioner, Ray Shuey, now Director and Founder of Strategic Safety Solutions Pty Ltd. The audit was a comprehensive review of all elements of road safety, taking a Safe Systems Approach incorporating the concept of education and enforcement being in balance with infrastructure treatments at each school crossing location and in the immediate vicinity. The report makes a number of key recommendations encompassing all elements of the engineering, education and enforcement campaign.

CONCLUSION The use of PODS as an enforcement tool has now been established in Maribyrnong over the past six years plus.

Other municipalities within Victoria, interstate and overseas have taken up the use of these devices, and the industry as a whole has benefitted through competition from other manufacturers introducing similar technologies. PODS has already demonstrated its flexibility as a traffic management tool across a broader range of applications. We are able to collect data on all types of vehicle movements into and out of both legal, specifically appointed parking areas, and those areas set aside as prohibited standing zones.

traffic

PODS have the capacity for integration with the law enforcement model and parking infrastructure such as parking meters, ticket issuing devices, and dynamic parking signs.

Parking cameras, whilst not currently deployed by Council, certainly got their start at Maribyrnong. Whilst the use of fixed cameras for parking enforcement presents a challenge to some sections of the community, they remain a viable and effective tool that rapidly brings voluntary compliance. They provide the absolute certainty that a transgression of the parking laws will result in an infringement notice. Their application in busy CAD type parking scenarios is equally valid in remote locations such as school crossing hot spots. In this case it will never be about revenue, but all about the certainty of detection and a rapidly gained level of voluntary compliance. There is an inherent fairness in a parking camera system. By viewing images of an alleged offence before issuing an infringement notice, the officer is able to look at the event in its entirety rather than just walk up to a vehicle and place a notice on the windscreen.

The utilisation of technology brings greater efficiencies in parking enforcement and in some cases an increased revenue stream. Increased revenue allows a council to put greater levels of funding back into the community through: • infrastructure renewal • increased levels of maintenance programs, street cleaning, et cetera • public lighting • programs to improve perceptions of safety • information and education programs to supplement transport and parking strategies.

Our experiences in developing a safety around schools program have demonstrated the real need for Council’s law enforcement arm to have access to good communications and media/marketing resources. Lessons learned from the parking camera issues will be a good template for the future as we look to more examples of introduction of technology into the parking enforcement and management field.

the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 117

3M Traffic Safety Systems Road Safety Solutions

Keeping people safer

with 3M Reflective Technology ™

3M’s new technologies deliver better visibility of signage, road markings and vehicles for motorists, than ever before.

As a global leader in reflective technology, 3M is committed to delivering innovative safety solutions designed to maximise visibility and safety on the road, in the workplace and general community.

High Visibility Signage 3M Diamond Grade DG Reflective Sheeting delivers outstanding wide angle reflectivity – ideal for compromised sign positions and dangerous roads. ™

™

3

High Visibility, Wet-Reflective Road Markings

High Visibility Vehicle & Equipment Markings

3M™ Stamark™ Tapes and All-Weather Paint make road markings especially visible when road users need them most-in the wet.

3M™ Diamond Grade™ Reflective Tapes keep work vehicles and equipment of all sizes clearly visible, even when not in use.

For more information on how we can improve road safety, please contact your 3M Traffic Safety Systems Representative or 3M on 136 136.

3M, Stamark and Diamond Grade are trademarks of 3M Company. © 3M 2011. All rights reserved. PB4908/0111

traffic traffic

NEW, ALL-WEATHER PAVEMENT MARKING TAPES TO IMPROVE SAFETY Rainy conditions impact road safety

W

ell designed and maintained road markings play a critical role in road safety, particularly when the road itself is hardest to see – at night, in wet conditions. In fact, drivers are three times more likely to be involved in an accident during rainy or wet pavement conditions and road or lane visibility can be largely reduced, potentially resulting in devastating consequences.

3M™’s revolutionary solution Using nanotechnology, 3M™ recently developed the world’s first wet-reflective element that can actually retro reflect light in all weather conditions, day or night, and especially when the road line is completely underwater, providing continuous road line visibility, when drivers need it most.

Now, this unique, wet reflective technology is available in a full range of permanent and temporary road marking tapes that are quick and easy to apply to the road, which can be opened to traffic immediately after application.

The new 3M range 3M™ Stamark™ All Weather Permanent Tape Series 380AW provides outstanding road visibility in dry conditions through to heavy, continuous rain. Series 380AW has distinctive colour properties, excellent durability for longterm road presence, and superior reflectivity retention. It is available in white and yellow and a range of common sizes.

3MTM StamarkTM Series 380AW’s superior optical technology provides continuous delineation – day or night, wet or dry

3M™ Stamark™ All Weather Temporary Tape Series 710 provides all-weather temporary line visibility for up to six months, as well as easy and clean removal, which will not damage the road surface when removed. The Series 710 range is available in white or yellow, and a range of common sizes.

3M™ Stamark™ Series 380AW- edge line treatment, providing optimum line visibility on sharp corners.

two-way and multi-lane roads, pedestrian crossings, sharp corners, stop bars and intersections, level rail and tram crossings, freeway entrances, exits and off ramps, bridges and underpasses, and black spot zones.

The South Australian Department for Transport Energy and Infrastructure (DTEI) is currently conducting a trial of yellow coloured 3M™ Stamark™ All Weather Pavement Marking tape Series 381AW. DTEI maintains a number of yellow box hatchings on rail crossings where there is the possibility of vehicles ‘queuing’ over the tracks. The existing hatchings are marked with waterborne paint and intermixed quartz to provide a safe level of skid resistance.

3M™ Stamark™ Series 380AW centre lines being applied in Frankston, VIC, March 2011. Photos courtesy of Frankston City Council.

Permanent tape applications 3M™ Stamark™ Tapes offer a wide range of quick and easy-to-install, durable applications, particularly in areas of increased danger.

Typical applications for the permanent Series 380AW tape include edge lines, broken and unbroken lines on

3M™ Stamark™ Series 380AW - zebra crossing bars on raised pavement. the australian local government yearbook 2012 •X the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 119

traffic traffic

3M™ Stamark™ Series 380AW - piano key markings on a raised pavement.

3M™ Stamark™ Series 710, temporary lane closure.

The markings are not reflectorised and usually require maintenance every two years.

‘The 3M™ tape provides skid resistance and contains ceramic beads to provide retro reflectivity in all weather conditions,’ said Peter Mayger, DTEI Manager for Pavement Marking. ‘DTEI will monitor the performance of the box hatching but expects this product will enhance the safety of the crossings and result in a much longer period between re-marking, resulting in less disruption to the motorist.’

DTEI level crossing trial, SA, April 2011 - 3M™ Stamark™ Series 381AW. Photograph courtesy of the DTEI.

Nick Giannetta from Workforce International (SA), who completed the trial, indicated that he was impressed with ease and speed of the application.

Since Series 380AW is easy and safe to apply, it also serves as an affordable solution for smaller marking applications and pavement repairs, both on and off the road, especially where equipment access is limited, or the job is simply too small and expensive to professionally remark.

Easy application of DTEI’s level crossing, SA, April 2011 - 3M™ Stamark™ Series 381AW. Photograph courtesy of the DTEI.

3M™ Stamark™ Series 380AW white and yellow permanent tape is also being trialled to improve rail platform safety and line durability. The image below shows a recent trial being applied at the tram platform in Glenelg, SA. 3M™ Stamark™ Tape is easy to apply with a basic, hand-held applicator and weighted roller.

Temporary tape applications 3M™ Stamark™ Series 710 is designed to highlight safe navigation around temporary work zones or events.

It is mostly used to safely navigate motorists through lane switches around road work zones and lane closures.

Improved rail platform safety with 3M™ Stamark™ Series 380AW, at Glenelg Station, SA, March 2011.

3M™ Stamark™ Temporary Tape Series 715 is a blackout tape, used to temporarily cover existing markings during roadwork periods or special events. It can be easily removed without damage to existing markings or the road surface. This not only removes the need to permanently remove existing markings, but also the need to re-apply them once temporary work or the event has completed.

For more information about how 3MTM StamarkTM Tapes can help improve road safety in your region, please call 3M on 136 136 or contact your 3M Traffic Safety Systems representative.

3M™ Stamark™ Series 710, Highway switch lines.

Y • the australian local government yearbook 2012 120 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

infrastructure and engineering

Gippsland Water Factory Prepared by Gippsland Water and Parsons Brinckerhoff on behalf of the Australian Green Infrastructure Council.

Raw sewage flowing in an open drain conjures up images of a third world country, not modern Australia. But for the people of Gippsland in eastern Victoria, a 40-kilometre open drain sewer, and its associated foul odour, was their reality for almost 60 years.

I

t was time to act, and so the Gippsland Water Factory was born: a new wastewater treatment system that improves the quality of treated wastewater discharged to the ocean and incorporates water recycling to provide a sustainable solution for the local environment and community.

Gippsland Water Factory (GWF) is a green solution to a very brown problem – the Regional Outfall Sewer (ROS) and its more than 40 kilometres of open earthen drain.

When Parsons Brinckerhoff first began working with Gippsland Water on the project in 2001, the initial focus was to develop a management strategy to solve some immediate environmental issues (especially odour) associated with Gippsland Water’s regional outfall sewer.

But Gippsland Water saw an opportunity to do something much more; a chance to go well beyond compliance to improve and secure the region’s water future in an innovative, sustainable and economically responsible way.

The project vision was: ‘Gippsland Water Factory will contribute to a new environment through innovation and education, enabling a sustainable water future for Gippsland and Victoria.’

A project alliance comprising Transfield Services, CH2M HILL, Gippsland Water and Parsons Brinckerhoff collaborated to design, construct and commission a new integrated wastewater treatment system that delivered this vision and aligned with state government policy.

The four key drivers for the GWF project were: • odour compliance – satisfy EPA licence conditions • asset condition – solve the degraded pipe conditions • capacity – provide room for growing industry and communities • foundation infrastructure – create a different paradigm for a sustainable urban water cycle. the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 121

infrastructure and engineering

Stemming from these drivers, project objectives were developed to: • improve Gippsland’s air and water quality • foster community pride and education • maximise recycled water yield for release to industry or the environment • further improve the quality of treated water discharged to the environment.

GWF is an outstanding technical success. An outdated linear wastewater disposal system was transformed into a centralised, sustainable treatment and recycling system that has improved the protection and management of Gippsland’s water resources.

Delivery of such an innovative project was no easy task.

There were many challenges along the way, including: • technical issues associated with the world-first treatment of Kraft pulp and paper wastewater • construction and recruitment pressures created by the $500 million Australian Paper Maryvale upgrade being undertaken at the same time as GWF construction, just one kilometre away • a complex approvals process to be undertaken within a tight delivery timeframe • significant pressure to deliver the project on time and on budget.

