LG Focus - February 2022

FEBRUARY 2022

Australia’s National Local Government Newspaper

Housing pressure

Griffith is one of the 21 councils which could benefit from the new grant. Recently Griffith Mayor Doug Curran was joined by Argyle Housing Chair Donna Anthes, The Hon Sussan Ley MP, Member for Farrer and The Hon Member of Legislative Council Wes Fang to officially break ground on a much needed housing project.

“Housing issues are widespread and complex, so there isn’t a quick fix, but we aren’t wasting any time. We will continue working on a comprehensive whole-of-government response.”

Chair of the Regional Housing Taskforce Garry Fielding welcomed the Government’s approach in quickly addressing the recommendations.

“I am very pleased to see the Government’s commitment and support in addressing housing supply and affordability challenges along the coast and in the bush,” Mr Fielding said.

“This $30 million is a great first step towards easing housing pressures across regional NSW.” Cr Turley said LGNSW particularly welcomes the taskforce’s specific recommenda-

tion to provide more affordable and diverse housing around regional NSW. “It’s also good to see the recognition that housing costs are driven by a range of factors such as financial and taxation systems, population growth, demographic change and interest rates,” she said.

“LGNSW and regional councils have consistently argued that a collaborative approach across all levels of government and significant funding investment are the only way we will be able to make a difference and start to resolve the housing crisis.

“An additional 5,000 units of social housing across NSW would require investment of about $2.6 billion over the next 10 years would be a good start.”

Funding is available to 21 regional coun-

cils that are experiencing some of the highest growth.

Eligible councils include Ballina, Bathurst Regional, Bega Valley, Broken Hill, Central Coast, Eurobodalla, Goulburn Mulwaree, Griffith, Kempsey, Lismore, Lithgow, MidCoast, Mid-Western Regional, Orange, Queanbeyan-Palerang, Richmond Valley, Singleton, Snowy Monaro, Tamworth Regional, Tweed Shire and Wagga Wagga.

To qualify, councils will need to prepare and implement plans to address the Taskforce’s recommendations at a local level, such as updating infrastructure contributions plans and housing strategies.

Applications close on the 11 March 2022.

For more information visit www.planning. nsw.gov.au/regional-housing-fund

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The delivery of homes will be fast-tracked in regional communities experiencing housing pressure, ahead of the NSW Government’s initial response to the Regional Housing Taskforce recommendations.

However, LGNSW President Cr Darriea Turley said it was nowhere near what was needed by the 21 councils eligible to receive the first wave of funding.

“The 21 councils will only be eligible to receive up to $1.4 million each, which won’t make a huge dent in benefiting the communities,” LGNSW President Cr Turley said.

“Councils are facing huge skills shortages and are struggling to find staff to review development applications, construction certificates and other construction-related approvals.”

Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole said applications are open for eligible councils to share in $30 million to fasttrack supply of shovel-ready land and deliver more homes for families across regional NSW, as an immediate first step to address the Taskforce’s recommendations at a local level.

“We are getting on with the job of helping eliminate the housing pressures in the bush, and this first wave of funding will ensure regional councils help get new homes built where they’re needed most as quickly as possible,” Mr Toole said.

“Eligible councils can apply for up to $1.4 million each in funding for enabling infrastructure and public spaces, if they can demonstrate they will speed up the delivery of new housing.

“This funding builds on the $75 million being invested by the NSW Government to help deliver new accommodation in the regions for health workers close to the facilities where they are caring for our communities.”

Cr Turley, Mayor of Broken Hill one of the 21 elligible councils, said housing pressures and extremely limited social housing availability are causing severe impacts on the community, and it has a domino effect on councils as they try to provide the infrastructure needed to better their communities.

“Councils are best placed to identify local needs and suitable responses to the housing crisis, which is why a strong partnership approach by local government and the State Government is imperative,” she said.

“Without that partnership approach, Government is essentially imposing cookie-cutter solutions that are unlikely to deliver a long-term solution – all at great public cost.”

Minister for Planning and Homes Anthony Roberts said the grants would support the next generation of exciting projects for each region.

“New homes need new infrastructure – parks, kerbs, guttering and new roads. This funding supports councils to deliver this infrastructure so we can keep tradies working and get more homes built,” Mr Roberts said.

NEWS The lack of affordable housing in regional and rural areas is fast becoming one of the major issues facing councils across Australia.

The news this month that the NSW Government has offered 21 councils a share of $30 million to fast-track will come as some relief of course for those who qualify.

But as the incidence of people being forced to leave their regions or in some cases sleep in their cars and locals are priced out of booming markets – this is surely only a drop in the bucket of what is needed.

The money is the Government’s immediate response to the Regional Housing Taskforce recommendations. It will be interesting to see what else both the Federal Government and States across Australia do to address this growing problem.

- Tania Phillips

INSIDE THIS EDITION

The best seat in the house - or out of it in this case.

RURAL-REGIONAL

12-13

Colourful entrance

HUMAN RESOURCES

17-21

The popular NSW Central Coast Big Chairs tourist attraction is about to get a new exhibit.

THE GOOD OIL

7

COUNCILLOR PROFILES

8

ARTS-RECREATION

22

CONTACT US

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The Central Coast council held a call out for a lead Community Artist and multiple Emerging Artists to participate in the Y4Y Creative Connection Big Chair project 2022, to gain skills in leading and delivering creative art projects.

One successful Artist will be chosen to organise the creation of designs on the newest Big Chair, located at The Entrance.

The Big Chairs, made by the men’s shed, were first unveiled in 2020 and were initially lo-

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Publisher Paul Thomas.

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Emerging Artists for this latest project will also be given the chance to engage young people with two community workshops to develop artwork designs based on the identity of town centre.

This opportunity will also include designing and hosting a community ‘Paint Out’ at the Colour Our Coast fun run event on Saturday 6 March 2022.

Fine for volunteer death Camden Council has been fined $750,000 after a member of a local Men’s Shed was killed installing irrigation pipe at the Camden Bicentennial Equestrian Park in 2018.

The Council was investigated by SafeWork NSW and pleaded guilty to a breach of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 in the NSW District Court.

The incident occurred on 3 July 2018, when untrained volunteers from the Men’s Shed tried to move a 500-metre length of PVC irrigation pipe by towing it with a tractor. A male volunteer was struck on the head by the pipe while it was being towed, suffering fatal injuries.

The NSW District Court found the risk of being struck by the pipe was foreseeable and that Camden Council failed to implement safety systems or conduct a risk assessment for the project.

The court also found that the volunteer was

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cated at: Mackenzie Reserve, Budgewoi (Weemala St); Canton Beach foreshore, Toukley (Beach Pde, near the intersection with Lakeview Pde); Woy Woy Wharf foreshore (Brick Wharf Rd, near the playspace); Terrigal Beach foreshore (Terrigal Esplanade, next to Terrigal Surf Life Saving Club); and, Umina Beach foreshore (Sydney Ave, next to Umina Surf Life Saving Club).

The successful lead Community Artist and

not qualified or trained to perform the work and the purported supervisor of the project had no qualifications in irrigation work or use of heavy plant.

SafeWork Executive Director of Investigations and Enforcement, Rick Bultitude said that while volunteers perform essential tasks throughout the community without pay or reward, they are still considered workers under Work Health Safety (WHS) legislation.

“Organisations who have workers have work, health and safety duties and obligations not just to paid staff, but also for any volunteers they engage,” Mr Bultitude said.

“Workers and volunteers also have WHS obligations of their own, including taking reasonable care of the health and safety of them-

selves and others.

“The person conducting a business is required to ensure an adequate risk assessment is conducted for work undertaken, and ensure appropriate information and instruction is provided to any volunteers.

“And volunteers should never be used to undertake work for which they are either unqualified or untrained to perform,” Mr Bultitude said.

Camden Council has the right to appeal the sentence.

For more information on WHS obligations for Volunteer Organisations and the businesses which engage them, please visit Volunteering | SafeWork NSW

DIARY DATES Serving on Council Western Australia Thursday, 24 February West Leederville, WA This comprehensive course aims to help councillors gain the confidence to perform their role on Council more effectively. It has been specifically developed to address the unique skills and knowledge requirements of Elected Members.

More information: WALGA

LinkedIn Local Hilltops LGA New South Wales Sunday, 27 February, 2:30 – 4:30 pm Boorowa Ex-Services & Citizens Club LTD 55/59 Pudman St, Boorowa NSW Meet local people who have LinkedIn profiles and connect with them beyond job titles, business cards, and company names. Find out how to create a business LinkedIn profile. Participants don’t need to be a LinkedIn

member to attend these meetings.

More information: LGNSW

LGAQ Waste Forum Queensland Held 8 - 10 March Royal International Convention Centre, Brisbane Showgrounds.

The theme of the forum captures both the urgency and importance of the need for partnerships between all tiers of government working alongside our key industry partners.

More information: LGAQ

LGNSW Special Conference New South Wales Monday 28 Feb – Wed 2 Mar 161 Sussex St, Sydney NSW The Special Conference is a separate event to November 2021’s one-hour online Annual Conference, which cannot be held in-person due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

More information: LGNSW

Local Government Energy and Innovation Conference New South Wales Wednesday, 23 March, 9:00 am Rules Club Wagga Wagga Cnr Fernleigh Rd &, Glenfield Rd, Glenfield Park NSW The Riverina Eastern Regional Organisation of Councils (REROC) Local Government Energy and Innovation Conference will be held on Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 March 2022. The Conference program showcases the latest innovations in energy generation, energy management and energy efficiency, fulfilling our aim of keeping professionals based in regional Australia up to date with the latest developments in their field. Check out the Energy Conference on the REROC website Please send you Calendar events to editorial@lgfocus.com.au – with subject line: Calendar LGFOCUS.COM.AU

NEWS

Working together the way forward The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) has used its 2022-23 Federal PreBudget Submission to outline a series of partnership opportunities that would help drive a strong and inclusive national recovery.

ALGA President Linda Scott said Australia’s 537 local government have the capacity for growing partnerships with the Commonwealth Government – as well as state and territory governments – to support economic and community recovery in every community, improve Australia’s transport and community infrastructure, increase local resilience to emergency events and the impacts of climate change, and help build a new circular economy.

“Only local governments can deliver a locally led recovery in every corner of our nation,” Cr Scott said.

“Our local government priorities for the Federal Budget have been independently assessed, and if funded and implemented they would contribute at least $6.65 billion per year to Australia’s Gross Domestic Product and create 44,905 new jobs.”

“Councils are offering solutions to achieve a tailored, community-focussed post-COVID economic recovery – from creating jobs to supporting local business to building new community facilities like libraries, community centres, roads, recreation trails and playgrounds.”

“Councils have an excellent track record of partnering with the Commonwealth on projects and programs that improve our communities and build better lives for all Australians.”

“Working together, we can build a stronger, more inclusive and sustainable Australia on the other side of COVID-19 and ensure that no community is left behind.”

The key funding requests in ALGA’s 202223 Pre-Budget Submission are an initial injection of Financial Assistance Grants worth $1.3 billion to drive economic recovery across the country, and for the total value of these untied grants to be gradually restored to at least one percent of Commonwealth taxation revenue.

Other commitments sought include: A four-year extension of the highly successful Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program; $300 million per year to address road transport bottlenecks; Expansion of the vitally important Roads to

· · ·

Linda Scott.

· · · ·

Recovery and Black Spot Programs, and permanent supplementary road funding for South Australia; An additional $55 million to improve digital connectivity in regional, rural and remote communities; $200 million per year to help communities mitigate against natural disaster events; Establishment of a new Local Government Climate Response Partnership Fund; $200 million over four years for innovative af-

fordable housing partnerships;

million per year to increase the capacity · $100 of Indigenous councils and implement Closing the Gap initiatives;

local government place-based health · Aandnewactivity program; for community arts and culture sec· Support tors impacted by COVID-19; and million per year to support councils to · $100 invest in circular economy waste innovation and reduce waste sent to landfill.

Vision for national treasure Georges River Council is preparing a new 10-year vision for Oatley Park – a popular regional park bounded by the Georges River, Lime Kiln Bay, and Jew Fish Bay. Members of the public have been invited to participate in a survey to guide new uses, planning and management of the Park so it can cater to the changing demands of our community for the next 10 years.

Georges River Mayor Nick Katris said they were seeking feedback from the community to inform the preparation of a new Plan of Management and Master Plan for Oatley Park.

“Oatley Park has a strong natural heritage with diverse native habitats,” he said.

“It has a range of recreational attractions that cater for diverse groups from across Sydney.

The community involvement in developing the draft Plans will ensure this Park remains a popular spot for local residents and visitors.”

Many people from Georges River and from broader Sydney visit this important regional park regularly and have an important role to play in the development of the Plans.

In addition to the survey, a webinar will be hosted on Wednesday 16 February at 6.00pm to ensure all park users have the opportunity to ask questions and have their say about the future of Oatley Park.

All submissions gathered from the community consultation will inform and help shape the development of the draft Plan of Management and Master Plan.

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Makeover for picturesque Oately Park.