GWF’s Maryvale plant provides state-of-the-art wastewater treatment to an urban population base of 48,000, treating wastewater from more than 15,000 homes and businesses in nine local towns, and Australian Paper’s Maryvale mill.

The wastewater from Australian Paper is equivalent to that generated by a population of about 400,000 people.

GWF provides foundation infrastructure for further wastewater treatment. The GWF team has successfully piloted the treatment of Australian Paper’s complex industrial effluent to recycled water quality. This is an exciting and significant achievement with huge potential. If a suitable customer can be found, an additional treatment step could be added at GWF to recycle the industrial wastewater as well, resulting in a further 20ML/d water freed up in the local catchment and potentially an end to treated wastewater being discharged to the ocean.

Potential customers for the recycled industrial wastewater 122 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

could include the Latrobe Valley’s seven major water users, who consume the equivalent of one quarter of Melbourne’s annual water demand.

GWF was the first project in Australia to incorporate recycling in the design of a new wastewater treatment plant. The project also set a new benchmark, well beyond current ‘world’s best practice’, for the treatment of Kraft pulp and paper mill wastewater.

The combination of technologies chosen to treat this industrial wastewater at GWF is a world first and the process minimises chemical and electrical inputs, while producing treated wastewater of an exceptionally high standard. This technology has the potential to be adopted at other pulp and paper mills around the world.

As part of the unique anaerobic/aerobic/membrane filtration treatment sequence for treating the pulp mill effluent, GWF includes a special oxidation step that saves up to 75 per cent of the air required for processing the huge amounts of hydrogen sulphide dissolved in the wastewater. This leads to a precipitation of more than half of the sulphur that comes from Australian Paper into biosolids.

In addition, the recycled domestic wastewater produced at GWF is better quality than that produced at most potable drinking water plants around the globe.

Although six years ahead of the federal government’s proposed carbon tax, GWF was designed to be more carbon efficient than a traditional wastewater treatment plant because Gippsland Water placed a greenhouse gas constraint on the project from the start. This translated to a modest commercial incentive of about $10 per tonne of carbon emissions for the alliance, and all design decisions were then guided using carbon emission footprinting.

The target was to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent from a benchmark of 52,102 tonnes CO2 per year. The actual result exceeded this with an impressive 38 per cent reduction. If the government’s proposed $23 per tonne carbon tax applied, this reduction would represent an operational cost saving of about $500,000 per year.

To allow the continued improvement of carbon dioxide emission performance during operations, the GWF computer control system now includes an online, real-time carbon emission footprint tracking system.

GWF also resulted in a 100 per cent reduction in fugitive methane releases from the open channel section of the

infrastructure and engineering

ROS, as the gas is now captured during the wastewater treatment process and used for electricity generation at the Maryvale plant. Given that previous emissions from raw sewage in the ROS were calculated at 42,320 tonnes of CO2-equivalent greenhouse gases (primarily methane) per year, Gippsland Water will avoid the need to purchase approximately $1 million of permits annually under the government’s proposed carbon tax.

Partnerships were key to the development and delivery of GWF. Gippsland Water formed a Technical Review Committee in 1998, consisting of leading academics, scientists, administrators and specialist consultants including: • the late Prof Peter Cullen, Director for the CRC for Freshwater Ecology • the late Dr Brian Robinson, Chairman of EPA Victoria • Prof Lyndsay Neilson, former Director of the Centre of Developing Cities, University of Canberra • Dr David Garman, past president of the International Water Association (IWA).

Key relationships were also formed with: • Department of Health – Recycled water quality • Australian Paper – Trade waste quality and employee engagement regarding acceptance of recycled water • EPA – Environmental objectives, ocean discharge, and recycled water • Dr Glen Daigger, current IWA President • neighbours and landowners – During construction, commissioning and operation, they showed great support and tolerance

it demonstrates in many ways what is achievable when sustainability in its broadest sense is a fundamental driver for project delivery and operation. The rating tool will measure the key areas that feature in the overall success of this project: • project management and governance o o o o

reporting and responsibilities making decisions climate change adaptation knowledge sharing and capacity building.

• economic performance o value for money o economic life.

• using resources o energy use o water.

• emissions, pollution and waste o GHG management o discharges to air, water and land.

• biodiversity o functioning of ecosystems o enhanced biodiversity.

The ready availability of a well thought-out rating tool with tested and agreed benchmarks that project owners, designers and constructors can use as their starting point means that we will see many more projects like GWF that deliver sustainable solutions for the communities they serve.

continued on page 126 

• Gippsland Water customers – Proactively engaged about the benefits of the project to them and their environment • Gippsland school students – 2000 students visited the Vortex Centre from April 2010 to July 2011 to learn about water sustainability • tertiary institutions including: Monash University Technical Services, UNSW Centre for Membrane Science and Griffith University School of Biomolecular Science.

This project was conceived and well underway before the AGIC rating tool was developed and available, but

the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 123

infrastructure and + engineering engineering

Calming TraffiC Down

T

he challenge for local government across the country is to be able to calm the travel speed of drivers through populated areas. The installation of traffic calming devices like speed cushions, blister islands, slow points and roundabouts to slow vehicles and manage traffic flows have been very successful, with rubber calming products proving to be the fastest and most efficient installation devices.

Saferoads has been at the forefront of rubber development in Australia for the last 12 years and has continually developed new products and sought to make improvements and respond to customer feedback.

Speed cushions have been the most commonly used of the range of rubber products available and the evolution of the product has improved yet again. Saferoads’ new compound specifications and quality assurance has ensured that the product is not made from unpredictable composite variations that may change from batch to batch.

This means that Saferoads speed cushions have greatly increased the lifespan of the product on the road.

Rubber roundabouts highlight the benefits of rubber installation most profoundly. Starting in the morning with a standard paved intersection, traffic management is established and works commence on installing the roundabout at 7.30 am, the installation will be completed X • the australian local government yearbook 2012 124 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

by lunch time. In the afternoon the infill of the middle of the roundabout, the inner edge of the rubber becomes the formwork for the installation of either asphalt, concrete, compacted sand or even a garden bed. By day’s end the rubber roundabout is completed and fully operational.

The result is a saving of weeks of costly excavation, traffic management and disruption to motorists. Rubber roundabouts can also be removed for special events for example, the Adelaide City Council’s recently installed roundabout will be removed and reinstated yearly for The Tour Down Under cycle event.

Using Saferoads white rubber kerbing for blister or median islands is also quick and easy to install and does not require excavation. Unlike concrete, the rubber kerbing will not crack and break away when impacted by heavy vehicles. By comparison, over a long period, the white rubber will retain its white appearance better than the grey aging appearance of concrete. Hobsons Bay City Council in Victoria has been quite innovative in using various rubber treatments for calming traffic. Working with Saferoads to create quick-to-install medians and other innovative treatments for troublesome intersections has given the traffic management department instant feedback on the effectiveness of the calming devices.

infrastructure and engineering



continued from page 123

GWF resulted in significant improvement to the freshwater and marine environments, and achieved exceptional technical success, as summarised below.

Result/Outcome

Benefit

35 million litres per day (ML/d) of domestic and industrial wastewater is treated at GWF’s Maryvale plant.

Providing new wastewater treatment infrastructure for nine Gippsland towns and Australian Paper’s Maryvale mill.

All domestic wastewater treated at GWF (8ML/d) recycled to above Class A standard.

Australian Paper’s use of fresh water is reduced by 15 per cent.

This water is for sale to Australian Paper’s Maryvale mill for use in its industrial processes.

Fresh water saving of an equivalent amount (three billion litres per year) in the Latrobe/Moondarra system for use in Gippsland. Three billion litres per year of water is enough to support a population of about 40,000.

Reduced amount of treated wastewater discharged to the ocean.

Up to 5ML/d of domestic wastewater is treated to Class C standard in lagoons at Dutson Downs (from the towns of Sale and Fulham) and re-used for irrigation.

Increased agricultural output (crop and beef).

World-first treatment of industrial Kraft pulp and paper mill wastewater (using anaerobic pre-treatment and membrane bioreactor filtration) sets a new benchmark for world’s best practice.

Quality of treated wastewater discharged from GWF is much higher than that previously produced through lagoon treatment system at Dutson Downs.

Reduced amount of treated wastewater discharged to the ocean.

Vastly improved water quality at ocean outfall (well above EPA licence requirement).

Reduced organic load on marine ecosystem.

Only highly treated odour-free industrial wastewater from GWF is sent down the ROS (rather than raw sewage).

Reduced odour along the open channel section of ROS.

Key treatment processes at GWF, including gas scrubbing and sulphur removal, are biological.

Minimal chemical requirements.

Methane captured from the anaerobic pre-treatment of industrial wastewater and domestic sludges is used to generate electricity in a co-generation unit.

Ten per cent of the GWF Maryvale plant’s electricity needs are produced through methane co-generation.

A micro hydro-electric generator was built at Pine Gully Reservoir (Australian Paper’s raw water source) to generate electricity.

A further 10 per cent of GWF Maryvale plant’s electricity needs are produced through this micro hydro system.

Biosolids produced during treatment process are composted at Gippsland Water’s Soil and Organic Recycling Facility.

Compost utilised to improve soil condition at Gippsland Water’s Dutson Downs farm.

126 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

This water can be re-used if a customer is found.

infrastructure and engineering

A heavy load

for local roads

By Damien Hense, ARRB As the Australian freight task grows, local governments are coming under increasing pressure to allow access to larger, more efficient heavy vehicles on local roads.

Matching more efficient heavy vehicle operations to local road infrastructure considerations is an increasingly important issue in the context of national productivity and carbon minimisation initiatives.

L

ocal government has a key role to play in the granting and management of access to heavy vehicles; over 80 per cent of Australia’s road network is owned and managed by local government, including, in many cases, the ‘first and last kilometre’ of potential highproductivity vehicle trips. These higher productivity vehicles are assessed and categorised according to a nationally consistent classification system known as the Performance Based Standards (PBS) Scheme.

The PBS Scheme provides the transport industry with opportunities to design and operate innovative heavy vehicles, resulting in increased productivity and safer performance with minimum impact on roads and bridges.

The Scheme focuses on how well the vehicle performs, rather than what it looks like (length, width and height) through a set of 20 safety and infrastructure protection standards. Use of higher productivity PBS vehicles results in fewer trucks on the road for the same freight task, improved road safety, less transport emissions and a more competitive domestic economy.

The basic concept of PBS is matching the right vehicles to the right roads. There are four levels in the PBS Scheme for both vehicles and roads. Vehicles are assessed as part of a process that results in a PBS vehicle classification. Freight routes are assessed separately against PBS network classification criteria designed around the differing vehicle performance envelopes to ensure that only appropriate vehicles are permitted to operate on these

the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 127

infrastructure and engineering

routes. Where the classifications match, the vehicle should be able to safely and efficiently operate along the specific route. Hence, a Level 2 vehicle can run on a Level 2 route.

In December 2009, ARRB facilitated a round table discussion focused upon the issues surrounding take-up and acceptance of the PBS process, involving all key stakeholders including the federal government and state road authorities, freight operators, freight customers, and local government. Regarding the heavy vehicle access approval process, the round table found that the current approval process is perceived by many in the industry to be complex and poorly understood. Several agencies, at all levels of government, are involved, and this has led to confusion and lack of clarity concerning roles and responsibilities.

Generally speaking, local government does not have the resources or skills available to assess route applications for PBS vehicles, and is often on the receiving end of pressure from heavy vehicle operators for increased network access, and public resistance to increased use of larger trucks. It is hoped that the use of an independent and consistent approach to heavy vehicle route assessment based upon local government-specific assessment guidelines will assist municipalities caught in this often difficult situation.

Essentially, but not surprisingly, those charged with responsibility for issuing permits or access approvals for heavy vehicles may be risk-averse in assessing applications for PBS vehicles. Any benefit is general (‘increased national freight productivity’) but the downside can be very real, for example potential impacts on road or bridge assets, or concerns from the community regarding safety and environmental considerations.

It is widely recognised that similar conditions exist in most jurisdictions around Australia, and for the PBS scheme to reach its full potential, local governments need access to expert systems to increase confidence in PBS assessments, and to be included in the generation of key resources, support mechanisms and processes that improve road asset management outcomes. It is important to recognise the need for local governments to retain control over access to their assets, and for the technical criteria of this access control to be applied fairly and consistently across jurisdictions.

It is clear that Higher Productivity Freight Vehicles (HPFV) have numerous benefits over the existing fleet of vehicles that is currently servicing the national freight need.

128 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

Local jurisdictions, however, have expressed the need for assistance in assessing their local roads to ensure that the heavy vehicles that are provided access are able to use the infrastructure in the safest, most efficient, environmentally friendly manner.

To assist local governments with the classification of local roads and heavy vehicle routes, ARRB has been contracted to design and implement a software-based online tool and complementary PBS route assessment guidelines aimed at assisting local government practitioners with the classification of local roads and heavy vehicle routes.

Use of the software tool will result in the consistent application of a heavy vehicle route assessment process across local government jurisdictions, which will facilitate certainty of operations for industry and ensure that heavy vehicles that are granted access to local roads are able to safely operate in that environment.

Funded by the Federal Department of Infrastructure and Transport, National Transport Commission (NTC), Victorian Department of Transport, VicRoads and the Port of Melbourne Corporation, the online PBS Route Assessment Tool will be delivered in collaboration with the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) and the Victorian Freight and Logistics Council (VFLC). The software system consists of an online tool and dedicated website that will allow a local government representative to input the necessary data for a particular route of interest. The tool will analyse the information entered for the route and provide a detailed report on the PBS classification for the route including the identification of points of interest, potential opportunities for infrastructure upgrades along the route, and any assumptions and limitations relating to the classification.

In order to ensure that the tool will be of relevance and use to local government, ARRB and the MAV have established a Technical Advisory Group made up of the funding agencies, local government engineers and industry stakeholders, including the recently formed National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, that have guided system development.

With an expected delivery date of June 2012, the project facilitates the rollout of the tool to local governments in the state of Victoria. As the result of high levels of interest and enthusiasm for the project from jurisdictions nationally, it is hoped that future developments may include the wider availability of the online tool for use by state and local governments across Australia.

facility management

Facilities management is essential to effective local government Local government professionals should feel empowered to know, expect and deliver nothing but competent facilities managers and quality facilities management services.

By Nicholas Burt, CEO, FMA Australia

the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 129

facility management

At its most basic level, facilities management involves the operation and maintenance of buildings. It provides healthy, productive environments, protecting the wellbeing of Australia’s workforce and the wider community.

A

fundamental function of local government is the management, operation and maintenance of buildings, precincts and infrastructure (both community and civil). Put another way, a fundamental function of local government is facilities management.

A ‘facilities manager’ can be a single individual or a team. Facilities management services (see box) can be delivered by dedicated ‘in-house’ professionals or can be ‘outsourced’ in whole or part to external providers.

Given that facilities management constitutes such a large portion of local government services, it is impractical to group such services together. Facilities management services in local government are therefore divided into separate areas/teams responsible for elements such as program management, maintenance planning and space management (provision of community facilities such as halls, childcare and community centres).

In the past, many names have been used to describe a facilities manager. Some of the more common examples include: building manager, operations manager, building superintendent, building engineer, caretaker, asset manager, essential services manager and facilities services manager.

Many local government professionals do not realise that what they do is, in fact, facilities management. That their roles and responsibilities belong to a much larger industry complete with its own networks, events, customs and industry bodies such as FMA Australia.

Today, the industry is moving toward greater consistency through higher levels of professionalism as existing practices are aligned and new national and international standards are introduced.

130 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

What is involved?

The following are some of the typical activities undertaken by a facilities manager: • Access and egress (lifts, escalators, etc) • Asset management (mechanical services, etc) • Building management control systems • Cleaning and general maintenance (streets, buildings, etc) • Compliance with standards and legislation • Contract management • Energy and water efficiency (lighting use, etc) • Essential services provision (fire systems, etc) • Maintenance planning • Overseeing and payment of contractors • Record keeping • Responding to user and client requests • Risk management (WH&S, etc) • Security (overseeing guards, etc) • Space management (community facilities, etc) • Sustainability projects and implementation • Tenant fit out compliance and approvals • Tracking and recording consumption • User engagement • Utilities billing and verification • Waste management

Why does it matter?

Facilities management should not be a secondary concern.

The provision of a safe and comfortable environment should be expected by all those involved in or who care about effective and responsible local government. An effective, responsive and sufficiently resourced facilities manager is essential to the delivery of quality and effective local government.

Aside from various health and safety risks, a building or facility that is not well maintained will become a barrier to effective community cohesion and development.

You only have to experience just how distracting a flickering light can be to know that the poor operation and maintenance of a building reduces the capability to work, learn or interact effectively.

A poorly maintained building is also an inefficient building. An inefficient building costs money – often money that could be better directed to more worthwhile concerns.

facility management

Pressure on available funds is further increased by the need to conduct general maintenance and essential upgrade works, with this situation typically resulting in one of two outcomes; either the funds are taken from other areas (salaries, equipment, et cetera) to pay for operating costs and upgrade works, or simply that building systems are not used or maintenance and upgrade works are not completed.

In some local government areas the maintenance deficit has reached critical levels.

The provision of a safe and comfortable environment should be expected by all those involved in or who care about effective and responsible local government.

What to expect Each and every day millions of Australians rely on facilities managers to do their jobs effectively, even though their role often goes unnoticed. Most people remain unaware of what a facilities manager even does.

Strong interpersonal skills and a proactive approach to customer relations are essential competencies that come into their own when the facilities manager deals with unexpected events. Even with something as simple as a flickering light, the facilities manager can go from being seemingly insignificant to being, for better or worse, the most important person in someone’s life.

This is even more pertinent when you consider their responsibility for maintaining critical and essential services such as fire alarms and sprinklers, sanitation, airconditioning, electricity and water supply, just to name a few. the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 131

facility management

If a particular facilities management service is not being delivered satisfactorily (or at all) then it is important to understand why. It can be too easy at times to place blame where it is not deserved.

FMA Australia, UMS and Hobsons Bay City Council outside the Williamstown Town Hall. (L–R) Aaron Hovey and Ric te Boekhurst from UMS, Nicholas Burt, CEO, FMA Australia, Eddie Knight and Brendan Andersen from Hobsons Bay City Council, and Joe Papavero and Shane Comben from UMS. Image (C) Larry Pitt.

Despite the community having a high dependence on their abilities, there are currently no minimum legal standards or mandated certification requirements to being a facilities manager. This means that all those involved need to be extra vigilant in ensuring that those they engage have sufficient skills, knowledge and experience.

Generally speaking, from your facilities manager it is responsible to expect either: • two years minimum experience and a Diploma of Facilities Management or Bachelor in related field or • five years minimum experience with no formal education.

A good facilities manager recognises the value of formal education and continuing professional development.

They see the worth in ongoing industry collaboration, which supports dialogue between facilities management professionals.

Tips • Ask to see the qualifications and evidence of experience • Expect a Diploma of Facilities Management and/or sufficient industry experience • Expect continuing professional development • Expect them to be engaged in the wider industry

Know where you stand Like most local government professionals, facilities managers are typically willing to help at every opportunity, but cannot do their job with insufficient skills, knowledge, resources or support.

132 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

The reason for a facilities management service failure may have more to do with communication and awareness issues than resources or leadership. For instance, not having a facilities manager dedicated to your facilities can cause issues if the process is not managed well.

Of course, the opposite is also true; a lack of resources (particularly funding) and a lack of strategic facility investment and leadership at the organisational level are examples of key factors in many facilities management service failures.

Facilities management can be a complicated area to deal with; so the more they understand a given situation, the better placed a concerned stakeholder will be to assist in improving it.

Working in an industry that is only noticed when things go wrong limits our opportunity to celebrate and encourage the vast majority of work that is done very well and without complaint. So it is important to recognise best and leading practices through programs and awards such as the facilities management Awards for Excellence presented annually by FMA Australia.

Where to next?

The facilities management industry continues to move from a wholly unregulated environment to one where new and merging industry-based standards enable greater consistency and certainty for professionals and clients alike. Nonetheless, it is up to facilities managers to work with all local government stakeholders to deliver effective outcomes.

Equally, it is essential that local government professionals should feel empowered to know and expect nothing but competent facilities managers and quality facilities management services.

Nicholas Burt is Chief Executive Officer of the Facility Management Association of Australia (FMA Australia), the peak industry body for facilities management.

For more information visit www.fma.com.au or email info@fma.com.au.

buildings, precincts or community infrastructure?

and community infrastructure.

profession and industry, as well as the interests of its members.

Why become a member?

- Professional standards, industry research and development - idea - Special members rates at exclusive events - FMA Australia member database - Policy Advisory Group, the principle industry advisory forum -

Visit www.fma.com.au or call 03 8641 6666 to JOIN TODAY

waste management

2011 Queensland floods Cleanup

T

he 2011 Queensland flood crisis presented many challenges in the clean-up and recovery phase.

Transpacific was at the coalface of this disaster and worked closely with rescue services and all levels of government to assist in a coordinated response.

In North Queensland, Transpacific staff were quick to respond, relocating equipment to higher ground to ensure continuity of service where possible. Transpacific also worked closely with Rockhampton Regional Council to set up front-lift bins on high ground for use by individual members of the public, as well as providing bins for those in the flood evacuation centre.