Freeze to rates Central Coast Council is set to formally apply to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) to maintain rates at their current levels for additional seven years, 10 years in total, to 2031.

The announcement was made following an extraordinary Council Meeting on 3 February.

Administrator Rik Hart said this did not mean a rate increase as the temporary Special Variation of 15% (including rate peg) determined by IPART in May 2021 was already included in the rates which had been applied for the 2021-22 financial year.

“Maintaining the rates at current levels means Council can maintain services, continue productivity improvements and meet debt repayments. This is not a year-on-year increase, we are asking that IPART retain the status quo for a further seven years,” Mr Hart said.

“The current three-year Special Variation only provides temporary stability.

While borrowings have been arranged and savings have been identified, Council’s position remains unsustainable if the current rate variation is not maintained for a further seven years. Not only would basic services be in jeopardy, but Council would be unable to meet its borrowing obligations without further drastic service reductions that would compromise the living standards of the community.

“It is clear from consulting with residents and ratepayers that they want services maintained, and in many instances expect Council to invest more in services,” Mr Hart said.

“Council’s financial recovery plan put in place over 12 months ago is working and we are meeting all major milestones and targets, and currently at six months of the financial year we are ahead of budget.” Extensive community consultation about the proposal had been undertaken since the end of September 2021 when Council formally notified IPART of its intention to make a submission.

Over the past four months ratepayers and residents have been engaged via stakeholder meetings, direct submissions, a Community Reference Group and surveys exploring usage and satisfaction in services and whether future investment should be more/same/less; and identification of services that could be reduced, if they needed to be.

At the conclusion of the service level and scenario engagement, Council engaged on the strategic documents that form the basis of Council’s planning, actions and budgets.

“We had no choice but to place Council’s key strategic documents on public exhibition over the Christmas and New Year holiday period, due to the timeframes and required actions that from part of IPART’s submission process,” Mr Hart said.

“Let me be clear, this is a repeat proposal from last year. We are simply reapplying for the shortfall of seven years we did not receive in last years’ application.

The community has had multiple opportunities to comment over the past 12 months and will have further opportunity to have their say through the IPART consultation process that follows Council’s submission, as well these important strategic documents will be re-exhibited in April 2022 to allow for further comment,” Mr Hart said. The next steps were that Council would formally submit the application to IPART by 7 February 2022 and IPART would undertake further consultation with the community prior to their expected determination in May 2022.

February 2022 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS 3

PRESIDENT’S COMMENT - MAYOR MARK JAMIESON, LGAQ

Our commitment to care As we reach the two-year mark of the Covid-19 pandemic, I think we all recognise that while there have been profound impacts on the economic and social fabric of Queensland, one thing which has remained constant is the commitment of Queensland councils to protect the wellbeing, liveability and future opportunities for their communities.

It would be fair to say the pandemic has changed the way we do things, not what we do.

2022 will present us with another array of challenges and opportunities as we seek to advance the interests of our 77 member councils.

Our focus will, as always, remain on the issues that matter most to our members and their communities - like roads, housing and financial sustainability.

Queenslanders rely on their councils to deliver more than 280 unique community services, but too many councils continue to be challenged on providing these services due to diminishing revenues. This is why your LGAQ will never resile from its efforts to seek a fairer funding deal for local governments.

The Federal election in the first half of this year provides another compelling opportunity to advocate to all parties to step up, do the right thing and restore the value of Commonwealth Financial Assistance Grants to local government to 1 per cent of total taxation revenue.

This is by no means an unreasonable ask by a tier of government that is often called on

by Federal and State governments to do the heavy lifting locally to advance their agendas.

We should never lose sight of the fact that between the Federal and State governments, they share in 97 percent of total taxation revenue, with the lion’s share (82%) falling into the Federal Government’s coffers.

Our ask for one percent would deliver more than $160 million in extra funding to Queensland councils.

A small ask that would go a long way to improving every Queensland community in some way.

Every Queensland community contributes to our nation’s economy.

Every Queensland community deserves to be a liveable one.

As part of our Federal election plan, your LGAQ will also be advocating for the Commonwealth’s successful and welcomed Local

Mayor Mark Jamieson.

Roads and Community Infrastructure Program to be made a permanent program, with continued funding at $500 million a year.

I have seen first-hand the benefits this program delivers on the ground in communities and it is a no-brainer that it should become an ongoing feature of our funding landscape.

In much the same way as the Queensland Government’s Works for Queensland program – which is why we have not lessened our efforts with the Palaszczuk government to restore funding for Works for Queensland back to $100 million a year.

It is currently on track to drop from $100 million to $70 million in the next financial year before dropping to $30 million in 2023/24.

Works for Queensland has proven to be one of the most effective job-creation partnerships the State and councils have engaged in. We want it to continue to deliver for local communities.

As we continue to respond to the needs of our communities through the COVID-19 recovery phase and as we confront the challenges that are thrown up by Mother Nature during the

summer season, funding certainty is something that none of us should need to be worrying about. Again, this is why these measures are at the forefront of the LGAQ’s efforts on behalf of our members.

There is also widespread agreement that playing our crucial guardianship role in the interests of the well-being of our communities has been hampered in recent years, since the establishment of the Office of the Independent Assessor (OIA) and the way in which that Office has gone about discharging its functions.

In a February council meeting last year, Mayor Sean Dillon of Barcaldine Regional Council raised legitimate and genuine concerns – as the elected representative of the residents of the Barcaldine region - about the plans of health officials to vaccinate everyone in his community in one go.

Doing his job, however, came at a cost with the OIA launching an investigation into him for potential misconduct over his comments.

The LGAQ has been working with Mayor Dillon and councils across the state to address this absurdity – efforts which culminated in a Parlia-

mentary Inquiry being established last November to examine the role and functions of the OIA. We have never wavered from our position that the highest standards of integrity must apply to anyone holding public office – and it is patently obvious that the standards applied to local government Mayors and Councillors in Queensland are far higher than those applied to Federal and State elected representatives.

It is our contention however, that the OIA has clearly gone beyond reasonableness – just ask Sean Dillon and any number of our colleagues. We hope this Parliamentary Inquiry will result in practical reforms to the OIA which maintain a strong integrity platform but enable Mayors and Councillors to get on with doing the job they were elected to do and receive fair treatment in any review process.

Similarly, last year, Queensland’s Parliamentary Crime and Corruption Committee handed down its report into the conduct of the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) in its now failed case against a group of former Logan councillors.

The review – which was instigated as a result of the public advocacy efforts of your LGAQ found the CCC failed to remain independent and impartial when investigating Logan City Council, prompting the Committee to recommend a review into the structure of the CCC. In recent weeks, we have seen significant movement in this space with the resignation of the CCC Chairperson and the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry chaired by Tony Fitzgerald QC to examine the structure, functions and practices of the CCC. We strongly welcome this move by the Queensland Government in responding to the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee report and we will work to ensure the interests of our member councils are well presented to the Commission of Inquiry.

We got a lot done in 2021 and we are looking forward in 2022 to achieving even more for our members and the communities they represent.

NEWS

Multi-million dollar foreshore open Cr Jim Mason, Bellarine Bears Vice President Matt Connell, Mayor Stephanie Asher, Deputy Mayor Trent Sullivan and Bellarine Bears President Daniel Harvey.

Good news for Bears The Bellarine Bears Baseball Club has been awarded a $350,000 grant as the City of Greater Geelong $4.9 million Community Grants spend for 2021-22.

The Bears grant will be used to upgrade facilities at the Wallington Recreation Reserve.

Mayor Stephanie Asher said the grants are helping grassroots sporting and community organisations bounce back after a difficult two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re helping sporting clubs get back out on the field by covering the cost of vital infrastructure upgrades,” the Mayor said.

“The pandemic has shown us that sport is so important to our community’s health and wellbeing.” Deputy Mayor Trent Sullivan said the funding will be used to upgrade the fields, fencing, dugouts, scorers’ box, and lighting at the reserve.

4 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS February 2022

“We want Wallington Recreation Reserve to be a modern, fit-for-purpose sports facility,” the Deputy Mayor said.

“The new facilities will help the Bears to keep hitting home runs and attracting and retaining new members.” In 2021 the Bellarine Bears has fielded seven senior teams, three junior teams and a T-Ball program.

Other grant recipients in the Bellarine Area include $35,300 to the Bellarine Woodworkers Inc, $15,100 to the Clifton Springs Tennis Club, $65,000 to the Leopold Tennis Club, $8500 to the Leopold Angling and Aquatic Club Inc, $26,100 to the Portarlington Cricket Club, and $11,300 to the Bellarine Catchment Management Network Incorporated.

City of Albany in Western Australia has officially opened the upgraded Binalup / Middleton Beach Foreshore following a $9 million redevelopment with funding support provided by the Federal and State Governments together with the City of Albany.

Stage one of the project involved applying coastal protection measures to the foreshore in order to protect the site and allow for the precinct development.

This included a revetment sea wall to assist in preserving the coastline during extreme storm events, stormwater drainage and a concrete wave deflector.

Stage two of the project focused on the public realm and included the development of a promenade between Ellen Cove and Emu Point, new footpath connections, upgraded car park, beach showers and drink fountains.

The project also includes local artist Jhodi Bennet’s mural at Ellen Cove as well as additional local artwork on infrastructure across the precinct. Mayor of Albany Dennis Wellington said the Binalup / Middleton Beach Foreshore is a world-class beach front location.

“Binalup / Middleton Beach is an icon

of Albany. Families have picnicked on the grass, played sport on the sand and swam in the beautiful ocean for generations,” he said.

“These upgrades will ensure the longevity of the space for future families, provide a welcoming and vibrant atmosphere for visitors and increase traffic to local businesses.

“With Development WA in the process of producing six mixed-use Duettes and a four-star hotel in the precinct, there is more to look forward to for Binalup / Middleton Beach.” Chief Executive Officer Andrew Sharpe said he is proud of the redevelopment and creation of the public spaces.

“Our contractors and staff have worked tirelessly to deliver a project of a very high standard for the entire community to enjoy,” he said. “Thank you to the Federal and State Governments for their support in growing our Binalup / Middleton Beach precinct.”

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NEWS

Long-time shire president Stephen Strange, centre, with some of the many volunteers and emergency personel who mobilsed during the fires.

The fire front.

Tackling fire power issue WA’s February fires highlighted the on-going telecommunications problem caused by power outages, Tania Phillips reports.

However, Bruce Rock Shire President and WALGA representative Stephen Strange said the disastrous fires have moved them a step closer to solving the problems.

Cr Strange said anytime power is cut, telecommunications – both landlines and mobiles – cease to work which in the case of the fire in his area on Sunday 6 February, proved particularly frightening.

While the blaze near the town of Bruce Rock and Corrigin in the Eastern Wheat Belt of WA 240km east of Perth, did not result in loss of life but it did destroy livestock and valuable infrastructure.

However, Councillor Strange said it could have been a lot worse.

“An estimated area of 21,000 hectares has been burned out,” he explained.

“We’ve lost sheds, a lot of infrastructure, fences, tanks and stock – it’s yet to be confirmed there may be a couple of houses, not sure if they were inhabited. But no-one has been hurt.

“I was in the fire ground from the early until

2pm and at times you couldn’t see two or three metres in front of you with the sand, dust and the ash and smoke. How no one was hurt it’s just a miracle.

“Our fires are quite different because we don’t have a lot of bush – it’s all farmland.

“The fire on Sunday - it was horrific conditions, gusts of up to 80km an hour, 41 degree heat and the wind from the north. I was alerted and everything kicked into action. A lot of farmer volunteers were there very quickly with their units and the brigades followed. It was very quickly breaking all containment lines. With a fire of this size DEFS, the Department of Fire Emergency Services in WA, took over control, they had people here very quickly – we were still fighting the fire. We were only tackling the sides – we couldn’t get to the front. We had the big jumbo jet do one drop to protect a school and other assets. Then all the other air crews were grounded because of the weather conditions it was just too dangerous.

“We were very lucky, it was heading towards Corrigin our neighbouring town, I don’t know

Benefits of filming A new Australian drama mystery series from Acorn TV, Darby and Joan, has recently wrapped filming on Redlands Coast and other south-east Queensland locations.

Redland City Mayor Karen Williams said the series, produced by Australian production company CJZ, would showcase the rugged beauty and unique grandeur of North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah) to millions of viewers via one of the world’s leading streaming services Acorn TV in 2022.

“We were pleased to welcome 75 cast and crew members to Minjerribah for almost a week in September last year,” she said.

“With Darby and Joan injecting an estimated $6.6 million into the economy and generating approximately 95 jobs for Queensland cast and crew, it’s great to see our local economy receiving a share of this through visitor nights and associated spending by the production.”

Division Two Councillor Peter Mitchell said it was fantastic to see Redlands Coast and Minjerribah forging a reputation as a location of choice for film production.

“Minjerribah is known for its iconic scenery and Darby and Joan will feature several of our naturally wonderful locations including Amity Point, South Gorge, Cylinder Beach and Home Beach,” Cr Mitchell said.

“This is the latest production to film on Minjerribah, with other productions including the blockbuster Aquaman; showing the island is attracting more than just tourists and surfers, it is becoming a location of choice for filmmakers.”

North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah) was a location loved by the series director and producers.

CJZ Head of Drama Claire Tonkin said, “We’ve always talked about this series being a love letter to some of the most beautiful spots in Queensland and, when I first saw where we’d be filming, I literally gasped out loud at its beauty.

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how many people live in Corrigin exactly, I’d say very close to 1000. There was a very slight wind change from the north to the west and it missed the town by three to four kilometres.”

He said one of the more frightening aspects of the blaze was that while fire was racing towards Corrigin the people of the town had no landlines or mobiles to communicate with the outside world.

“We’ve got a situation over here where our telecommunications fail when the power goes off. Corrigin lost their power, which took out all the landlines and all the mobiles and they had a big fire moving towards them.

“We are in the Twenty first century but this happens. We’ve been working on this for the past two to three years with the State Government and Telstra – they are the main provider out here. It’s been slow but out of a disaster certainly the minister, new WA Minister for Emergency Services Stephen Dawson, gave a commitment to tackle those issues head-on.”

He said the problem had popped up in all the weekend’s fires across the state but hopefully it

had brought the issue back to the forefront.

“I think instead of a little step we’ve taken a major step, there are other fires around the state at the moment and this has just come up with every fire,” Cr Strange said.

“Out of a disaster I think we can look forward to some forward steps. I’m a practical person and its logical we’ve got to fix this, we’ve got the solutions and it’s just a matter of getting a commitment.”

It was a tough weekend for the Bruce Rock Shire with all hands to the pump including Cr Strange himself, a farmer in the region, and his deputy shire president who is also the local fire chief.

It was particularly tough for the shire president, a second generation councillor first elected in 1989 who has been council head for the past 25 years. Cr Strange was light-plane crash one week prior to the fire. He had a few nerves was back in the air with DFES to assist in surveying the fire damage with his local knowledge.

Disaster relief for Qld councils Disaster assistance is now available to speed up the recovery of eight regional communities in Western Queensland affected by extreme rainfall and flooding in the past month.

Filming on North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah).

“Shooting there was a wonderful experience for the whole cast and crew, and I can’t wait for the audience in the rest of Australia and around the world to see it onscreen.”

Roger Paul, location manager for Darby and Joan, said: “I’ve spent years in Vancouver, Canada, which is renowned for being one of the biggest production hubs on the planet with excellent support infrastructure from the local municipalities, and I can say with real confidence Redlands Coast is without a doubt on a par with them.”

Billed as a rollicking road trip with a mystery twist, Darby and Joan stars Bryan Brown as a retired Australian police officer with a dog as his only companion, and Greta Scacchi as a widowed English nurse.

The pair meet and embark on an epic odyssey in the outback of northern Australia.

An Acorn Original production, Darby and Joan will have its world premiere exclusively on Acorn TV in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Latin America, Australia, Spain, and Portugal among others in 2022.

The series is produced by CJZ with major production investment from Screen Australia in association with Screen Queensland.

Assistance is being provided through the jointly funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).

Minister for Emergency Management and National Recovery and Resilience, Senator the Hon Bridget McKenzie said the DRFA will provide financial support for Barcoo, Boulia, Bulloo, Cloncurry, Diamantina, Mount Isa, Quilpie and Winton Shire Councils to carry out counter disaster operations and restore essential public assets damaged by the event.

“A low-pressure trough developed over much of Western Queensland from 1924 January 2022, leading to heavy rainfall and destructive riverine and flash flooding throughout the region,” Minister McKenzie said.

“This resulted in closed roads and isolated communities, with many property owners stranded at stations until the waters went down, revealing damage to the local road network.

“The disaster assistance announced today will ensure these councils can cover the costs associated with the clean-up and the restoration of public infrastructure, including roads, damaged by the floods,” Minister McKenzie said.

Queensland Minister for Fire and Emergency Services Mark Ryan said the assis-

tance was there to help those communities impacted get back on the road to recovery sooner.

“Even though the rain is welcome in this drought-impacted region, floods can cause an enormous amount of havoc and destruction,” Minister Ryan said.

“With roads being closed due to the floods, food supplies are running low for remote communities like Bedourie, Birdsville and Thargomindah, some of which are without mobile and landline services until crews can get in for repairs.

“Even as wild weather dumped rain across much of the South-East this past week, the Queensland and Australian governments are working closely to ensure no disaster-affected community, including those in the remote parts of Western Queensland, are left to manage disaster clean up on their own.

“We are constantly monitoring the situation across Queensland as the 2021-22 disaster season continues and will work closely with the Commonwealth to support other communities as required,” he said.

Information on disaster assistance can be found on the Australian Government’s Disaster Assist website at www.disasterassist. gov.au and the Queensland Reconstruction Authority’s website at www.qra.qld.gov.au.

February 2022 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS 5

NEWS

Passionate advocate Former WA Local Government Association president Troy Pickard is being remembered as a passionate advocate and a man committed to bringing positive change following his death this past month.

Former WA Local Government Association president Troy Pickard.

WALGA Acting President Cr Karen Chappel said Mr Pickard was committed to bringing about positive change for his local communities in Stirling and Joondalup and a passionate advocate for the sector at both the State and National level as President of WALGA and the Australian Local Government Association.

“Across his 15 years of services as an Elected Member, Troy made an immense contribution to the local communities of Stirling and Joondalup, both as a Councillor and in leadership roles of Deputy Mayor and Mayor,” Cr Chappel said.

“Beyond this local impact, Troy made great strides in representing the WA Local Government sector in his roles as WALGA President from 2010 and 2015 and Deputy President for three years prior; and on the national stage as ALGA President from 2014 to 2016 and Deputy President from 2010 to 2014.”

Cr Chappel said Mr Pickard was committed to achieving positive outcomes for the Lo-

cal Government sector; with his persistence and influence being of great benefit in funding negotiations, with hundreds of millions of dollars in funding secured for Local Government across many portfolios such as roads, libraries, community infrastructure, waste and environment initiatives.

“Troy also achieved significant wins for the Local Government sector in his role as ALGA President including securing $1.1 billion dollars in additional road funding, which formed the biggest single funding commitment from any Federal Government since Federation to the Local Government sector at the time,” she said.

“Never one to back away from difficult situations, Troy worked hard to establish strong relationships with our stakeholders whilst still pursuing the best outcome for Local Government with determination and tenacity.

“He will be sadly missed and we offer our condolences to Troy’s family and friends.”

Orange mourns long-serving councillor Orange Mayor Jason Hamling has paid tribute to former Councillor Glenn Taylor who died on 29 January. “Glenn was a passionate advocate for the city and his years of community service are testament to that,” Mayor Hamling said.

“On behalf of Orange City Council I pass on our condolences to his family and friends.

Many of those friends are within the walls of council including current and former councillors and staff.”

Mr Taylor was elected to Orange City Council in 1995 and did not recontest the election in 2021 due to ill-health.

According to the Mayor Mr Taylor was one of the city’s longest serving councillors.

“Glenn was heavily involved in numerous council projects and initiatives,” Cr Hamling said.

“He didn’t talk about the achievements and it was always about making the city better. But I know there were two key projects he was proud of.

“In 2013 Glenn was the catalyst for a petition to transition the Orange rescue helicopter service to 24 hours. More than 30,000 people signed and it was tabled in the NSW Parliament and today we have a 24-hour service.

“Glenn was also heavily involved in lobbying for the North Orange Bypass that secured the first $6.5 million NSW grant that kicked off the project.”

Cr Jeff Whitton a close friend and ally of

Mr Taylor said his passing is a great loss to the city.

“Glenn willingly served the community of Orange for almost a third of his life,” Cr Whitton said.

“During his time as a councillor, Glenn was instrumental in securing many of the major infrastructures assets for Orange. From his first day to his last day as a councillor, Glenn always said to me, ‘Jeff as councillors we are here to serve the people of Orange as their voice in Council’.

“His stance was that as civic leaders, we need to do the simple common sense things and that services build prosperity and create jobs so our children and their children can live, work and raise a family and stay in Orange if they choose to, nothing more and nothing less, it is not about what we want it is about the people.

“Councillor Glenn Taylor, Grover to his close friends, was revered and respected on all sides of politics, especially those who knew how to play the game. When it came to getting the best outcomes for Orange and our region it did not matter if he was speaking to a Prime Minister, Premier or Minister, from Labor or the Coalition, it was all about getting

outcomes for Orange.”

“For the past 26 years, Glenn played a major role in building Orange and the reputation we have today. “He touched so many lives along this journey, he has served his beloved community well; it’s his time to rest.”

Mr Taylor was born and raised in Orange and went to De La Salle College, graduating in 1976. He was a councillor for 26 years and deputy mayor seven times. He was 60 years old.

In a publication released last year to mark 75-year anniversary of Orange as a city Glenn Taylor was quoted: “I am incredibly proud to have served the people of Orange.”

The flags in front of the Civic Centre were flown at half-mast as a mark of respect.

Glenn Taylor.

Four-council transport plan welcomed Brighton Council has broadly welcomed the Greater Hobart Transport Vision and their requests for support from the State Government.

The Greater Hobart Transport Vision includes measures to increase the use of buses, progressively upgrade and add to the cycle network and expanded ferries routes.

“We commend the metro councils for their submission and will enthusiastically work with them and the State Government to help bring as much as possible of the vision to fruition and to ensure the benefits are as widely felt across the region as possible,” Brighton Council Mayor Leigh Gray said.

“Brighton wants to play its part in making the Hobart City Deal a transformative success over the coming years.”

6 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS February 2022

The Mayor said the plan would benefit the Brighton region.

“A large proportion of people from Brighton, Sorell, Southern Midlands and the Derwent Valley, commute into the metro area of Hobart for work, areas that include some of Greater Hobart’s highest growth suburbs,” Mayor Gray said.

“The proposals would greatly benefit these people, giving them more choice, opportunities and potentially save them time and money.”

Brighton is one of the fastest growing municipalities in the Tasmania, and as much as 70 per cent of its workforce commutes to Hobart

or Glenorchy for work.

Mayor Gray said, A protected cycleway all the way from Brighton into and throughout the city could easily be achieved in the coming few years, with not too many gaps left in the main route.

“As pointed out by Bob Clifford, an expanded ferry service could have stops at Old Beach and Bridgewater or Gagebrook and could even extend to New Norfolk easily once the new Bridgewater Bridge is completed,” the Mayor said.

With the support of State Government and partnership with the other three Southcentral

Sub-region councils (Derwent Valley, Central Highlands and Southern Midlands) Brighton Council recently established a regional employment hub – Southcentral Workforce Network.

A key issue limiting education, training and employment is the accessibility and cost of transport.

“Many in our community depend on bus services, but the cost, frequency and scheduling can be prohibitive,” Mayor Gray said.

Park and ride facilities at key outer nodes can make a huge difference to the efficiency and attractive of bus services.”

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NEWS

Nurturing small towns We’ve been doing quite a bit of work in small towns of late, to draw out their competitive advantages. The task often involves scoping new tourism infrastructure to attract tourist traffic and thereby create local jobs.

THE GOOD OIL ROD BROWN

and people to fight for decent internet services, roads, health services, sports facilities etc.

People need to be kept in the loop, meetings need to be arranged, minutes need to be prepared.

Business chambers and/or local councils generally play this role in the bigger towns and cities. But small towns can’t justify business chambers, and local councils are too cashstrapped to employ a development officer to every small town within their jurisdictions. Accordingly the organisational function is left to volunteers, who become frustrated and burnt out.

The solution?

The longer term option is to somehow shape federal and state government policy to better appreciate - as in Europe - the role of small towns.

The short-term option is for local councils to temporarily deploy a development officer to a small town when a significant investment opportunity is in play. This is where coordination of effort is critical.

Conventions and training facilities I was recently talking to a motel proprietor in

Barcaldine Mayor Sean Dillon. a struggling town outside Canberra. She was lamenting the drop off-in business. The motel has a nice training room that was regularly used by federal agencies, but it no longer happens.

‘Why don’t you make a pitch to them?’ I asked. ‘Government agencies ALWAYS have decent funding for staff training. Just make a pitch to them!’

She wasn’t convinced, so I added the fact that my old Department made a point of convening staff training sessions in towns within two hours travel to Canberra.

It’s all about getting people out of their comfort zones. Places like Cooma, Bateman’s Bay and Bowral were often used.

Fast forward to 2022 and the same logic applies. I figure if a hospitality provider in your community is looking for new business, has decent training facilities within a couple of hours of a city, then they should ponder this.

It doesn’t need to be a capital city - places like Albury, Ballarat, Townsville etc. are home to

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It’s a long haul and it’s frustrating because of the lack of recognition from federal and state governments of small towns. I’m not having a cheap shot at governments or politicians here.

The simple truth is that our city dwellers dominate government policy-making. As a result, there is no spatial policy hierarchy like in other countries.