As the waters headed south, Transpacific’s focus moved to SouthEast Queensland. At the Brisbane Truck Centre in Rocklea, a crew of 15 drivers helped move more than 120 trucks to higher ground before the site was inundated with 3.2 metres of water. Transpacific staff in Brisbane also helped local councils and private customers by clearing and cleaning drains, removing building waste from flooded houses and offices, pumping water from flooded CBD basements, and removing contaminated oils and hazardous chemical sludge.

The clean-up and recovery of waterways along the Brisbane River was a priority for the Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM). Transpacific was engaged by the Department to recover chemical containers, check for contaminants and arrange appropriate disposal of materials.

Transpacific Chief Operating Officer – Industrials, Tony Roderick, said Transpacific quickly deployed a large amount of equipment and staff from business units all over the country.

‘The Incident and Project Team inspected the Brisbane and Oxley Creek areas in conjunction with government and emergency service personnel. Planning took place from X • the australian local government yearbook 2012 134 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

the office as soon as calls were received and we worked in conjunction with teams on the ground to scope out the recovery scenarios,’ Tony said.

A number of difficulties had to be taken into account including floating debris; tidal movements moving items; high bacteria and unknown biological hazards; drums and other items with damaged labels, making identification harder; and the retrieval of unusual-shaped large tanks and equipment from river banks. The retrieval was further hampered by dense and waterlogged river banks and mangroves, and problems of vehicle access to river bank areas during rainy periods.

waste management waste

A total waste and recycling solution for local government

>Transpacific, and our subsidiary company, Cleanaway, have been providing local government organisations with recycling, waste management and industrial solutions for more than 30 years.

Transpacific used specialised waste storage drums and bins, with GPS and data logging details for recovered items, HAZMAT response gear and trained personnel, and set up a custom-made decontamination area for waste and equipment. The establishment of a web-based reporting process with live map viewing was a critical element to provide accurate and up-to-date information to both authorities and the public.

Tony said that in total, more than 3000 items were recovered from the creek and surrounding environment, including pallets of paint tins, fridges, tyres, fuel trailers, pontoons, hazardous chemicals in drums, portaloos, cool rooms and food.

‘Transpacific’s ability to respond in such a short time frame, implement the reporting process whilst commencing the recovery operations, and provide treatment facilities for recovered waste, was a true testament to our capabilities,’ he said.

In fact, more than 80 local government organisations work with us every day to deliver quality services to their residents and stakeholders.

Our ultimate aim is to help you divert more waste from landfill and to help you maximise your assets.

Our total waste management solution includes kerbside collections, award-winnng community education programs, drain and sewer cleaning, emergency spills response services, CCTV and much more.

For Emergency Spills call 1800 SPILLS (1800 774 557) For general enquiries call 13 13 39 or go to www.transpacific.com.au

Transpacific, including its subsidary company Cleanaway, is Australia’s leading recycling, waste management and industrial services company.

Their philosophy is that all waste is a resource and their aim is to incorporate recovery, recycling and reuse throughout their operations and those of our clients.

They are strongly committed to the safe and responsible management of waste, regulatory compliance, and the protection and enhancement of the environment.

australian local government yearbook 2012 •Y thethe australian local government yearbook 2012 • 135

waste management

NETWORK SUPPORTS THE ENVIRONMENT AND JOBS The Community Recycling Network Australia is a network of organisations that reduce waste to landfill and at the same time create jobs for people who find it difficult to secure a permanent job.

C

RNA Secretary, Peter Cox, says, ‘It’s not rocket science. We know that thousands of tonnes of material are going to landfill each year in our communities. We create the waste; therefore we as a community need to dispose of it responsibly.’

In Eaglehawk, Future Employment Opportunities saw the light when an article appeared on the front page of the Bendigo Advertiser: ‘$5 million needed for another landfill.’ People asked themselves, ‘why are we burying this stuff?’ Permission was granted from the local councils, who controlled the tip, for a group of jobseekers to intercept the waste going in to landfill. A small area of land was set aside where they set up a Recycle Shop.

Seventeen years later, they employ 14 staff, turn over about $700,000 per year, and recycle/re-use about 6000 tonnes of materials annually – and they pay for all the operating costs out of sales. There is no government funding for operations. The City of Greater Bendigo provides a site and sheds from which the enterprise operates.

‘It’s about seeing disused materials as a resource so it becomes resource management not waste management, and this is happening all over Australia,’ Mr Cox says.

CRN Australia has commissioned the Queensland University of Technology to undertake a research project to find out how many Community Recycling Enterprises are operating across Australia.

136 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

‘The research project seeks to find out the impact that community recycling enterprises are having on reducing waste that would normally go to landfill. CRNA will be asking four important questions: the number of community recycling/re-use sites that are operating in Australia, the number of employees/volunteers that operate the sites, the annual tonnage that is being recycled/reused, and the combined annual turnover of those enterprises. CRNA is aware of about 70 sites, but knows there are many more.

‘CRNs are unique as many of the participating organisations operate self-sustaining enterprises. Their first option is for REUSE rather than to RECYCLE, they employ people who are often excluded from the workforce, and because of the labour-intensive model of each enterprise, they have a very low carbon footprint. They provide a quick community response to an ever-increasing waste problem and contribute to Australia meeting its waste reduction targets. There is a lot of untapped potential in community organisations working more closely with local government authorities to gain better resource recovery. It is hoped that the research will create stronger links with local councils. The Report will be available in April 2012,’ Mr Cox said.

In August, Reverse Garbage in Sydney was featured in an episode of The Renovators on Channel 10 for a 100 per cent REUSE challenge, with the winner being determined by a charity auction. There were great outcomes for all involved, with Reverse Garbage raising over $10,000 for ‘Kool Kids’, an after-school program for Indigenous children in Sydney’s south.

waste management

Christine Harris-Smyth, Development Director, said ‘Reverse Garbage was started by a group of teachers in 1974. As avid readers of The Whole Earth Catalogue they wanted two things: cheap materials for their classrooms and to divert industrial discards from landfill.

to salvage approximately 75 per cent of a house. Over 10 tonnes of hardwood timber, weatherboards, floorboards, roofing tin, copper wiring, pipework, as well as an oven, bath and letterbox were all reclaimed by hand for re-use/ recycling.

Almost 40 years later, Reverse Garbage is the largest creative REUSE centre in Australia. Last count they were diverting over 15,000 cubic metres, or 50 football fields, of materials from landfill each year, turning over approximately $1 million, creating meaningful employment and running a variety of educational services.’

The project happened when Scenport Construction, working with Paul Johnston Architects, approached Resource with a window of opportunity to recover materials from a house in Warrane scheduled for demolition and landfill. The materials were then sold through the Resource Tip Shop.

Seeing a REUSE centre featured on a prime-time program, with a REUSE challenge raising money for Indigenous kids, was a real win-win success. Other positive outcomes were an increase in online followers and in-store shoppers. An interesting point that Christine raised was the need to be prepared for the ‘newbies’ that arrive in-store after such media exposure. ‘It can be a real challenge for a REUSE centre because not everyone immediately takes to the organised chaos that is RG, so we staffed up and were aware of the need to work with newbies more than usual’.

And it’s not the first time Resource has undertaken such a project.

In Hobart, the Resource Work Co-operative operates a tip shop, a collectables shop and a deconstruction enterprise.

Earlier this year, Resource completed another successful deconstruction project. With only three days available, an experienced crew of four workers managed

Resource recently completed a major deconstruction and recycling project in Hobart. Ninety-eight per cent of all materials from the demolition of a large warehouse and former whaler’s cottage were saved from ending up as landfill. Most of these materials will be used later this year in the building of a new Local School Working Together (LSWT) program, a sustainability centre in Mount Nelson.

Instead of adopting a traditional destructive approach to demolition, reliant on heavy machinery and few workers, the buildings were dismantled by hand. This process of deconstruction, although slower, created 12 jobs over the three-month project while allowing the processing and reuse of an enormous volume and variety of materials.

the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 137

waste management

As a small snapshot of what was saved, this included:

These enterprises are not going unnoticed.

- 15,000 convict era bricks (to be reused at the Port Arthur Convict Farm)

Great Lakes Resource Recovery in New South Wales, in conjunction with Great Lakes Council, won the 2011 Local Government Innovation in Waste Award at the annual Waste 2011 Conference.

- a further 100+ tonnes of red solid bricks - over 4000 linear metres of hardwood - over 900 linear metres of softwood - a complete 1840s timber staircase, as well as a fivemetre steel staircase - over 300 metres of steel I-beams - heritage pit sawn timbers and floorboards, as well as hand-picked sandstone - fittings including toilets, sinks, lights, plugs, and telephones - 400 kilograms of copper wiring and 150 kilograms of lead were recycled - Over 170 square metres of floorboards - Over 600 square metres of roof tin - coins from 1826 and 1827 were recovered.

Resource based its approach on the ‘Waste Hierarchy’ (reduce, re-use, recycle), concentrating on re-using materials first. However, where this was not possible, materials were recycled (for example, copper from electrical wiring, broken bricks as road base and leftover timbers, due to rot, as compost).

The award was won for Resource Recovery’s commitment to those who are socially disadvantaged.

Craig Rees, Resource Recovery’s Manager, said, ‘Resource Recovery will always strive to help those less fortunate in the community to better themselves by creating opportunities and mentoring those individuals through the process of becoming valuable members of the community.

‘This is a great achievement, not only for Resource Recovery but also for what we all do in the not-for-profit sector.

‘Resource Recovery is run as any other business would run, with one eye on the budget and another on opportunities to expand. We understand that there are underlying issues within community, and family units that deter those who are socially disadvantaged in the community from working. Through setting very basic goals in the first six months of employment, we have found that we can change the reliance on the welfare system and help turn those who didn’t want to work into key members of our organisation.

‘We generate $500,000 per year from sales. We have 14 full-time staff, and our landfill was expected to have reached end-of-life two years ago, and it still has approximately seven to 10 years left.

‘We won the award because we understand the opportunities that recycling can provide in achieving our end goals of helping jobseekers.’

More information on the Community Recycling Network is available at www.communityrecycling.com.au.

138 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

waste management

Lusty EMs Moving FLoor traiLErs

T

o remain at the forefront of aluminium trailer technology for the waste industry, Lusty EMS has invested heavily in the things that matter most: its manufacturing techniques, design and engineering skills, its people and the very latest materials. But all along, its greatest investment has been in listening to its customers.

Lusty EMS Moving Floor trailers are available in both Heavy and Medium Duty construction.

The Heavy Duty is a full aluminium construction utilising full aluminium sheets and a full chassis for the waste and construction industry, whereas the Medium Duty is a plank construction utilising extruded planks, rear barn doors and a monocoque chassis construction designed for cartage of landscaping and lighter bulk materials.

Ever conscious of the need to deliver payload advantage to its transport customers, Lusty EMS reduces every gram of excess weight to deliver lower tare that gives its customers a clear competitive advantage.