To explain, in Europe there is often a four tier system of government, plus a real appreciation of the economic and social interdependencies between small towns, regional towns, regional cities and major cities.

This is accompanied by national policies that recognise the role and importance of small communities in nurturing small business and in managing the environment. The Scandinavian nations plus France, Germany, Italy and the UK all feature this.

For example, the UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has a specific Rural Proofing Policy. It is basically about UK agencies and staff properly understanding the impacts of policies in rural areas. The policy aims to ensure that rural areas receive fair and equitable policy outcomes.

We have nothing like that in Australia.

Development officers!

This lack of recognition of small towns feeds into the perpetual resourcing problems that rural councils face. In turn, these councils are not able to deploy development officers to their small communities.

I have a firm view that these people are critically important.

The reason is that regional economic development requires strong coordination of effort in other words, the organisation of businesses

big federal/state agencies with major training agendas.

So my suggestion is to pull on a suit or dress, team up with a representative of your local Chamber of Commerce, and get moving.

One under-appreciated advantage of getting government employees to your community is that they will remember and appreciate it, and become quiet ambassadors for years to come.

Barcaldine We’ve been alerted to a fascinating proposal for a renewable energy park in Barcaldine, midway between Mt Isa and Townsville.

The economic driver is solar energy, but the idea is for 6-7 downstream components e.g. char production, tyre recycling, essential oils, hydrogen/urea production, vanadium, horticulture.

It really is brilliant in theory.

The project proponent is Sunshot Energy, with eminent economist Ross Garnaut as Chairman. He also swings political influence which might explain the Queensland Government support (admittedly modest so far).

Seven local councils are involved. The tyre recycling looks doubtful because of heavy transport costs of a low-value product, but the higher-value products (char, essential oils) could offset the tyranny of distance.

This region has untapped potential in solar energy production, and there is a huge amount of solar capacity being brought on line.

I reported before Christmas that Chinchilla, further south, has a solar farm, with FrenchIndian global expertise, with one million solar panels! And more projects in the pipeline. This is a project worth tracking.

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February 2022 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS 7

COUNCILOR PROFILES

Cr Karen Chappel Morawa Shire WA Morawa is a Shire with a scenic beauty and ambiance of a truly agricultural district and located only 4 hours drive from the city of Perth, Western Australia. The Shire of Morawa has many attractions, both historic and modern, that make it a wonderful and welcoming place to visit.

Morawa is dependent on broad acre Agriculture, with a strong history of Mining. Iron Ore was first mined at Koolanoooka Hills (20kms east) in 1961,and the first shipment of Ore left Geraldton in 1966.

Our district is a tourism destination from May to September as we have the most beautiful display of Wildflowers. We are often in summer months the hottest place in Australia, always in the top five.

My favourite part of living here is to see our farmers have a bountiful year, our community thrives on good years and struggles on those that are dry. I love watching the seasons change, to me the seasons are defined by our cropping programs. It starts with watching the dust as many farmers are dry seeding to the first rains when you can smell the richness of the soil through to seeing the little shades of green come through. The greatest pleasure is to see these glimmers of green grow into beautiful crops that then turn golden in September /October.

Second generation Local Government I was first Elected to the Shire in May 2005.

I had been the Licensee of the local Australia Post for 11 years therefore had a deep knowledge of the community and its challenges. My father had been a Shire President and Councillor of a neighbouring LG so I understood the commitment and value of the role.

In my daily life I am the Accounts Manager for both our farming partnership and our daughter’s law firm in Perth. I act as relief manager at the Post Office when required, these Post Office days are so valuable in keeping me in contact with the community. I continue to serve the community as a Board Member of Rural West and Desert Blue Connect, organisations that offer free mental health and financial service support.

If I was to have a down day I love to read but one of my greatest loves is cars, I really like a car with grunt, nothing quite like the meaty sound of a V8. I often say if I was to have my life again I would love to be Peter Brock or Daniel Riccardo. It is fortunate that I have a love of driving and cars as I spend much of my life travelling between Perth and Morawa.

Infrastructure Maintenance critical Our Council like many others is struggling to maintain assets and a high level of service delivery with limited resources. We have more than 800 kms of roads, our agricultural industry is dependent on road transport so the maintenance of this infrastructure is critical and has to be balanced by investment in community infrastructure to meet liveability expectations of the whole community.

The Shire of Morawa is currently reviewing its Community Strategic Plan, this we hope will identify what the future will hold. Each generation sees the world differently and must take responsibility for their communities future needs, having vision is valued but seeing that vision realised is the hard work.

Morawa has a bold plan for a Mountain Bike Trail around the Koolanooka Hills, it would be perfect for the winter months. The challenge is of course bringing all the project partners together along with the funding.

Local Government rewarding If I was to describe my successes in Local Government, the first would be is to still have community support after 12 years as Shire President and second to be a Life Member of WALGA. I have served Local Government at all levels with diligence, Zone President and State Councillor WALGA since 2009, Board Member of Local Govt Advisory Board 2011- 2021 and MidWest Development Commission 2018 to now.

At present I am the Acting President of WALGA after serving as the Deputy President for nearly two years and a Board member of ALGA. A Councillor offers you as an individual the opportunity to work with others to find solutions to all sorts of issues, from ensuring that the opening hours of the swimming pool are in the best interests of all to advocating to Government for critical funding for road safety improvements.

The hardest part of the role is when you as a Cr disappoint your community and not deliver what your Council promised, even if there is mitigating circumstances it just is so awful to let your folk down.

I see my purpose is to serve and I wish to accomplish this by serving the people through Local Government by being genuine, committed and prepared to accept change.

Cr Karen Chappel, Morawa Shire WA.

Mayor Mark Irwin - City of Stirling

The City of Stirling is the largest local government in Western Australia by population, and is one of the most multicultural by country of birth and languages spoken in additional to English.

Our economy includes major industry in Osborne Park, major tourism destinations like Scarborough Beach, 25,000 small businesses and one of the largest shopping complexes in Western Australia now that the $800 million redevelopment of Karrinyup Shops is complete, doubling its original size.

Coastal living plays a big role There has barely been a day in my life that hasn’t started at the beach, so I have a particular affinity with the City’s coastline and I am very eager to see it improved and preserved for future generations.

I was first elected as a City of Stirling Councillor for the Coastal Ward in 2015, and was elected as Mayor by my fellow Councillors in October 2017 then re-elected as the City’s first popularly elected Mayor in 2019.

I’ve always loved getting involved in local community groups and sporting clubs, and as Mayor really enjoy connecting with people and discussing local issues. I’m passionate about community service and have been a member of Scarboro SLSC throughout my whole life.

I am very lucky to have recently stepped back from my other role with Surf Lifesaving Western Australia which now allows me to focus solely on the Mayoral role for the City.

I love serving my local community through Surf Lifesaving at the Scarboro SLSC, Covid a Big Challenge I think the biggest challenge over the last two 8 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS February 2022

Mayor Mark Irwin. years for all local governments is to adapt how we do things to the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether this has been in cutting down red tape to improve business opportunities, or complying with proof of vaccination requirements, we’ve had to adapt and innovate to continue delivering through this challenging time.

The City of Stirling’s main strategic projects have been the investment in infrastructure

surround the Stirling City Centre Project, including over $160 million in road works to the Stephenson Avenue Extension Project and the progression of our $2 million business case into Trackless Trams.

These two projects represent the backbone of more than a decade of planning that will see us secure our position as Perth’s second CBD. Successful Trackless Tram request The success of our request for Common-

wealth funding for a business study into Trackless Tram has been one of the most exciting developments of the last few years, as it really is a big, bold vision for the City which would represent a first for a local government, if not for the whole of Australia then certainly for Western Australia.

What makes a successful councillor and dealing with hours?

I think to be a successful Councillor you have to be actively involved and interested in the progress of your local community, and the best part of the job is being able to make a real difference whether that be fixing local problems or seeing big projects finalised.

The most challenging part is certainly the hours, which isn’t really well understood. There is rarely a night that I’m not representing the City at an event, or attending meetings and committees, but that is part of the role and certainly easier for me given I don’t have a young family with kids waiting for me to come home.

What’s next?

I would love to see the Stirling City Centre project really launch forward over the next few years, after so many years of planning and preparing. I really do feel like we are now at the proverbial ‘pointy’ end of the projects, which Stephenson Avenue Phase Two beginning this year, and a Federal Election coming up in May where we will be advocating for significant investments in Stirling’s infrastructure.

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NEWS

Strategy sets privacy aim FAISA SCCISP | Director, Ground Up Consulting | Privacy Expert specialising in smart cities and critical infrastructure, IoT and digital transformation, as Nicole Stephensen explains.

Councils have access to significant amounts of personal information; that is, information that identifies or could lead to the identification of a person.

This is important to consider as we move toward ‘smart cities’, where technology is leveraged to combine, analyse, learn from and make decisions based on data, much of which is the personal variety.

Councils working to build urban and rural centres that are efficient, safe, connected and sustainable may look to harness new technologies that promise oodles of data without considering the implications to a person’s privacy.

Most Councils are aware that privacy rules apply to them, and many consider this to be part of their ‘compliance burden’ in a manner akin to human resource management and financial accountability (albeit often further down the food chain in terms of importance).

It bears reminding that privacy, in practice,

encompasses more than compliance-driven management of complaints or access to information requests.

Privacy is about trust, and upholding community expectations of fair, reasonable and appropriate collection and handling of personal information.

When conducting day-to-day business, or embarking on cool digital (or even analogue) initiatives, privacy must feature as a key touchstone in decision-making from the outset. No one is going to trust any decision of Council that treats privacy as an add-on or, heaven forbid, a spare part!

Good decisions start with having a strategic presence for what matters (in this case, privacy). For Councils, strategy is what sets apart the values and aspirations that are directed and supported by the leadership team from everything else. Mapping back to strategy is what lends credibility to projects and initiatives.

Establishing and implementing a privacy strategy: 1. Ensures Councils consider and document their views about privacy 2. Sets big picture objectives about privacy for those in the organisation to refer to 3. Provides focus and direction for Councils to make better decisions about the collection and handling of personal information 4. Ensures projects and initiatives involving personal information are tied back to something solid (the privacy strategy) 5. Enhances privacy culture and builds internal awareness 6. Encourages community trust that their personal information will be collected and handled appropriately, and 7. If published, provides transparency and openness with the community about how their Council handles personal information.

How a privacy strategy is constructed –

what it looks like – must work for the size, location and resources of your Council. It does not have to be particularly sophisticated or corporate in appearance. It does, however, need to give impetus to staff and have meaning for the community you serve. Consider, for example, the City of Darwin, which recently completed a large program of privacy uplift, including making clear on a dedicated webpage their strategic ‘Approach to Privacy’ . Glossy? No. But it does walk, talk and quack like a strategy duck.

Sometimes good strategy has perks. Darwin won a Smart Cities Council ANZ award in 2020 for their privacy policy leadership in the Switching on Darwin program. City of Melbourne, too, is award-winning in respect of privacy, with their strategic approach to privacy for smart city ‘test bed’ initiatives acknowledged in a 2021 ACCOM award to Nokia and the Council jointly for use of Artificial Intelligence to improve the city experience in Melbourne’s iconic laneways.

Cairns seeks help to revitalise the CBD Creatives, budding entrepreneurs and startups will have the opportunity to boost their exposure through a new Cairns City Council initiative.

Renew Cairns aims connect start-ups and creatives with landlords to secure shop fronts in high profile parts of the Cairns CBD allowing them to trial their business ideas.

The project is being delivered in partnership with Renew Australia, which works with own-

ers and agents of vacant properties to borrow their spaces on a rolling 30-day license.

An information session was held for creatives, collectives, small business owners and community members to learn more, and find out if their idea or project might be eligible for space in the city.

Mayor Bob Manning said Renew Cairns would bring creativity, foot traffic and activity into the Cairns city centre while providing op-

Inclusive playspace Liverpool City Council has officially opened Liverpool’s first Variety Livvi’s Place, a playspace promoting inclusivity among children of all ages and abilities, at Lt Cantello Reserve in Hammondville.

The playspace features an inclusive seesaw and custom-built embankment slide with an inclusive exit – both the first to be installed in Australia.

Mayor of Liverpool Ned Mannoun was joined by Liverpool City Councillors, Members of Parliament and Council staff for the ribboncutting ceremony which was followed by a barbecue for members of the community.

Meanwhile, local children enjoyed the new state-of-the-art play equipment for the first time, including a custom-built Bespoke tower with an eight-metre-long slide, pod swing and inclusive carousel and trampolines.

Mayor Mannoun expressed how proud Council was to deliver a playspace with Australian-first inclusive play equipment, where fun is accessible for everyone.

“Working with our fantastic partners, Variety – the Children’s Charity NSW/ACT and Proludic, every step of the way, we have brought the vision and spirit of Livvi’s Place to life in Liverpool.

“There was a huge amount of anticipation around the delivery of this playspace and many members of the community have been closely following Council’s progress.

“Through the ongoing challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and unfavourable weather, we have worked incredibly hard to deliver this project as efficiently as possible.

“This playspace already means so much to so many families in this neighbourhood and surrounding communities across Liverpool,” Mayor Mannoun said.

Professional party entertainer and Wattle Grove mother-of-three Belinda Proctor expects to visit Variety Livvi’s Place in Hammondville at least once a week.

Her youngest Flynn is six years old and was diagnosed as non-verbal with Level Three Autism when he was just 18 months old.

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She expressed that for many families in the community, like hers, who have children with additional needs, family time is often difficult and recalls many instances where Flynn has fled playspaces because he was feeling uncomfortable.

“Taking Flynn to a public playspace can be an overwhelming experience for both Flynn and I,” Ms Proctor said.

“Flynn has no true sense of danger so it can be exhausting, as a parent, to have to constantly watch, shadow and supervise him during playtime.”

Ms Proctor has visited Livvi’s Place playspaces in other Local Government Areas and said she was very excited to hear Hammondville was getting one of its own.

She said inclusive playspaces like Variety Livvi’s Place are crucial for the safety, education and social integration of autistic children but can have broader benefits for all children and families.

“It will make the world of difference for children with additional needs like Flynn who will be able to play safely with other children of all ages and abilities and not be restricted to his backyard most of the time.

“It also creates crucial opportunities for building connections and understanding among other families about the challenges faced by many families who have children with additional needs.

“If I have friends who want to catch up with us as a family, I now have somewhere safe to recommend we get together. Usually, we would have to miss out or split the family up so one parent was at home looking after Flynn at all times.”

Mayor Mannoun concluded that the delivery of this inclusive playspace is another step in Council’s journey towards making Liverpool an even more inclusive City that enriches the lives of residents both young and old.

portunities for new businesses and community initiatives to test their ideas at minimal cost.

“By working with property owners to activate vacant or under-utilised commercial spaces, Renew Cairns can generate activity through occupancy, present these locations in a vibrant and active light, and offer spaces to people who make or create,” said Cr Manning. “The purpose of the project is to help creative entrepreneurs and commu-

nity groups to trial their business, project, or ideas in a commercial setting, and increase foot traffic and interest in central city spaces from locals and visitors.”

Newly-appointed local Renew Cairns project manager, Phil Druery, said similar initiatives had been successful in other part of the country.

“We are looking forward to similar successes for Cairns creative enterprises.”

NOT SURE WHERE TO BEGIN WITH PRIVACY IN YOUR COUNCIL?

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February 2022 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS 9

NEWS

Roper Gulf coping with biosecurity The Australian Federal Minister for Health, Greg Hunt issued Section 477 of the Commonwealth Biosecurity Act 2015, which enforces the Covid-19 Biosecurity Zones on most of the Top End on 3 January.

The move came after the number of positive Covid-19 cases continued to rise in the Northern Territory and in a number of the remote Aboriginal communities, including the Roper Gulf region.

The Roper Gulf Biosecurity Zones were

Gulf Ward. The Act restricts travel between Biosecurity Zones to essential reasons only and aims to help slow down the spread of Covid-19 in remote Aboriginal communities.

Biosecurity Zones will be in place until 17 February 2022, with potential for extension.

Roper Gulf Regional Council acting Chief Executive Officer Marc Gardner said the council was “committed to the health and safety of our people and Council wants to assure the public that all staff are taking all the appropriate precautions to ensure the safety of those who reside in the region”.

“Council has continued to restrict staff travel within the Roper Gulf region and from Katherine to essential reasons only so that essential Council services can still run in our communities and townships. “All staff must perform a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) and receive a negative result on the day they plan to enter the Biosecurity Zone and this must be approved by Council’s management and Covid-19 Safety team.”

Roper Gulf’s Mataranka offices.

Mr Gardner said Council’s highest priority is the safety of the communities and importantly their staff.

“We are supportive of the measures that have been put in place and will go above and beyond the safety requirements to minimise any risk of Covid spreading to our communities,” he said.

Due to the rising number of positive cases in the region, the council was also experiencing staff shortages in a number of their communities.

The council was looking into what needed to be scaled back or temporarily closed down while staff isolate or recover from Covid-19.

“Our commitment is to ensure continuation of services, such as rubbish collection, still occurs in all our communities despite the current constraints,” Mr Gardner said.

“The current measures in place do not largely affect Council’s operations as the majority of our workforce are essential and meet the requirements of the current directives” Mr Gardner said.

Pledge on disaster prevention The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) has welcomed a pre-election commitment from Federal Labor to invest up to $200 million per year in disaster prevention and resilience.

President Linda Scott said that ALGA had asked all political parties to support such a program through its 2022 Federal Election Platform.

“Currently, less than five percent of our nation’s disaster funding goes towards mitigation and community resilience measures,” Cr Scott said.

“This needs to increase to make sure that our communities – particularly those where exposure to fires and floods is greatest – are better prepared for the increasing number of emergency events we’re seeing.”

“Aside from the spiralling human toll, the economic costs of natural disasters now far

exceed insured losses.”

“However, independent analysis we’ve commissioned shows that a $200 million per year investment in disaster mitigation would create up to 1833 new jobs and add $280 million to our nation’s GDP.” Cr Scott said that local governments around Australia would also welcome this pre-election funding commitment.

“We make a substantial contribution to disaster relief, recovery, and management, through investing in evacuation centres, fire breaks, and telecommunications improvements,” Cr Scott said.

“If local governments are to reduce and manage the impacts of future natural disaster events on our communities, we need increased support and certainty of funding.”

“Physical mitigation measures such as flood levees and stormwater catchments can be expensive, especially for small rural, coastal, and riverine councils with small ratepayer bases.”

“It is vitally important that we help our communities adapt to and address the impacts of climate change, and new disaster mitigation funding will help accelerate this work,” she said.

Law council calls for reforms The Law Council of Australia’s pre-budget submission is calling for a full review of the resourcing needs of the judicial system.

“All Australians have the right to seek justice, but this right doesn’t count for much if it cannot be exercised. Ensuring this right for every person underpins each of the recommendations contained in the Law Council’s Pre-Budget Submission,” Law Council of Australia President, Mr Tass Liveris explained.

“We want the Australian Government to commit to this review and to providing resources if areas that require additional support are identified.

“In addition, we would like to see increased allocations in the 2022-23 Budget for our courts, commissions and tribunals to enable them to fill vacancies, appoint additional judges and reduce backlogs.

“Legal problems commonly occur in society, however an unacceptable proportion of 10 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS February 2022

our population are disadvantaged and vulnerable in their interactions with our legal system.

“Increasing baseline ongoing funding for Legal Aid Commissions, Community Legal Centres, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services and Family Violence Prevention Legal Services by at least $400 million is critical to addressing current service gaps.

“Australians living outside capital cities are one group in particular who can face difficulties in accessing legal services. The Australian Government should allocate adequate, longterm funding for legal assistance services in regional, rural and remote communities and investigate funding for the development of incentive programs that encourage solicitors to take up employment in these communities.”

The Law Council’s submission also seeks to ensure an improved family law system through implementation of the remaining Australian Law Reform Commission’s recommendations in its Inquiry into the Family Law System, including sustained funding of court-based initiatives that aim to facilitate early dispute resolution, such as the Lighthouse Project, the Priority Property Pools under $500,000 program, and the Family Dispute Resolution program.

“While still out for consultation, we hope to see funds set aside in this year’s Budget for implementation of the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and Children,” Mr Liveris said.

Contact: Kristen Connell, P. 0400 054 227, E. kristen@talkforcemedia.com.au

Charity issues St Vincent de Paul Society’s National Council has highlighted the key issues affecting Australians today as they try and cope with the Pandemic.

The group has released its submission to The Treasury ahead of this year’s Federal Budget, listing policy issues which, if addressed, they believe will significantly improve the lives of many people doing it tough, while stimulating economic growth.

National President Claire Victory said at the very least the full Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment must be reinstated, the base rate of JobSeeker must increase, there must be an urgent additional investment in social and community housing and there must be more humane help for people on temporary visas.

‘We know that over the last two years Australia’s 47 billionaires have doubled their collective wealth, while millions of others are struggling to make ends meet.

‘This growing inequity must be addressed,’ Ms Victory said.

The National Council is calling on the Federal Government to: JobSeeker and Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment Reinstate the Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment to $750 a week (up from $450) Implement all 27 recommendations made by the Community Affairs References Committee in its final report on The Adequacy of Newstart and related payments, April 2020 Establish an independent body to provide advice on the equity of income support system and rates of payments and pensions Increase the base rate of working age payments from $44 to $67 a day Index working age payments twice a year in line with wage growth and CPI Increase the earnings threshold for income support payments from $150 to $300 per fortnight.

People on temporary visas Make status resolution support services (SRSS) available to visa holders based on need, including for people waiting for assessments or review of their claims for protection Review the existing SRSS eligibility criteria and reinstate funding to at least 2017-18 levels of $140 million a year (an additional $120 million a year) Make SRSS and special benefit payments available to full time students on temporary/bridging visas Social and Community housing Implement all 35 recommendations in the final Report, Parliamentary Inquiry into Homelessness in Australia (July 2021) Establish an independent advisory body to develop a cross-jurisdictional 10-year National Housing Strategy with key stakeholders, underpinned by a $10 billion Social and Affordable Housing Fund Review Commonwealth Rent Assistance and increase the maximum rate by 50 per cent Reinstate the National Rental Affordability Scheme or find a suitable replacement scheme Fund the National Low Income Energy Productivity Program ($2 billion in 2021-22) ‘The impact of poverty in Australia is largely borne by people on social security payments, people who rent, single parents and people who cannot find enough work to make ends meet,’ Ms Victory said.

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

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ADVERTORIAL

Winners NSW local government awards 2021 During an on-line Awards ceremony Walgett

not expected to endure.

Shire Council were announced winners of

amazing outcomes have been achieved

the NSW Local Government “Best on-going

with the programs and initiatives engaging 2800 plus young people across the Shire

commitment Youth Week 2021” achieving this prestigious award in front

However, some

in 43 individual events delivered over a

of much

three-week period this year.

larger city-based Councils in Camden and

The final

evaluation & acquittals were submitted

Fairfield.

to the NSW Government funding bodies and Council’s youth and community staff

It was exciting to be informed mid-October,

waiting anxiously for the announcement

Walgett Shire Council had been named as

of finalists.

finalists in three of a possible four categories for the Youth Week 2021 Local Government Awards. This outstanding result places the succession of NSW awards at 14 years in which Walgett Shire Council youth and

Plans and discussions have already begun in

Local youth events had great attendance

preparation and a commitment to improve

community teams have been awarded winners of numerous categories of the NSW Local Government Youth Week Awards.

New business connection vital for success RDA Orana has been commissioned to undertake community engagement to support Walgett Shire Council to implement their Collarenebri Economic Development Program.

The overarching goal of the project is to enhance business capacity and connection

and capture youth and young people for the 2022 Youth Week program which will be delivered in April.

Community health is top priority

in the Collarenebri community achieved through the creation and development of local strengths and opportunities.

Below is an image, part of a mural at Denyer Skate Park, Council discovered “Home of the Cod”... that tells the story of the fish traps in Brewarrina and of the links to Collarenebri community.

If you live or work in Collarenebri and would like to participate in the project or our community survey - we’d love to hear from you...

Register your interest @ https://landing. rdaorana.org.au/collarenebri-economicdevelopment-program

Denyer Skate Park murial

The challenges faced to deliver Youth Week 2021 activities and opportunities was an experience our youth teams had

or Phone Kerry Palmer, Project Officer M 0436 026 321.

Council continue to support and partner with agencies and community groups working to improve the health and wellbeing , skill enhancement, and general capacity of the residents across our Shire in their community wellbeing initiative.

Over several years Council has partnered with Rotary and The Ridge Community Gardening Project in Lightning Ridge. The organisers of this group Ana and Nick and group of volunteers work tirelessly in an effort to supply fresh produce to the community of Lifting Ridge.

Following a good season of rainfall and suitable growing conditions the group have pulled off some amazing fruit and vegetables this year. When we spoke with Ana she informed during the last

six months the group estimate they have supplied over 150 boxes of fruit and veg to community members and countless bags of other produce.

They encourage any community members to drop down to the patch and come and engage in some purposeful activity.

A great growing season was experienced

A message from the General Manager New picket fence around number one oval Walgett Completion of Lightning Ridge

footpath/cycleway

in

Council is supporting the OPA 4 community consultation process It’s been a hard slog this past year and I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge our amazing resilient community, it’s been a horrendous and unprecedented time for the community with Covid reaching the shire, months of stay at home restrictions, mouse plague and flooding across parts of the shire.

Also, a big thank you to every-one for rolling up their sleeves and having their vaccinations to keep family, friends and the wider community safe from this insidious disease.

It’s been another big year for Council with many projects continuing to roll out across the entire shire, and I thank the staff for their commitment to the on-going betterment of the Walgett Shire and its many communities.

Below are some of the projects that were completed or commenced during the past twelve months.