Whatever your need, Lusty EMS can assist, by bringing together a wealth of knowledge and vast understanding of trailer technology to work with you to create the transport solution you are looking for.

Further information on the Lusty EMS Moving Floor trailer and other aluminium and steel road transport equipment can be viewed at www.lustyems.com.au

www.lustyems.com.au

Heavy Duty Walking Floor

The forefront of trailer technology

Engineered extra tough for versatile bulk haulage Heavy duty performance matched by its heavy duty construction

Available in single 45’ to 48’ configurations with a maximum 4.3m height Built with industry renowned Keith or Cargo high impact leak proof floor Quality craftsmanship for enhanced performance and durability Queensland - Head Office Richlands 07 3375 0000

Victoria - MaxiTRANS Vic Branch Derrimut 03 8368 1111

South Australia - Lusty EMS Branch Wingfield 08 8243 2211

Western Australia - Park Motor Body Builders Bassendean 08 9378 0600

Victoria - Mildura Truck Centre Sunraysia 03 5051 2800 Swan Hill 03 5033 1372

New South Wales - SX Trailers Sydney 02 9755 3333 Wagga Wagga 02 6921 8377 Newcastle 02 4967 5622

New Zealand - MaxiTRANS Auckland 09 267 5714

the australian local government yearbook 2012 •X the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 139

community, health and ageing

Response to the UCLG Policy Statement on Culture 2010: what does it mean for local government?

A presentation at the ‘Culture: A new way of thinking for local government’ conference.

By Felicity-Ann Lewis, Vice President of ALGA and Mayor of the City of Marion

• Cultural policy is important, and we all must do more to advocate its importance at all levels.

Good afternoon everybody. I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land and pay my respects to their elders past and present.

As I said before, this is an important conference because it helps us all to focus on the importance of culture, and the key role of local government in the arts and community cultural development. In some respects, local government is the forgotten partner in cultural policy, or if not, then taken for granted. This conference is also timely, as the Australian Government is developing a new national cultural policy, which is out for consultation at the moment.

T

hank you for the opportunity to speak today, and may I congratulate the organisers of this program for taking the initiative and organising this wonderful conference. May I also add my welcome to the international delegates who are in attendance here today. Your attendance is extremely important, and I look forward to sharing the experiences that I have in this area with you.

I am one of the two vice presidents of the Australian Local Government Association, and for those of you who do not know, this is a federation of state and territory local government associations. So all of the states and territories in South Australia have their local associations, and we all come together to form ALGA. In this short presentation, I want to make three points.

These are: • Local government in Australia is a vital actor and partner in the delivery and support of cultural life in Australia.

140 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

• Local government in Australia strongly supports the policy position that culture is the fourth pillar of sustainability, and we welcome the United Cities and Local Governments’ (UCLG) declaration on culture.

As the peak national body for local government, we will be working with our members to influence this policy and look forward to the outcomes of today’s proceedings so that we can feed some of the ideas that you generate into our submission.

Culture helps to define who we are as a people. It’s a dynamic process. In our society it helps us determine who we are. Its environmental influence has already been outlined by Eduard [Miralles, Cultural Relations Adviser at the Barcelona Provincial Council], and increasingly it influences our economic performance at the local, regional and national levels.

In 2008/09, local government funding for cultural activities in Australia was 17 per cent of total cultural funding provided by all governments. So that makes us a major stakeholder in the national debate on policy.

But it’s not only the funding. Local government provides leadership and is strongly committed to, and a facilitator of, community cultural development processes at the local

community, health and ageing

Local government has the national networks and the institutional capacity to advance cultural development nationally; however, local government has limited resources and needs strong partnerships to maximise the opportunities provided by our network and regional levels. These processes enable communities to creatively determine and express their identity, celebrate their differences, and to address issues of importance. And just like local government, it is guided by a philosophy of community involvement and ownership.

There are 560 local government authorities that extend to all parts of our nation. Local government has the national networks and the institutional capacity to advance cultural development nationally; however, local government has limited resources and needs strong partnerships to maximise the opportunities provided by our network, and commitment and support of the arts and community cultural development.

Strong partnerships with the arts community, and with other levels of government, particularly the federal government and their agencies, such as the Australian Council for the Arts, are vitally important for us to continue to do our good work.

Local government has had productive relationships to date, but more needs to be done in the future. We have a strong role in advocacy. ALGA and local government welcome the development of a new national cultural policy by the Australian Government, and we welcome the opportunity to make a submission to it. It’s important from a local government perspective that the policy takes a broad approach to cultures. It must recognise the role of local government, and the critical role of the arts and culture in the broader sustainability agenda. It should foster, motivate and inspire the enormous range of activities that give communities the opportunity to tell their stories, build their creative skills, and be active participants in the development of their cultures. It needs to be more than an arts industry development policy.

Local government is a strong advocate for a comprehensive cultural development policy. We encourage all councils to build upon their local and regional policies and practices, and encourage state and territory governments, business, and the not-for-profit sector to continue to work with councils on state and local approaches. And most importantly, we encourage the Australian Government to partner strategically with local government to build on our commitment to deliver a comprehensive national cultural policy.

We are very keen for the Arts Council, sponsored by the federal government, to continue to provide funding for councils to apply for grants to be able to shape the kind of

programs that they can enact in their local communities.

As a member of the United Cities and Local Government Asia Pacific Sector, or UCLG ASPAC, ALGA welcomes the international adoption of the cultural development declaration that promoted culture as the fourth pillar of sustainable development. ALGA is pleased to be here today, and as you can see, we are pleased to be able to play our part in advocating culture as the fourth pillar of sustainable development in Australia.

Now just in closing, I want to speak from a personal perspective. I am the mayor of a city in South Australia, just south of the CBD of Adelaide, the City of Marion, and since we were requested by the state government to develop strategic plans, we’ve done a number of iterations of this, but I’m pleased to say that our first iteration in 2002 had four pillars of sustainability, and cultural vitality continues to be one of the pillars of our community plan. We’ve always had it as part of our plan, and it’s evolved and it’s changed over the 10 years that we’ve been working on our strategic plan. And a number of features and things that we’ve done – we’ve got our targets, goals and strategies that we’re going to be working on.

In support of that, and I understand what Eduard is saying, we’ve been involved in Agenda 21 since the late 1990s, but many of the programs that we’ve been involved with have been international as well. It’s wonderful to have a structure like this that we can hang our programs from, and to be able to learn from each other. We’ve also branded ourselves and been part of the Refugee-Friendly City movement. We were the first city in Australia to hold a learning festival, and in a couple of weeks’ time I’ll launch the 11th Marion Learning Festival, which is a very strong pillar of our cultural plan. We’ve been part of the World Health Organization’s Healthy Cities movement since 2009, so there are a lot of wonderful international movements and groups that we can be part of that support the kinds of things that we’re trying to do in fostering and developing our cultural development within our cities.

Thank you for the opportunity to be here to speak to you today. I’m not suggesting that we at Marion know everything there is to know – we’ve certainly got a lot to learn, and it’s been wonderful to hear from Eduard, and clearly there are some wonderful resources available for us so that we can enhance our plan even more.

Thank you very much.

the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 141

community, health ageing health +and ageing

McDonalD’s in the coMMunity

S

ince the early 2000s McDonald’s Australia has been on a journey of change and development in response to the increasingly diverse needs of our customers. Today, more than 1.7 million of them walk through our doors every day, helping us become the $3.5 billion business that we are now. We value each and every one of them and do our best to provide them with the service they expect at McDonald’s, every time.

So what are they telling us? Well, they tell us that given their busy lifestyles, they want us to be even more convenient for them. That means being closer by and open for business when they’re looking for a bite to eat.

So we’re doing what we can to meet those needs, with extended hours and a focus on strategically expanding our development program. Over the next three years, we anticipate opening approximately 50 restaurants across Australia each year, which amounts to a capital investment value of approximately $150 million annually.

As a significant employer, purchaser, retailer and franchisor in Australia, we know we have a responsibility to add value and contribute to the local economy and to the communities in which we operate. Each new restaurant brings with it local employment and training

X • the australian local government yearbook 2012 142 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

for approximately 100 to 120 people in part time and full time positions, as well as a number of casual positions.

During the construction phase, new restaurants also create additional employment, including opportunities for local trades during the construction phase of the site.

Many of our restaurants are located in country towns and regional centres creating employment opportunities where they are often most needed. The wages bill for an average restaurant is in the vicinity of $1 million every year.

This income enters the local economy as employees make purchases and pay taxes.

Careful planning and preparation go into the development of a McDonald’s restaurant. Traffic assessments, environmental considerations, exterior and interior design, construction materials and local council and community involvement all play a key role in making sure that the new restaurant best suits the needs and wants of the local community. The results are modern looking restaurants that use natural materials, such as timber and stone, and ultimately integrate with the look and feel of the local community.

community, health ageing health +and ageing

a proud contriButor

B

eing part of the community means getting involved, and McDonald’s and our franchisees are proud contributors, everywhere we operate. From small to large, grassroots to national, McDonald’s supports many different kinds of initiatives that are important to us and our customers.

As an example, this year McDonald’s Australia will mark 23 years of partnership with Clean Up Australia Day, an event we actually helped start in 1989 as Clean Up Sydney Harbour, but is today held locally across the country. It’s now a community icon and the country’s biggest annual volunteer event.

Every year on Clean Up Australia Day McDonald’s crew volunteer to register Clean Up sites around the county and work alongside their local community members to help clean up discarded rubbish.

For over two decades more than 15 million volunteers have collectively donated their time to Cean Up Australia Day. During this time we have seen the removal of almost 256,000 ute loads of rubbish from more than 130,000 sites right across the country, fostered more than 200 local projects and inspired one in three Australians to take action.

In addition, it’s estimated that 70 per cent of Australians have an old mobile lying around at home, yet 90 per cent of the materials in mobiles could be recycled. So we were pleased that Clean Up banded together with McDonald’s to again run an e-waste collection as part of Clean Up Australia Day 2012. Our mobile phone recycling program

was a huge success, with 200 restaurants signing up to have a recycling booth set up in their restaurant. This initiative was timely and much needed given e-waste is currently increasing at three times the rate of municipal waste. For every phone collected in our restaurants, Clean Up received $3.

However, keeping Australia clean isn’t a one-day affair. We want the surroundings of our restaurants and community to be clean and tidy everyday. That’s why we run a Clean Streets Program which is designed to keep the area around our restaurants litter free. One of the key elements of this initiative involves our staff picking up litter from the restaurant grounds, as well as the neighbouring streets. Car park signage, packaging and restaurant traymats are also designed and displayed throughout the restaurant to remind customers not to litter, and plenty of bins are available for use throughout our sites.

GivinG Back throuGh Sport and recreation

B

eyond bricks and mortar, local jobs and support for local initiatives, a local McDonald’s often leads to considerable sponsorship opportunities for local sporting or other community teams, clubs and events that are important to our customers or make a difference to the lives of Australians. Giving back to the community is a fundamental part of our business philosophy dating back to McDonald’s founder, Ray Kroc, and is carried on today by the company and our franchisees.