Construction of the Lightning Ridge Multipurpose Centre Construction of the Burren Junction Bore Baths amenities Completion of the Walgett Weir Completion of the Leonard Pavilion and amenities upgrade Walgett Showground Facilitation and lobbying both the NSW State and Commonwealth Governments for a heavy vehicle permit system in the opal fields Historic interpretive signage for Walgett CBD New children’s playground for Gray Park Walgett New fencing at Lightning Ridge Spider Brown Oval New playground completed for Come-ByChance village

Jimmy Little mural Walgett water tower Contribution to new PCYC for Walgett youth centre The 21/22 year is also shaping up to be another big one with just some of new capital work programs and general maintenance of shire infrastructure: New Artesian Hot Springs Pool in the Collarenebri main street with an adjoining park and amenities.

New Footpaths and drainage in Kaolin Street Lightning Ridge.

New toilet block and showers for Lions Park Lightning Ridge.

New playground and toilet block at Grawin.

Reconstruction of the Come By Chance Road, this is one of the largest roadwork projects undertaken by Council in recent times.

New toilet blocks and showers for Trevallion and Apex Parks Walgett Construction of a new cooling tower and chlorination facility in Lightning Ridge.

Council have embarked on a “Main Street

Beautification” program which is open to all businesses in Walgett, Collarenebri and Lightning Ridge: 1. Removal of bars from shop windows and doors and installation of appropriate crim safe, or like security doors and window covers. Under this program Council will reimburse to a maximum of $4,000 per premise upon completion and presentation of receipts.

2. Shop front painting program whereby Council will reimburse the owner to a maximum of $1,000 per premise toward the purchase of paint. Labour and other costs related to painting the shop fronts is the responsibility of the owner.

Lastly, our sporting ovals, town entries, parks and gardens look absolutely amazing, a real credit to the Council staff who are going above and beyond, to make sure the towns and villages are clean, tidy and presentable for local residents and the many visitors that are expected in the coming months.

Michael Urquhart, General Manager 12535503-SN07-22

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February 2022 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS 11

RURAL AND REGIONAL

Walgett welcomes first female mayor Councillor Jane Keir has become the first female mayor in Walgett Shire’s history.

Cr Keir was elected unopposed at the first meeting of the newly formed Walgett Shire Council in early January.

She has a distinguished local government career serving as both a councillor and deputy mayor previously.

Mayor Keir said she was excited and honoured to take on the role as Mayor of Walgett Shire Council in 2022 and thanked her fellow Councillors for electing her.

Two nominations were received for the position of Deputy Mayor and Councillor Greg Rummery was successful after conducting a ballot.

Priorities for the new Council will include economic development, tourism and completing key infrastructure projects that aim to make Walgett Shire a great place to live, work, visit and invest.

“We wish our new leadership team well and look forward to working with them to achieve great outcomes for the entire community,” Council General Manager Mike Urquhart said.

Grit and heart Rural City of Wangaratta’s Grit and Resilience team are delivering their third Heartbeat event this February.

The Grit and Resilience Program is a community-led initiative that aims to better address and improve mental health and wellbeing, and support for those affected by suicide in the Rural City of Wangaratta.

Community members from across the Rural City are invited to join the Heartbeat event for a chat about the program and find out how to get involved.

“For the upcoming Heartbeat, the team has some great mental health resources to give out and a travelling community art project we’ll be asking people to add to,” Program Coordinator Bek Nash-Webster said.

“There will also be the chance to go in the draw to win two tickets to see the band U Can Cry perform at the Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre and Convention Centre,” she said.

“There are so many opportunities to get involved, I encourage all members of our community who are looking for opportunities for social connection or who are interested in community mental health and wellbeing to come and meet with the team for a chat.”

Music hero Mayor Jane Keir.

Exchange moves up the list The Northern Rivers Livestock Exchange (NRLX) continues on its path to becoming one of the leading facilities not only in NSW, but across Australia.

The latest Meat and Livestock Australia saleyard survey moved the NRLX to the number three spot in NSW, with cattle throughput at 103,700. Dubbo held top spot with 115,836, followed by Wagga Wagga 113,401.

NRLX Operations Manager Brad Willis said the positive relationships being built between all stakeholders who use the facility were an important factor in this result.

As the current boom in cattle prices showed no signs of abating, Mr Willis said the NRLX was well positioned as a modern, industry-leading facility which vendors and buyers could rely on.

NRLX Operations Manager Brad Willis.

New team for Goldenfields The Goldenfields Water Board welcomed three new members to the board during their first meeting late last month.

It was the first time since local government elections the newly formed board had met.

New members to the board included, Coolamon Shire Cr Alan White, Hilltops Cr John Piper, and Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council Cr Abb McAlister.

Re-elected members to the board included, Temora Shire Cr Graham Sinclair, Bland Shire Cr Liz McGlynn, Junee Shire Cr Bob Callow, Narrandera Shire Cr Kevin Morris, and Hilltops Cr Matthew Stadtmiller.

The Board appointed Cr Matthew Stadtmiller as the new Chairperson, with Cr Bob Callow appointed as the new Deputy Chair.

Chairperson Cr Stadtmiller welcomed his appointment, stating he was humbled by his 12 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS February 2022

election to Chairperson and was looking forward to working with the new Board.

“I am humbled by the support of my fellow board members, and I hope to follow in the footsteps of our previous Chairperson, Mr Dennis Palmer, retired councillor for CootamundraGundagai Regional Council,” Cr Stadtmiller said.

“I will assist Goldenfields Water in conducting a professional business which services the community to the best of its ability, and I look forward to working with the Board, Deputy Chairperson Cr Bob Callow and Goldenfields Water General Manager, Aaron Drenovski.”

The Board will meet again on the 24th of February 2022.

Cr Matthew Stadtmiller.

Local Iwadja man Damien Narul is a bit of a hero to the younger members of his community, helping to bring singer-songwriter Kennyon Brown.

The Minjilang and Warruwi communities, particularly the young ones, were excited by Brown’s recent visit to the region.

The West Arnhem Regional Council’s (WARC) Youth, Sport and Recreation team took the opportunity to thank Damien Narul, who is a local Iwadja man.

Damien is currently upskilling himself in the music industry aiming to become a professional DJ. According to WARC, throughout his journey he has met great people that have become family to his community.

WARC Well-being coordinator Leah Holt said Damien had grown a great connection with Misimoa Auelua and the famous Kennyon Brown who have become very close brothers to him.

“Through their bond, we have had the opportunity to have Kennyon Brown visit both of our communities Warruwi and Minjilang,” Holt said.

“Thanks to Damien and Misimoa for the memorable moment you have created with bringing Kennyon over to us”.

To celebrate the visit, the community held an opening ceremony and performed their traditional singing and dancing for Kennyon.

The youth performed a freestyle dance for him, and 18 of our young men and women performed a dance to one of his songs ‘Senorita’.

In support of the event, the Night Patrol team cooked two pigs in a traditional underground oven, and the Youth, Sport and Recreation cooked salad rice and turtle stew.

The Minjilang community thanked Minjilang ALPA CDP for funding the flights for Kennyon and his team as well as funding the food for the opening ceremony of the night.

Leah and the Youth, Sport and Recreation team would like to wish Kennyon all the best for the future.

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RURAL AND REGIONAL

Media lab library boost A $1.507 million development will soon provide the Northern Victorian town of Kerang’s Sir John Gorton Library with a dedicated media lab and fully accessible, contemporary meeting spaces.

It is hoped the new area will provide flexibility and creativity for new and emerging library and community programs.

Victorian State Minister for Local Government, Shaun Leane MP announced the transformational ‘The Glasshouse @ The Gannawarra’ project will proceed thanks to a contribution from the Living Libraries Infrastructure Program 2021 - Major Works program.

To be built on the western side of the library, The Glasshouse @ The Gannawarra will feature a media lab designed to support movie making, sound and music recording and other creative digital technology projects, new meeting spaces to support community groups and events, and a glass façade that will enable the opportunity for evening activation using light projection and sound.

The Glasshouse @ The Gannawarra will also celebrate the Gannawarra’s indigenous culture with the inclusion of a fire pit which will be used for Welcome to Country and Smoking ceremonies, as well as a commissioned art piece acknowledging and celebrating local indigenous culture and connection to country.

“The Glasshouse @ The Gannawarra project will create a space for our regional communities to connect, collaborate, create and celebrate together,” Mayor Charlie Gillingham said.

“The innovative media lab will allow the Gannawarra Library Service to plan and deliver youth programs, whilst additional computers and pods will provide the opportunity for students, home-based businesses, and other professionals working from home to access wifi services to connect, meet and network.

“The new meeting spaces will enable residents and visitors to meet either indoor or outdoors, whilst The Glasshouse @ The Gan-

nawarra’s design complements the contemporary design of the Sir John Gorton Library and will integrate the historic water tower, combining the new infrastructure with the old.”

Construction of The Glasshouse @ The Gannawarra is scheduled to begin this year and be completed by mid-2024.

“Council thanks the Victorian State Govern-

ment for their outstanding support of this project and looks forward to this new space being embraced and utilised by the broader regional community,” Mayor Gillingham said.

12535168-DL07-22

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February 2022 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS 13

NEWS

App showcases tourism A new tourism app with artificial intelligence technology unveiled by Southern Downs Regional Council this month aims to share the “good country life and encourage food and wine lovers to explore their stunning landscapes, wineries, attractions” according to Mayor Vic Pennisi.

Mayor Pennisi said the free digitally interactive travel guide is an exciting tool and resource to support the region’s tourism industry and enhance the visitor experience.

“Located just 90 minutes from Brisbane, we’ve seen a real upswing in fellow Aussies exploring our region,” he said.

“The new Southern Downs and Granite Belt tourism app provides an interactive platform for visitors to immerse themselves in the tourist experience and features an exciting artificial intelligence element, the new Dunny Dash Art Trail.

“Following on from the success of silo art trails across regional Australia, we thought we’d try something different and transform our public toilet blocks with painted murals by local artists and create the Dunny Dash Art Trail.

“Using the app, you just need to hold your smart phone up to one of the 12 art murals dotted across the Southern Downs and unique information on the artwork and the artist will be at your fingertips.

“We welcome nearly a million visitors annually, which generates $177.4 million for our regional economy and we see the app as an integral way to enhance the visitor experience both before and during a trip to the Southern Downs with interactive maps, self-guided walking tours, events calendars and of course the unique Dunny Dash Art Trail.

“By building on visitor engagement, we want travellers to experience everything the Southern Downs has to offer and increase the average length-of-stay for the region.

“The app supports our tourism industry, improves the region’s visibility to visitors and grows Council’s existing destination marketing channels.”

The app can be used 100% offline and features up-to-date information on attractions, accommodation, events, restaurants, wineries, travel tips and more. – The Southern Downs and Granite Belt visitor app is proudly funded by the Australian and Queensland Governments through the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).

New app helps promote tourism on the Southern Downs.

Students look to fill the regional gap An uncertain job market and the inability to travel overseas has led to a decline in high school graduates participating in a “gap year.”

However, there are now incentives in place encouraging young Australian’s to head to the regional and rural areas for their gap year.

The Australian Government has partnered with the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) to develop AgCAREERSTART – a gap year program which matches young Australians with an on-farm job in regional Australia while addressing barriers and attitudes to work in Australian agriculture.

Romy Ainslee, who graduated in 2021 from Hawkesbury High school in Lower Portland, NSW, an hour and half from Sydney, is one of those participating in the new program.

“I’ve been stuck in the same place my whole life and I’m keen to get out there and try something different,” Ms Ainslee said.

“I originally started an agriculture course in high school. However, the program ended up not running as not enough people signed up to do it. I’ve had an interest in agriculture ever since.

“With AgCAREERSTART I don’t mind what type of agriculture I end up doing or where I get placed, as long as I get the opportunity to learn some new skills,” Ms Ainslee said.

NFF Chief Executive Officer Tony Mahar said a gap year with the program would give young people the opportunity to explore some of Australia’s most beautiful regions while learning new skills.

“Young people are finishing school in a

world of uncertainty. They still need that wellearned break from study, and they want to gain independence, even more so after almost two years of online lessons and being stuck at home,” Mr Mahar said.

“AgCAREERSTART participants will be matched with an on-farm job, given training and development, and granted access to industry events and experiences with their AgCAREERSTART cohort. They can learn something new in a hands-on way, while gaining valuable life experience.

“If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s to make the most of every opportunity.

Travel may always be possible, but a program like this doesn’t come along every day,” Mr Mahar said.

Through program, participants will be employed under award wages on qualified farms for up to 12 months. Participants will receive safety training, on-farm induction and VET scholarships to upskill on the job. Participants will also be able to access government funded relocation assistance.

The first on-farm placements for new initiative will begin in March 2022.

Applications for both farmer hosts and participants are now open. For more information and to register interest visit www.agcareerstart.com.au An uncertain job market and the inability to travel overseas has led to a decline in

high school graduates participating in a “gap year.”

However, there are now incentives in place encouraging young Australian’s to head to the regional and rural areas for their gap year.