Encouraging more people, especially children, to participate in sport is a key part of our commitment.

Hundreds of sporting clubs across Australia benefit from the support of their local McDonald’s restaurant. McDonald’s restaurant owners and managers often team together across their state or in smaller regional or suburban groups to support their local sporting groups. From supporting

X • the australian local government yearbook 2012 144 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

holiday soccer clinics in regional South Australia and AFL clinics with the Collingwood Football Club to providing sponsorship to Basketball Victoria and Swimming Queensland, all our sporting commitments are designed to help keep kids active.

Rugby union, rugby league, soccer, AFL, netball, swimming and basketball are all supported somewhere in Australia by McDonald’s.

Every McDonald’s restaurant in the country is committed to contributing to the community within which it operates – whether this is by joining with other restaurants to fund a major sponsorship, individually supporting their local youth sporting team or raising funds for Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC).

community, health + ageing community, health and

Ronald Mcdonald House cHaRities

R

onald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) is an independent charity first established in Australia in 1985 by McDonald’s. Its mission is simple – to create, find and support programs that help seriously ill children and their families.

Most recently in conjunction with the Board of the Ronald McDonald House in Orange and Royal Far West, RMHC launched Australia’s first Ronald McDonald Care Mobile, which provides child health services and health promotion to families living in rural and remote New South Wales. The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile is a purpose-built, 12-metre long vehicle with two clinical consulting rooms, staffed by a team of Royal Far West health professionals to provide child health services to children in the areas where they live. It makes accessing child health services easier for hundreds of New South Wales country families each year.

In addition to the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile, there are six key programs run by Ronald McDonald House Charities in Australia.

Ronald McDonald House Ronald McDonald House provides a home-away-fromhome for families of seriously ill children being treated at nearby hospitals.

Ronald McDonald Family Room The Ronald McDonald Family Room Program gives local families the opportunity to take a break and experience a little bit of home within the hospital, only footsteps from their child’s bedside.

Group shot outside Ronald McDonald Care Mobile Catriona Noble, Dr Jane Lesslie, Richard Barron, Harrison Fisher

Ronald McDonald Family Retreat The Ronald McDonald Family Retreat Program provides families with the opportunity to take a holiday when they need it most but can least afford it though the provision of free holiday accommodation.

Ronald McDonald Grants The Ronald McDonald Grants Program allows RMHC to support programs that enhance the quality of care and support for seriously ill children and their families.

This can be in the form of one-off contributions or more ongoing assistance and since 1987, over $10 million has been provided to a variety of projects through the Grants Program.

Ronald McDonald Cord Blood Banks

RMHC is managed by an independent board of volunteer directors which includes McDonald’s Australia management, RMHC management, McDonald’s franchisees and community and medical representatives.

Ronald McDonald House Charities remains committed to being the major charitable funder of public Cord Blood Banks in Australia, which collect and store life saving umbilical cord blood used mainly to treat childhood cancers.

Being able to maximise support is key, which is why all administration and management expenses of RMHC are met by McDonald’s Australia so that 100 per cent of all funds donated can be used for programs to benefit seriously ill children.

Ronald McDonald Learning Program The Ronald McDonald Learning Program helps children who have suffered serious illness to catch up on their missed schooling. the australian local government yearbook 2012 •X the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 145

community, health and ageing

Healthy Eating Activity and Lifestyle (HEAL™) program assisting councils to build healthier communities With obesity and chronic disease placing increasing strain on national and local health services, a program that assists local councils to build healthier communities is now available Australia-wide.

146 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

T

he HEAL™ program is available to all councils participating in the Commonwealth’s Healthy Communities Initiative (HCI). Since July 2010, HEAL™ has been adopted by 27 councils across the nation, assisting their citizens to become more physically active and to make healthier eating and lifestyle choices.

The HEAL™ program was developed by Sydney South West GP Link Ltd. (SSWGPL) and is being made available nationally in partnership with Exercise & Sports Science Australia (ESSA).

HEAL™ is an eight-week lifestyle modification program delivered by tertiary qualified health professionals. The program covers nutrition and physical exercise through one hour each week of healthy eating and lifestyle education, complemented by one hour of low to moderate intensity exercise in a supportive group environment. The program can be delivered in a variety of community settings, and empowers participants to take responsibility for their own health, leading to long-term improvements in health and

community, health and ageing

wellbeing. HEAL™ is underpinned by general practitioners (GPs) and allied health professionals working together to ensure participant support and care in each LGA.

Case study: South West Sydney (NSW) Before becoming a national program under the HCI, HEAL™ had been improving the health of over 2500 participants in South West Sydney since 2002. Programs continue to be delivered in the Campbelltown, Liverpool and Fairfield local government areas by a team of exercise physiologists and dietitians, with participants referred to the program by their GPs. Results for participants completing the program show a five per cent reduction in weight, seven per cent reduction in waist circumference and three per cent reduction in hip circumference.

Campbelltown and Liverpool HEAL™ programs are offered at the local Division of General Practice (Sydney South West GP Link), which has a small gym and education centre on site. HEAL™ is also offered at the cardiac rehabilitation program gym at Fairfield hospital. In January 2012, HEAL™ will expand to the Camden Hospital Metabolic Rehabilitation Clinic. Leading Endocrinologist, and head of the Metabolic Rehabilitation Clinic, Dr Nic Kormas, says, ‘I value the relationship with Sydney South West GP Link and the opportunity for the HEAL™ program to be offered to many of the patients on my waiting list, which can sometimes be as much as six months long.’

Below: Jessie Pullar and Toyah Tinworth (City of Wanneroo, WA) prepare a hands-on education session about healthy eating

Results for participants completing the program show a five per cent reduction in weight, seven per cent reduction in waist circumference and three per cent reduction in hip circumference.

By attending HEAL™, Dr Kormas’ patients are able to commence making positive changes to their lifestyles, diabetes and metabolic disease management in the time they need to wait before receiving further specialist advice.

HEAL™ groups have also been tailored for participants from the Khmer, Assyrian and Vietnamese communities in Fairfield and Liverpool. The success of these programs was aided by close collaboration with the local Multicultural Health Service, with bi-lingual multicultural health workers with close links to the community assisting the HEAL™ facilitator to run the sessions.

Case study: City of Wanneroo (WA) The City of Wanneroo in Western Australia was the first HCI funded council in Australia to run HEAL™ for its community members. HEAL™ programs are being offered to men’s and seniors’ groups at the Hainsworth Centre, a combined recreation, leisure and community centre, in Girrawheen, and a Younger Mums HEAL™ program is operating in Yanchep.

HEAL™ programs in Wanneroo are combined with cooking classes where participants can translate the skills learned in the HEAL™ educational sessions into practice in a supportive environment. A number of HEAL™ graduates have also taken up the option of participating in ongoing exercise classes offered at their local centre. In 2012, Toyah Tinworth, HEAL™ facilitator and Healthy Communities Coordinator for Wanneroo, plans to continue trialling social media as a means to advertise and promote the program to her Younger Mums’ group, which she says ‘…has been working really well.’

continued on page 149  the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 147

community, health ageing health +and ageing

make an impressive entrance DORMA’s name is renowned within the commercial building industry and now, in response to emerging industry demands, DORMA is expanding into the residential and aged care markets with the new DORMA CS80 Magneo sliding door.

In the office, this quiet automated sliding door operator creates a professional atmosphere with its modern sleek design and offers high comfort functionality so that customers and visitors will feel welcome as soon as they enter.

At home, the unobtrusive and timeless design of the CS80 Magneo fits well to all applications. Apart from its compact visual appearance, the system’s various functions offer a high level of comfort, making it ideal for a door leading to the kitchen, living room, bedroom or bathroom.

Features include: low-energy quiet operation, softmotion safety, push & go, motion detectors, remote control actuation, and permanent open or manual functions.

And thanks to the ‘plug & go’ feature, not just the first installations, but any upgrades can be easily managed.

The automatic system is especially suitable as: • a dividing door in clinical practices, law firms or offices

D

ORMA offers creative concepts for ‘living’ and ‘working’ environments, together with ideas for lifestyle enhancement and spatial ambience. This exciting range is targeted at architects, interior designers, interior outfitters, carpenters, glass fabricators and their customers – including private householders, the selfemployed and freelance professionals.

• access in hygienically-sensitive sanitary areas (catering, dental etc.)

• a passageway to the kitchen, in private homes, hotel rooms and restaurants.

Behind DORMA’s luxury Contur design lies the advanced magnetic technology for sliding doors and this serves as the basis for the new ‘Low Energy Mode’ CS80 Magneo. Thanks to this mode, sliding doors can now for the first time dispense with the use of safety sensors as the door operates within suitable energy ranges. The result: an extremely elegant visual appearance in combination with ‘SoftMotion’ safety ensuring the door will stop and reverse its cycle on light contact.

You can combine this system with glass or wooden doors with a total weight of 80 kilograms, making this unit suitable for in-wall and on-wall mounting.

CS80 Magneo is an eye-catching feature for private homes as well as for professional environments such as clinical practices, offices, hotels and the catering sector.

X • the australian local government yearbook 2012 148 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

For further information on AS5007 and all DORMA products and services please contact DORMA Automatics on 1800 675 411 or infoautomatics@dorma.com.

community, health and ageing

A number of HEAL™ graduates have also taken up the option of participating in ongoing exercise classes offered at their local centre. 

continued from page 147

When interviewed, HEAL™ graduates said that what they valued most about the program was the support of skilled and knowledgeable facilitators, getting accurate dietary information and debunking some of the myths about dieting. Every graduate interviewed felt that they would be able to maintain the lifestyle changes they learned during HEAL™ and that the changes would flow on to their families as well.

Case study: City of Bunbury (WA) The City of Bunbury in Western Australia received HCI funding in June 2011 and is supporting HEAL™ programs across a number of locations including the South West Women’s Health & Information Centre (SWWHIC), South West Aboriginal Medical Service (SWAMS) and the South West Sports Centre. Bunbury Mayor, David Smith, is leading by example, joining participants in the first sports centre program to learn about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.

HEAL™ facilitator at SWWHIC, Anne Mackay, says, ‘The ladies are really enjoying the program and there has been some weight loss, which is great.’