The Australian Government has partnered with the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) to develop AgCAREERSTART – a gap year program which matches young Australians with an on-farm job in regional Australia while addressing barriers and attitudes to work in Australian agriculture.

Romy Ainslee, who graduated in 2021 from Hawkesbury High school in Lower Portland, NSW, an hour and half from Sydney, is one of those participating in the new program. .

“I’ve been stuck in the same place my whole life and I’m keen to get out there and try something different,” Ms Ainslee said.

“I originally started an agriculture course in high school. However, the program ended up not running as not enough people signed up to do it. I’ve had an interest in agriculture ever since.

“With AgCAREERSTART I don’t mind what type of agriculture I end up doing or where I get placed, as long as I get the opportunity to learn some new skills,” Ms Ainslee said.

NFF Chief Executive Officer Tony Mahar said a gap year with the program would give young people the opportunity to explore some of Australia’s most beautiful regions

while learning new skills.

“Young people are finishing school in a world of uncertainty. They still need that wellearned break from study, and they want to gain independence, even more so after almost two years of online lessons and being stuck at home,” Mr Mahar said.

“AgCAREERSTART participants will be matched with an on-farm job, given training and development, and granted access to industry events and experiences with their AgCAREERSTART cohort. They can learn something new in a hands-on way, while gaining valuable life experience.

“If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s to make the most of every opportunity.

Travel may always be possible, but a program like this doesn’t come along every day,” Mr Mahar said.

Through program, participants will be employed under award wages on qualified farms for up to 12 months. Participants will receive safety training, on-farm induction and VET scholarships to upskill on the job. Participants will also be able to access government funded relocation assistance.

The first on-farm placements for new initiative will begin in March 2022.

Applications for both farmer hosts and participants are now open. For more information and to register interest visit www.agcareerstart.com.au

Armidale region aquatic centres get boost The future is looking brighter for aquatic centres across the Armidale region thanks to an ambitious new project between Armidale Regional Council and the Y NSW. The two entities have entered into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a pilot project to enrich the strategic and operational aspects of Council’s pools in Armidale and Guyra.

The Y NSW has been engaged to provide expertise in reviewing and enhancing recreational programs, services and customer experiences to grow the Armidale region aquatic centres and increase patronage, maximise operational capability, minimise operating costs and create a vision for a broader wellness precinct.

Armidale Regional Council General Manager 14 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS February 2022

James Roncon said Council was committed to sustainably improving and expanding its aquatic facilities and services to the community.

“With a history of success in consultancy work in the management of local government owned aquatic centres, we look forward to working with the Y NSW to provide a road map for an improved service delivery at our aquatic facilities,” he said “The Y will work closely with Council and the community to ensure the potential of the existing aquatic centres is realised and that all stakeholders have input into the improvement of our facilities.”

Over the course of the next year, the Y NSW mine the desired programs and services that could be delivered at Monckton Aquatic Centre or Guyra Swimming Pool; Outline a proposal to Armidale Regional Council on an efficient operating model for the two existing centres that will maximise participation and improve operational efficiency; Complete a rigorous feasibility assessment and make recommendations on the conceptual opportunities that will enhance the Council’s aquatic centres, ensuring that these recommendations align with the Council’s strategic plan; Partner with Armidale Re-

gional Council to deliver a leisure and aquatic centre master plan.

The Y NSW Growth and Business Development Head Shane Simmons said the organisation was excited to be partnering with Armidale Regional Council on the pilot project.

“We’re looking forward to working with Council and the local community to explore how we can arrive at a proof of concept that realises a vision for the future of the region,” he said.

The Y successfully operates integrated fitness, aquatic, recreation and wellness centres across NSW and the ACT and are part of a global network.

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NEWS

Pivot to pooling the fleet It’s no secret that shared fleets play an integral part in the smooth operation of local governments. But without the drive and tools to help facilitate this sharing, many fleet vehicles end up as less accessible, inefficient investments.

Avoid Idle Assets ; According to Smartrak, Government fleets are under-utilised; some state government fleets average just 74km of travel per working day. By pivoting to a pooled fleet strategy there is real opportunity to interrogate utilisation data and identify idle assets.

Once underperforming assets have been identified, proactive decisions can be made about the size and makeup of a fleet, ensuring investments are made in the right vehicles for the organisation’s needs.

Cost recovery – Departmental Attribution Maintaining and upgrading a fleet is not a cheap endeavour. Accurately recovering costs from departmental use provides the opportunity to reinvest in the fleet. This could be through the acquisition of safer vehicles (five-star ANCAP safety rating) or taking steps to adapt to a low emissions future (EVs and low emission vehicles). A pooled fleet strategy both helps reduce the fleet size and ensures the company is investing in the future of its fleet.

Cut down on Administration A pooled fleet is only as good as its ability to facilitate access to vehicles. If the booking process has needless red tape and layers of administration (paper bookings or shared Outlook calendars), then the owner is only creating more work for themselves.

Pivoting to a pooled fleet strategy eliminates double bookings and automates many routine fleet admin tasks. And when paired with an integrated key management solution, it reduces wasted time when trying to locate missing vehicle keys.

Smartrak is a provider of industry-leading fleet software solutions. Their PoolCar booking solution and KeyMaster cabinets are trusted by local governments right across Australia.

Find out more at smartrak.com/poolcar

Smartrak fleet needs.

Mural celebrates diverse heritage A major mural by Wiradyuri artist Birrunga Wiradyuri has been installed on the Post Office Building on Howick Street in Bathurst, NSW, as part of the Streets As Shared Spaces Program.

Mayor Robert Taylor said the ambitious mural project marks a significant moment for Bathurst.

“Public art is all about storytelling and connection to place. This mural tells an important creation story, highlights the role native bees play in the environment, and celebrates the diverse cultural heritage of our community,” he said.

The mural was painted by Birrunga Wiradyuri with Kane Brunjes and Stevie O’Chin, young First Nations artists who Birrunga mentors through the Birrunga Gallery’s threeyear Cultural Creative Residential program.

This mural was undertaken in consultation and collaboration with the Bathurst Wiradyuri Elders, the Traditional Custodians of the Bathurst region.

Birrunga Wiradyuri’s mural tells the creation story of the blue banded bee as told to him by his Elders: The bees come from gibirrgan (the southern cross). They fall down to earth from these stars and when they first begin falling from the sky, they are bright white balls of light.

As they fall and get closer to earth they become glowing golden balls and when those golden balls land on earth they become our bees.

The important role the blue-banded bee plays in the ecosystem holds special significance for the Wiradyuri.

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Other elements of the mural design explore the five aspects of the Wiradyuri central lore of Yindyamarra: to do slowly - to be polite - to be gentle - to honour - to respect.

Council received $767,884 grant funding under the NSW Government’s Streets as Shared Spaces (SASS) program to test and pilot new and innovative ideas for streets as safe, shared public spaces.

The program aims to improve public spaces in urban areas to create places for social interaction, improve health and wellbeing, and offer communities a sense of identity and character.

Mayor of Bathurst Robert Taylor with artist Birrunga Wiradyuri.

February 2022 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS 15

NEWS

Ballarat welcomes station precinct The City of Ballarat has welcomed the Victorian State Government’s unveiling of the $28 million Ballarat Station Precinct.

The development is an exciting commercial, transport and community precinct that will transform this section of Ballarat’s CBD. It includes a modern apartment hotel, a refurbished Goods Shed Convention Centre with large conference and event facilities, public plaza, access roads, commuter carparking and a bus interchange.

City of Ballarat Mayor Cr Daniel Moloney said the revitalisation of the area will provide a vibrant welcome to locals and visitors alike.

“The station precinct redevelopment will make a difference to Ballarat’s current and future generations that will live and thrive in our progressive regional city,” Cr Moloney said.

“This project restores the station and precinct to their former glory and unlocks the capacity of an under-utilised area of our CBD,” he said.

“The precinct is one of our city’s key community assets and although it has been primarily used as a transport hub, it will now become a vibrant place to socialise and do business.

“As a council we have a strong focus on the revitalisation of our central business district through initiatives such as our CBD Strategy, and we are determined to ensure Ballarat’s infrastructure continues to effectively manage and cater for a modern and growing population.”

New precinct unveiled.

LENSCAPE

Old bridge new life. Federal Member for Forest Nola Marino, Shire President Paula Cristoffanini and Shire Director Sustainable Development and Infrastructure Nick Logan with Juan Hernandez, Chris Heselwood, Dermot Boyle and Dwayne Heselwood of Bocol Constructions.

Mildura looking at care Mildura Rural City Council will undertake a three-month consultation process with a view to transition out of aged and disability service delivery.

The move follows an in-principle decision at the January Ordinary Council meeting and follows significant age care industry reforms which will see Council’s current contracts to deliver services on behalf of the Commonwealth Government end in June 2023.

The Commonwealth’s impending end to current Aged Care programs, and transition to a new model of care, has triggered a need for Council to determine if it is in the best interests of the community to continue as a provider of aged care services.

Mayor Cr Liam Wood stressed there would be no immediate changes to services currently delivered by Council while this consultation is carried out.

“This certainly isn’t a decision that has been taken lightly, but rather in the best interests of the valuable clients our teams have proudly served for many decades, our staff, and our ratepayers,” Cr Wood said.

“This will be a controlled and considered process, and our clients and staff will remain our highest priorities throughout any transition. All parties will be kept fully informed during this time.”

The Mayor said Council’s in-principle decision had been triggered by a number of factors – most importantly major Federal Government reforms to the aged and disability services sector which would require dramatic increases in client fees and costs to Council, threatening the viability of Council continuing to provide these services.

Council is contracted to deliver Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) services until June 2023, at which point all CHSP clients will transition to the new ‘Support at Home’ program.

Preliminary information available from the Commonwealth indicates agencies will register as providers of ‘Support at Home’ in a similar way agencies can register as a National Disability Insurance Scheme provider. Customers can then choose to receive services from an agency of their choice.

“Council has taken the preliminary view that it will not be able to provide services under the Support at Home model, for similar reasons it was determined Council could not provide services under the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and that it may be in the best interests of our community to proactively transition out of all aged care services,” Cr Wood said.

“Ultimately we need to make a decision to ensure these services will be provided sustainably into the future, and that there is no interruption to the level of care our community rightly expects and deserves.

History making poll A little piece of Temora Shire history was made at last year’s election.

Since it’s formation in 1981, Temora Shire Council has been fairly male dominated with highest number of Women elected as Councillors standing at two.

However there are now three women on the council with Cr Claire McLaren, Cr Lindy Reinhold and Cr Belinda Bushell being elected..

They join a council which includes Cr Rick Firman OAM (Mayor), Cr Graham Sinclair (Dep16 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS February 2022

uty Mayor), Cr Nigel Judd OAM, Cr Max Oliver, Cr Jason Goode and Cr Anthony Irvine.

Cr Judd, is one of the longest servicing councillors in NSW having first been elected in 1977 (with the former Narraburra Shire Council) and serving as Mayor of Temora Shire from 2000-2006.

Temora Shire in South West NSW has a growing population of 6,300 and is in the NSW Electorate of Cootamundra and Federal Electorate of Riverina.

LGFOCUS.COM.AU

FOCUS ON HUMAN RESOURCES

People power initiative COVID-19 has seen many Councils navigate and adapt many aspects of its operations and none more so than Northern Beaches Council who successfully rolled out several modules in their one-stop human resource system know as People Central - right in the middle of a pandemic!

People Central was envisioned in 2019/20 starting with the introduction of both online performance management, and a learning management system followed by the recruitment and onboarding of modules being added.

In 2020/21 Council went live with the most significant changes including: My Time - (UKG Workforce Dimensions) Including a rostering, time and attendance, timekeeping, scheduling and absence management system My HR (SuccessFactors Employee Central) Includes relief duties with delegations, updating bank details and other personal information My Pay (SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll) Payroll processing system At go-live a small, dedicated change team was supplemented by a large group of frontline staff to form a business readiness crew equipped to advocate, consult, train and provide support for users.

HR also introduced My Help (Whatfix) an insystem training tool providing real time help for its less digital savvy workers, to capture time, change their details, apply for leave and access their payslip.

Workforce and Technology Director Karen Twitchett said it was both the right time and the wrong time to implement such significant changes to the organisation.

“It was always the plan to automate, digitise and go online with HR and payroll functions, but when 100% of our workforce were impacted by the pandemic and working from home or working differently it was certainly a tricky time,” Mrs Twitchett said.

· · ·

Readiness Crew who supported staff in the lead up to and launch of People Central - they are wearing their safety vests to help staff easily identify who that can reach out to for help. velop organisational capability to deliver further tech driven changes to meet customer expectations.

SHOWCASE YOUR REGION TO AUSTRALIA

JULY 2021

A large, diverse municipality in Melbourne’s north, the City of Darebin prides itself on being inclusive, sustainable, vibrant and multicultural – an enviable community in which residents love to live.

A MESSAGE FROM OUR MAYOR The City of Darebin is not a simple one to govern; it is not generic. We are strong, energetic and complex – a diverse people in every sense.