Anne includes walking in her group exercise program, taking participants along the Bunbury foreshore to explore and interact with the newly installed outdoor exercise equipment. Joyce Dimer, Senior Aboriginal Health Worker and HEAL™ facilitator at SWAMS, is incorporating the HEAL™ education content into yarning sessions as participants learn to prepare healthy meals at the community centre.

continued on page 150  321195A RHS_CommHealth+Ageing | 1760.indd 1

24/01/12 2:25 PM

the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 149

community, health and ageing

Left: HEAL™ participants at Sydney South West GP Link in Campbelltown (NSW) enjoying a HEAL™ exercise class 

continued from page 149

HEAL™ facilitator and Healthy Communities Coordinator for Bunbury, Jason Frisina, said, ‘I’ve been overwhelmed by the strong response we’ve had to our media advertising for HEAL™ participants. The first programs filled very quickly and we have people waitlisted for programs starting in the New Year.’ Jason said his HEAL™ participants were enjoying the interactive education sessions and were feeling very positive about their group exercise classes at the sports centre despite some initial trepidation about going to a gym. ‘Several participants have now made enquiries about joining the sports centre and we are thinking of offering discount memberships as incentives for completing the eight-week program,’ reported Jason.

HEAL™ participants were enjoying the interactive education sessions and were feeling very positive about their group exercise classes at the sports centre despite some initial trepidation about going to a gym.

How can your council run HEAL™ programs?

Healthy Communities Coordinators in HCI-funded councils are encouraged to contact a member of the HEAL™ National team to discuss how the program best meets the needs of their local government area.

HEAL™ works successfully with, and can support, other community-based programs such as community gardens, healthy cooking classes, supermarket shopping tours, healthy cookbooks, walking groups and other ongoing physical activity programs.

If your council is interested in finding out more about the HEAL™ program or the Healthy Communities Initiative, please contact the HEAL™ National team by email.

LGAs in NSW, VIC, NT and ACT – please contact jborodzicz@sswgpl.com.au LGAs in QLD, WA, TAS and SA – please contact sharon.hetherington@essa.org.au

150 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

Below: Nerida McMillan and Jason Frisina (City of Bunbury, WA) prepare for a class presentation during HEAL™ facilitator training

education and training

Learning in local government

By Sarah Artist, Assistant Director, UTS Centre for Local Government A research project funded by the Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government

I

n the Australian local government sector there are many reasons why education and professional development in the coming years will require a planned and concerted response:

• Turnover issues High staff turnover can harm services and create problems for councils in terms of continuity. But low turnover brings its own problems, including an inability to recruit new staff and refresh skills.

• Competition for skills Councils compete with each other and with employers in other sectors for skilled labour. For example, in Western Australia the resources boom is predicted to lead to looming shortages of 150,000 workers in the state by 2017.

• Changing demands for services Population shifts, different expectations of the role of local government, and technological innovations mean that councils will have to alter the quantity, type and quality of their services. There will also be changes in the ways people access services. All of these factors have implications for the type and number of people that councils will have to recruit, as well as the skills and capabilities that staff will need to acquire.

The Learning in Local Government Project is an exploratory review of the unique and complex needs of education and professional development in Australian local government, and has been undertaken by the UTS Centre for Local Government. This project will inform and facilitate program development over the life of the Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government (ACELG), and has been undertaken through the Workforce Development Program.

The ultimate goal is to coordinate, commission and/or deliver training programs to address priority needs. Local government associations, professional associations, Government Skills Australia, vocational and tertiary training providers and local government organisations will continue to be engaged in the evolution of the project.

• An ageing workforce As local government’s workforce is substantially made up of workers over 45 years of age, it faces a significant challenge in filling the employment gaps as older employees retire and leave the workforce.

• Skills shortages in key professional areas Many councils report difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff in particular local government workforce areas, including planners, tradespeople, environmental health officers, engineers, building surveyors and building inspectors.

Population shifts, different expectations of the role of local government, and technological innovations mean that councils will have to alter the quantity, type and quality of their services. the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 151

education and training

Experiences and aspirations of education and professional development In September 2010 an online survey was distributed to councils across Australia, closing in December and attracting almost 900 respondents. The survey asked respondents about their role and length of service in local government, the location and type of council in which they worked, and their membership of professional associations. Generally, the respondents were long-serving local government staff and executives. The experiences and aspirations of participants in the Learning in Local Government survey were as follows: • A lot of current education and professional development is delivered over short periods of time, such as through seminars, workshops or conferences.

• Written material distributed by professional associations is most commonly utilised (75 per cent of survey participants), and a very low number of participants had accessed materials written for the local government sector from other countries (10 per cent).

• Just over one-third of respondents had participated in formal work-related mentoring or coaching from someone outside their council, and almost threequarters rated this experience good or very good.

• Just over half the respondents had a TAFE or university qualification. Around 40 per cent felt that their qualification was extremely relevant and 40 per cent quite relevant to their current roles.

• Almost half the respondents had used distance and online learning, with close to two-thirds rating the experience as ‘very good’ or ‘good’.

• Around 80 per cent of respondents expressed interest in training that provides information about other councils’ work and innovations. Around 70 per cent were also interested in exchange opportunities in other councils, and about the same percentage was interested in facilitated problem solving with peers in other councils.

• Many of the survey respondents funded part (30 per cent) or all (28 per cent) of their own training.

• Over half of respondents (57 per cent) felt that local government was not well catered for in the programs they had undertaken overall.

• Time constraints due to work pressures were a major barrier for almost half of the survey respondents.

152 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

Local government associations, councils, government departments and private parties provide councillorspecific training with a wide range of topics and formats, however an ACELG review of councillor training found that uptake of training by councillors remains low.

Advancing Leadership Local government must nurture its next generation of leaders. Advancing Leadership is an ACELG initiative that identifies and networks the best of existing leadership programs from around the country, targeted at developing the capability of local government professionals. As part of this initiative, partnerships are formed and explored with associations, training and education providers, sector organisations and individual councils. A model Graduate Certificate in Local Government Leadership has been

education and training

established as a means of creating pathways to postgraduate study, and is now being taught and adapted by partners across the country. Participants develop advanced skills and knowledge in personal, professional, team and community leadership within the local government setting, specifically tailored to their geographical context. This enables them to make a greater contribution to improving their council’s performance, raising the profile of local government capability and gaining personal development.

The LGMA Australasian Management Challenge is Australasia’s premier forum for current and emerging local government leaders, recognised for its hands-on and real-life approach to leadership development. From 2012, participation in the Challenge can count as a subject in the ‘Graduate Certificate in Leadership’ course.

Training for elected members Local government associations, councils, government departments and private parties provide councillor-specific training with a wide range of topics and formats; however, an ACELG review of councillor training found that uptake of training by councillors remains low. This is particularly true of accredited training. There is a need to know more about successful strategies to make training more attractive and accessible to councillors, along with other methods to support them to carry out their roles effectively.

There is also a gap in the preparation of intending councillors for the realities of the role. Many newly elected councillors feel surprised and unprepared for the workload. Few fully understand the depth and breadth of the responsibilities they face when elected. While a range of organisations run education sessions and provide information for intending councillors, there is a need for increased knowledge about how to more effectively prepare those considering standing for election without discouraging potential nominees.

SPEL0027_A2_Displays_V2_OL.indd 3

17/08/11 5:20 PM

continued on page 154 

Many councils report difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff in particular local government workforce areas, including planners, tradespeople, environmental health officers, engineers, building surveyors and building inspectors.

• • •

321187A RHS (Education)_Pelikan Artline | 1760.indd 1

15/12/11 11:02 AM the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 153

education and training

A lot of current education and professional development is delivered over short periods of time, such as through seminars, workshops or conferences.



continued from page 153

Pathways from VET to higher education in key skills shortage areas In light of the skills shortages that are currently being experienced in many geographic and professional areas of local government, an important strategy is to upskill existing workers to be able to fill these critical roles. Courses need to allow para-professionals already working in local government to move into professional roles in key skills shortage areas – planning, engineering, building surveying, environmental health et cetera.

Tertiary courses that provide these qualifications can be fairly rigid with regards to recognition of prior learning.

Local government para-professionals need good advice as to where and how to gain recognition of any prior training and work experience. Government Skills Australia is also interested in facilitating better pathways for local government para-professionals into the tertiary sector.

E-learning The use of electronic and social media has many potential benefits for education and professional development in local government. The isolation of professionals within their organisations and across localities can be addressed through a range of web-based online learning materials.

Many organisations are beginning to develop online libraries, forums, webinars, podcasts and vodcasts et cetera; however, these media need to be skilfully utilised by training providers, by councils and by individual learners themselves. A new e-learning portal on the ACELG Innovation and Knowledge Exchange Network (IKEN) outlines these considerations, and offers technologies, tools and programs for local government professionals and training providers.

that specifically relate to local government. ACELG is advocating an integrated national approach to education and training for the local government workforce that: • is forward-looking and anticipates the changing environment and role of local government • addresses sector needs for essential skills now and into the future • focuses on people working across the sector and meets their personal needs to enhance their skills and develop their careers • offers seamless pathways between vocational and higher education and ongoing professional development.

By taking a national approach, ACELG aims to engage with the federal agenda and extend the sector beyond local and state boundaries. A collaborative approach to developing future programs will ensure that successful experiences and approaches in each state are shared and supported, that the sector makes better use of limited resources, and that an integrated approach increases the potential for identifying and sharing good practice. ACELG is working with stakeholders who are mutually supportive of creating greater development opportunities and who actively champion a national network of best practice education and professional development.

To contact Sarah Artist, email: sarah.artist@uts.edu.au

Learning in local government – next steps for ACELG Work and discussions continue to explore gaps in content and availability of education and professional development

154 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

For more information about the Learning in Local Government project, visit the ACELG website at www.acelg.org.au.

education + training education and

New higher educatioN awards by distaNce for techNical staff

T

will be approved in time for applications to be accepted in October/November this year and that the courses will begin in January 2012.

CPEE is accepting applications for its pavement engineering and infrastructure asset management programs; the latter developed jointly with the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia (IPWEA) and the University of Tasmania. Applications are invited for the Graduate Certificate of Pavement Technology and Master of Pavement Technology as well as the Graduate Certificate in Infrastructure Asset Management and Graduate Diploma in Infrastructure Asset Management. CPEE and the University of Tasmania are also developing a graduate certificate and a graduate diploma course in Road Engineering and Construction. It is anticipated that the proposed courses

The four-unit Graduate Certificate and eight-unit Master of Technology/Graduate Diploma courses can be tailored to suit the needs of individuals wishing to update their knowledge or become more productive in the workplace.

Technical staff can gain valuable qualifications in as little as 12 months and be able to apply what they learn directly to their day-to-day activities.

echnical staff must keep up to date with advances in the design, construction and maintenance of roads and their asset management and environmental impacts. To meet this need the Centre for Pavement Engineering Education (CPEE) offers a range of unique courses, some of which are tailored specifically for local government employees.

All of the CPEE courses, which are very practical, encourage direct application of the skills and knowledge acquired. The application of skills learnt to problems in the workplace is facilitated by the distance education format, which does not require attendance at a university for faceto-face lectures.

To receive further information, email info@pavementeducation.edu.au

Education Enhancement Opportunities Graduate Certificate & Diploma in Infrastructure Asset Management

Accredited by the University of Tasmania, these programs have been jointly developed by the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia (IPWEA) and CPEE to meet the need for enhanced technical skills in the field of public works Infrastructure Asset Management

Core infrastructure units on: Asset Management Fundamentals Asset Management Practices Financial Asset Management with a range of electives

These courses provide today’s Infrastructure Asset Management Specialist with the opportunity to expand their skills and knowledge and to gain recognition with a University postgraduate award.

Road Engineering & Construction

Infrastructure Asset Management

Currently under development is a new CPEE/ University of Tasmania postgraduate program planned for 2012 If you would like to study one of these exciting programs contact CPEE on (03) 9890 5155 or at info@pavementeducation.edu.au log on to www.pavementeducation.edu.au

the australian local government yearbook 2012 •2 the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 155

finance and business strategy

CREATING A STRONG PERFORMANCE CULTURE RADAR CHANGE MANAGEMENT PROJECT

By Marianne Di Giallonardo, Director Corporate Services, Maroondah City Council Ever wondered how to strengthen an already strong performance culture? This case study provides some tips on how to ensure performance management systems are streamlined to ensure maximum employee engagement, not only in the process, but also on the development of the whole performance management system, which ultimately is designed to enhance organisational performance for the community.

Overview of Maroondah City and Council’s workforce serving the Maroondah community The City of Maroondah covers a land area of 61.4 square kilometres in Melbourne’s outer east, 22 kilometres from the central business district (CBD). The area is a substantially developed residential municipality, with an estimated population of 106,469 residents and 41,944 households, with an average of 2.5 people per household. The annual operating budget for 2011/12 is $95 million and capital budget is $20.5 million with $1.1 billion of total assets.

The total number of employees effective full-time (EFT) is 449 and comprises 25 contract positions and 958 employees in banded positions. Leadership positions total 78 across levels 1–4.

What is RADAR and why did Council undertake the project?

RADAR (Review, Acknowledgement, Development and Recognition) is a framework for employee performance and development that is linked to a reward and recognition payment process within Council’s planning, performance and resource allocation framework. The organisation’s overall culture is seen as strong, as evidenced by a range of factors, including the annual Community Satisfaction Scores, which consistently rate Maroondah City Council in the high 80th percentile as adequate, good and excellent, as scored independently by state government surveying the Maroondah Community over 13 years. In addition to this, the organisation had relatively low complaint levels, positive local media coverage, and strong community submission levels coupled with strong internal human resources policy framework, including a recognising extra value (REV) program, human resource department resourcing and stable values-centred leadership.

continued on page 158 

156 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

finance and business strategy

Maroondah 2025 LTFS

10 year rolling

Council Plan 4 year rolling

Annual Budget Strategies / Legislation

MAROONDAH CITY COUNCIL’S PLANNING, PERFORMANCE AND RESOURCE ALLOCATION FRAMEWORK

eg •

Risk Management

•

Open Space Strategy

•

Audit

•

Municipal Strategic Statement

•

Governance

•

Road Management Act

•

Community Wellbeing Plan

•

HR Policies

Various time frames 1-5 years

Annual Service Delivery Action Plans Annual Performance Development Plans (RADAR) 

continued from page 156

During the mid to late 1990s, post Victorian amalgamations and 1991 Award changes, Council had both a Staff Development Scheme (SDS) and a Reward and Recognition Program (RARP). The SDS was an Award entitlement that sought to enhance skills and knowledge and progress employees through the band and level structures upon skill and knowledge achievement, and development.

At Maroondah the SDS, known as the Performance, Development and Review process (PDR) and in line with the Award, was an annual employee performance review process where KPIs were set between the supervisor and employee at the commencement of a 12-month period. The PDR considered the organisation’s directions, employee performance to date and development plans for the coming 12-month period. At the end of the period the performance was evaluated by the supervisor and employee using a 5-point scale from 1 (poor) to 5 (exceptional). Unfortunately only 30 per cent of the organisation chose to participate in this process, which is not surprising given that there was another process that provided for a monetary reward opportunity (RARP).

Not dissimilar to many Victorian councils during this Compulsory Competitive Tendering (CCT) time, RARP bonuses were granted for work achievements over and above the usual, and were regarded as Christmas bonuses.

Not surprisingly, most employees participated. Over time, having both the PDR and RARP processes was confusing, time consuming, and did not drive nor provide the system to strengthen the performance culture sought by senior management.

More specifically, the two systems did not refine or articulate what higher performance was, nor was there 158 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

The organisation’s overall culture is seen as strong, as evidenced by a range of factors, including the annual Community Satisfaction Scores organisational agreement as to what this standard might be. For example, there was no definition of what ‘poor’ or ‘exceptional’ meant, or anything in between. Hence there was no consistency in the way that managers or employees measured performance. A hard assessor would rate good performance as a 3, whereas an easier assessor may mark the same performance as 4 or 5. This led to perceptions of inequity and injustice across the organisation regarding performance appraisal, and did not assist managers who tried to performance manage an employee who had previously received an RARP payment for exceptional performance. For a number of years, complaints about both processes had been increasing and it became clear that to enhance an already strong performance culture, the organisation needed to streamline the PDR and RARP processes.

Originally, a cross-functional working group (the group) was established in 2010, with key management and human resource employee stakeholders to review the two sets of paperwork and develop one paperwork set; however,

finance and business strategy

it soon became apparent that the paperwork was only 10 per cent of the issue; the primary issue was the limited knowledge and understanding across the organisation, and the whole system required an overhaul. Hence, the group undertook a classic change management process to achieve a whole-of-system change in a relatively short timeframe of 10 months. This process aimed to centre RADAR systemically between culture, people and processes internally, as conceptually depicted in the following diagram.

Culture

Processes

R A D A R

People

Key principles of the change management process Given the significant degree and impact of the change, careful, informed planning and design of both the enhanced performance management system and the associated change process was required. This was a capacity building opportunity for everyone organisation-wide to participate, learn and grow.

This meant there had to be strong consultation, communication and involvement by all employees throughout the development, implementation and review aspects of the project, including involvement by senior managers, to drive the process and manage the resistance.

It had to articulate the current system and work practice weaknesses, the key changes and the associated benefits of change, and it had to be kept simple so it could be delivered within a short timeframe, with limited existing internal resources minimising disruption and anxiety.

321187A RHS (Finance)_Pelikan Artline | 1760.indd 1

15/12/11 11:01 AM

the australian local government yearbook 2012 • 159

finance and business strategy

the primary issue was the limited knowledge and understanding across the organisation, and the whole system required an overhaul.

Key elements of the change process 1. Employee engagement and communication This was central given that all employees, including management, were key stakeholders to enhancing the performance management system. The group needed to understand what employees thought of the different processes in detail, how they worked or didn’t work, and what other organisations were doing.

A number of focus groups with a representative sample of employees were undertaken to solicit information. These confirmed that employees preferred a single, more consistent annual performance management process with a payment possibility, consistency and equality in how performance is evaluated based on organisational outcomes and direction.

2. Research and benchmarking The group sought information from other organisations, both local governments and private sector companies, relative to performance management, comparing these models with Maroondah practice and the focus group feedback. Identification of current constraints, such as resources and industrial parameters, was also considered.

3. Process mapping and analysis With this information, the group undertook a systematic, detailed process mapping exercise to understand and analyse the detail of both the PDR and RARP processes.

The exercise evaluated which parts could be combined, replaced or deleted to ensure that the new system retained the best aspects of the previous systems while building a simplified, robust system going forward.

4. Reality checking the proposed process Once the group had a proposed process in its entirety, the proposal was tested with the broader management group (MG). The feedback from MG did not alter the proposed process, but focused more on the cultural change associated with implementation.

The issues raised included perceived change fatigue regarding how to implement a new system by many of 160 • the australian local government yearbook 2012

the supervisors and employees, given the changes over the years not only related to performance management, lack of understanding of the importance of performance reviews in achievement of organisational goals and objectives especially related to Award obligations, training requirements for supervisors and employees, and the behaviour change expectation to further increase and be accountable for performance.

5. Dealing with the broader change impacts and simplifying implementation From the feedback the group developed KRAs for job families, for example all tractor drivers, pool lifeguards et cetera, training for team leaders regarding how to conduct a RADAR performance review, and information around the benefits of participating in the new system for all eligible participants. Guidelines and the forms themselves were also further refined comprehensively, covering everything associated with the new system in simple language.

6. Process review and evaluation The group had one measure of success – that being increased employee participation in the performance management process, and an opportunity for ongoing regular reviews of the whole system. Currently, further electronic streamlining of the process is planned.

In 2011, completion rates revealed there was a 93 per cent uptake in participation in the RADAR process, which is deemed a success, with the data revealing that the majority of employees are moderately satisfied to very satisfied in their jobs (86 per cent), in their teams (88 per cent), and with the organisation (80 per cent).

Conclusion The most important tip regarding how to strengthen an already strong performance culture is to ensure that the performance management system is streamlined for maximum employee engagement not only in the process, but also in the development of the whole performance management system, which ultimately is designed to enhance organisational performance for the community.

The 1st Choice Brand for all your power solutions Australia’s Largest Battery Sales Support Network Century’s extensive network of regional agents and Metropolitan Distribution centres ensures wherever you are in Australia, they have the infrastructure and capability to service your battery needs: • Access to locally held stock • Access to locally placed battery experts • Access to expert training, sales support and technical advice

Over 80 Years of Expertise Century Batteries is Australia’s oldest and most recognised battery manufacturer with a history of designing and manufacturing batteries in Australia since 1928.

In this time they have developed the engineering expertise and state of the art manufacturing processes to design and produce a range of superior quality batteries better suited to Australia’s hotter climate and harsh conditions.

• Access to the latest product developments and initiatives

Battery Recycling Century’s national Battery Recycling Program is a total scrap battery management solution designed to help reduce the impact of used lead acid batteries on the environment.

• Be part of a national battery recycling network • Promote your business as environmentally conscious • Regular, reliable battery collection service • EPA compliant paperwork and systems

Battery Testing Solutions When used as part of a total battery management program, Century’s range of battery testing equipment can help increase sales and grow your business into a true battery destination.

• Enhance customer service • Increase battery sales and reduce costs

CB123-1014

• Minimise missed sales opportunities

Speak to your Century Batteries representative on 1300 362 287 or visit www.centurybatteries.com.au

Want to save time and money?!

Order All Your Workplace Needs with Blackwoods • Save time by consolidating your orders • Save time by selecting from best brands or best value from our wide range of products • Save time ordering the most convenient way for you – online, phone, fax or in store • Save time on deliveries when and where you want them • Save money on admin costs by consolidating your invoicing • Save money on freight costs by consolidating your deliveries • Save money on purchases with our Spend Discount – the more you spend the more you save!

To find out more go to blackwoods.com.au or call 13 73 23