This style of promotion provides you with the opportunity to promote your Council to others in the local government sector and to state and federal government authorities, highlighting your best practice programs especially following Covid-19, Four Full Pages tourism, initiatives, and achievements.

These supplements can also be a cost-effective way for local governments to disseminate information to residents and ratepayers at expos, in new residents’ kits or as information for new businesses moving into your area.

They can also provide a good overview of key activities and can be included with grant applications to both state and federal governments.

Costing $6,600 including GST

No additional charge for editorial assistance or production plus receive 500 copies of the supplement are provided to Council free of charge.

E. phill.lepetit@starnewsgroup.com.au | M. 0439 377 525 or E. louisa.kneller@starnewsgroup.com.au | M. 0413 380 545 www.lgfocus.com.au LGFOCUS.COM.AU

“Was it worth it? Absolutely and we’ll happily take on the next big tech change, but maybe once the pandemic has come to an end!”

I was elected along with my fellow eight Councillors in October last year. It is now our privilege and responsibility to guide and govern this wonderful city.

We can only do this effectively by working together with our community, businesses and other service organisations.

Our Vision for these four years is to be: Vibrant, Respectful and Connected – making sure our community is one where all our people are valued, and no-one is left behind; Prosperous, Liveable and Flourishing – building on and industry, and where all services and facilities that support a balanced, healthy life are easily accessible;

A MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO

Climate, Green and Sustainable – ensuring Darebin is a leader in responding to the climate emergency, and our natural environment is protected and enhanced; Responsible, Transparent and Responsive – recognising we are here to serve our community, in all its diversity, and that we govern transparently and accountably.

If this last year has taught us anything, it is that we are in this together. We all need to continue to play an active role in creating the Darebin we want to become.

A Message from Our Mayor TCr Lina Messina Mayor, City of Darebin

As we focus on the future of Darebin, I want unprecedented challenges for our community, and our organisation.

It was a year that saw the introduction of a new

ways, to operate.

30 years – and Council elections, which would normally be a huge undertaking alone. But of course, we also all experienced the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which required wholesale changes to how we operated, to continue our services to our community.

– to ensure we have a future view of our resources. This is important, as we need to make sure we can fund our commitments and provide the facilities and infrastructure our community will need.

The pandemic also put an enormous strain on individuals, which served as another reminder of the critical importance of effective local government in our lives. Darebin took proactive measures to help our residents and workers who were doing it tough – hundreds of Council staff, who were temporarily unable to work due to lockdowns, were redeployed into projects and programs around Darebin, and we took in an extra 110 people from our community displaced by COVID. We also substantially ramped up our service offering to help thousands of community members.

of our greatest challenges in the years ahead.

I want to wholeheartedly thank our wonderful were steadfast in leading this city through this time of uncertainty. I also welcome working with our new Council to continue and to see in a new era of prosperity and community connectedness.

At the core of the new Act is how we can better listen to, and work with, our WWW.LGFOCUS.COM.AU

communities. It also supports local governments to more easily work in partnership with each other – across municipal

With our community and businesses pandemic, we maintain our infrastructure and provide our services.

Partnership is the only way forward – with our organisations, businesses and service providers – and more broadly, with our local government neighbours, and state and federal governments.

It is also how we want to orient our Council and organisation to our community.

This a new dawn for Darebin, and we want to grow our connectedness with our diverse communities. We look forward to working together.

Sue Wilkinson CEO, Darebin City Council

1

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“Six months down the track our employees and managers are still learning and growing their capabilities and we have continued to de-

February 2022 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS 17

FOCUS ON HUMAN RESOURCES

Work becoming playful The people experience at the City of Cockburn, WA, is changing - it’s becoming more playful according to Executive People Experience and Transformation officer Jemma Iles.

Ms Iles said staff were on a transformative journey as the City completes an organisational restructure. This includes driving action through transformation teams and promoting a flexible hybrid work culture due to COVID’s effect on where and how people can fulfill their roles.

It’s created a heightened collaborative approach, including the dedication of an old meeting room to staff collaboration and play.

The new team space is called the Waabiny Room, which means ‘play’ in the Noongar language of southwest Western Australia.

She said it was an exciting time for the City, its staff and ultimately the community, with an expanded team fostering excellence via fun.

Ms Iles said the City’s new Executive team, which has been boosted by three members to eight, with a 50/50 gender balance for the first time in the City’s history, wanted to encourage collaboration and creative thinking by making room for it with a dedicated staff space at the City’s administration centre.

“We are looking outside local government for ideas, and this is Cockburn’s first foray into providing a permanent dedicated space for staff to collaborate and think outside the box in teams,” said Ms Iles, who is a founding member of the Global Council for Innovative Organisations launched by the Dubai Government Excellence Program.

“It’s a place to let your brain go into neutral, destress, have fun, get creative and mindful, innovate, brainstorm and discuss things that are important to staff and for our community at large, all driven by the staff themselves.

“The City encourages diversity of thought and having a space where our people feel psychologically safe to talk and bring ideas forward is important to us,” she said.

Ms Iles said it would hopefully be the start of more collab spaces around the City’s administration and operation centres.

Jemma Iles.

“It’s a way to complement the more formal meeting rooms and build further connection and trust between staff in a way that decentralises the traditional power structure that you

often see in a board room or meeting rooms.”

Many staff members took advantage of an invitation to help furnish and decorate the room with donations of art supplies enabling the cre-

ation of wall murals featuring local flowering native plants, and a large blackboard where people are encouraged to leave messages and suggestions.

Gladstone welcomes new apprentices Gladstone Regional Council (GRC) has welcomed 24 apprentices and trainees for its 2022 intake at an induction ceremony held earlier this month at the Boyne Tannum Community Centre.

The 24 eager recruits will fill a variety of roles across several business units at locations across the Gladstone Region including Agnes Water, Benaraby, Calliope and Gladstone.

These roles include: -

Automotive Mechanical (Heavy Road TransGladstone Region Mayor Matt Burnett said it was fantastic to see so many new faces join an organisation that is committed to delivering outstanding service to the community.

“I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to apply and wish the successful applicants the best of luck on their GRC journey,” Mayor Burnett said.

“Council is proud to serve close to 63,000 residents across 10,489 square kilometres and it’s great to see roles have been filled in a

variety of different locations within the Gladstone Region.

“Our People Services and Learning and Development Teams took a different approach to finding suitable apprentices and trainees by strategically aligning the recruitment period with other key businesses and industries in our region, allowing us to reach a more competitive pool of applicants.

“This adjustment also meant that school leavers that were successful in joining our business, were able to get a vision on the beginning of their career path before finishing the year ensuring that we’re keeping our local talent, local.”

Council’s 2022 apprentices and trainee intake has been assisted by the First Start program under the Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative.

First Start provides wage subsidies to local councils and community-based organisations to employ additional trainees.

The program offers opportunities to young people and disadvantaged job seekers to gain nationally recognised qualifications and 12 months employment by undertaking a traineeship or longer for apprenticeships.

First Start is one of seven programs that make up the Queensland Government’s Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative.

Lake Macquarie invests in mental health Lake Macquarie City Council is helping its staff build resilience and support each other by investing in Mental Health First Aid training and resources to assist employees.

Mental Health First Aid is an evidence-based training course that gives people the skills and confidence needed to have supportive conversations with colleagues and help guide them to professional help if needed.

Two staff have completed training as Mental Health First Aid Instructors. Council’s first round of targeted Mental Health First Aider training took place in late 2021 and is now being offered across the workforce.

Manager People Culture and Risk Kellie Reeves said staff across Council have expressed interest in becoming Mental Health First Aiders.

“The interest in the Mental Health First Aid program shows how important the issue of mental health is to our people,” she said.

“We want to ensure this support is easily available to all staff, which is why we made the conscious choice to provide the opportunity for 18 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS February 2022

an employee from our City Works department to gain instructor accreditation.

“City Works is our largest department and it’s comprised primarily of outdoor workers who can be harder to engage with due to the remote nature of their work. Additionally, the majority of City Works employees are male, who we know from statistics are less likely to seek treatment for mental health conditions and are at greater risk of suicide.”

In addition to providing Mental Health First Aid training, throughout the pandemic the Council has worked closely with its Employee Assistance Program provider to make resources available to staff, facilitated mental health webinars for Safe Work Month and R U OK? Day, and encouraged staff to participate in the Let’s Lift Lake Mac project, a partnership between Council and Avondale University aimed at improving participants’ mood and wellbeing.

“We’ve received really positive feedback from staff on these initiatives, and are proud that we can help support the emotional wellbeing of staff during these especially challenging times.”

Lake Macquarie City Council is supporting its staff to have mental health conversations in the workplace LGFOCUS.COM.AU

FOCUS ON HUMAN RESOURCES

Trainees helping diversity While weathering the impacts of the pandemic, Lake Macquarie City Council has had its sights firmly set on improving the diversity of its workforce now and into the future.

The Council is committed to ensuring its workforce reflects the community it serves, but according to Talent Acquisition Coordinator Penny Howell, in 2019 the organisation was some way from achieving this goal.

“Figures from our 2019-2022 Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Management Plan showed that in 2019 women made up 41.3 per cent of our workforce, while they accounted for 51.2 per cent of the city population, while Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) People represented 1.65 per cent of our workforce and 2.7 per cent of the Lake Macquarie population,” she said.

“Over the life of the Plan, which is now in its final year, we’ve taken steps to address these disparities and create a more diverse and inclusive organisation.”

Several actions in the Plan relate directly to Council’s recruitment processes including successfully applying to Anti-Discrimination NSW in October 2020 to gain exception to recruit 10 female-identified and 10 ATSI-identified Trainee Works Assistant roles, and again in September 2021 to recruit an ATSI-identified Cadet Environment Health Officer position.

In 2021, Council redesigned a Trainee Records Officer role to provide an opportunity for a person with a disability.

“We’ve boosted ATSI participation in our workforce to 2.4 per cent and female participation to 44 per cent, as at June 2021, and, based off this success, we’re exploring opportunities for future identified traineeships for people with disability.”

While proud of the organisation’s achievements, Penny said the work at Lake Mac is ongoing.

“We are on a positive path to creating a more diverse and inclusive organisation but there is always more that can be done in this space.”

Natural Area Projects Officer Amanda Shields who began her career with Council in January 2021 on an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identified traineeship.

Business workshops Learning road rules Victoria’s Mount Alexander Shire Council has begun it’s small business workshops series with a suite of sessions on offer to help our local businesses improve skills, network with others and get expert advice.

The free workshops, delivered in partnership with Business Victoria and Monarch Institute, cater to businesses of all shapes, sizes and stages.

Workshop topics include helping business owners and operators establish their businesses, excelling in the digital sphere, and taking things one step further with marketing.

The first workshop was run by business owner and mentor, Penny Glover. Ms Glover has facilitated workshops for small businesses in metropolitan and regional Victoria through Business Victoria for the past seven years. She runs her own business as a training and development consultant and is currently engaged as a Business Mentor in the VCCI Small Business Recovery and Resilience Mentoring Program.

Shire Economic Development Officer, Eva Parkin said the program’s focus on business planning and building digital skills was in response to local business needs.

“Local businesses are telling us, now more than ever, how important it is to have a strong online presence,” said Ms Parkin.

“Last year’s digital sessions were really popular, so we’re excited to be able to offer workshops this year that focus on the digital side of running a business.”

“Things like having a professional-looking website, running social media, crafting enewsletters and creating digital ads are all really useful ways that businesses can build and maintain a strong online presence.

“The breadth of knowledge and experience that Penny Glover brings to these workshops is incredibly valuable for local businesses, as well as the chance to meet and network with others in the same boat,” said Ms Parkin.

Visitor numbers soar The Greater Shepparton Visitor Centre in Victoria had a busy Christmas and New Year period at its new location in the SAM precinct, adjacent to Victoria Park Lake.

The Visitor Centre recorded a 275 per cent increase in visitors across the two weeks, compared to the 2020/21 festive period. Of the 2,140 visitors, 80 per cent were from Greater Melbourne, as well as a number of interstate travellers.

Greater Shepparton City Council Mayor, Cr Kim O’Keeffe said she was delighted to see lots of new and returning visitors to the region.

“The Greater Shepparton Visitor Centre staff and volunteers have done an amazing job to keep up with the demand across the festive period.

The Visitor Centre recorded its busiest day on Wednesday 29 December with 273 visitors LGFOCUS.COM.AU

walking through the door, what an incredible effort.”

“The staff reported that lots of people who attended the Greater Shepparton Visitor Centre were looking for family friendly activities, dining recommendations and to participate in the Moooving Art Round Up, which is fantastic for the region and our local economy,” Cr O’Keeffe said.

“More than half of the visitors through the Visitor Centre’s doors also visited the SAM Museum. It’s great to see the attractions of Greater Shepparton on display through these busy times. Our region has so many great things to offer.”

Mount Alexander Shire Council in Victoria supported Cyclesafe Mount Alexander and Bike Bendigo to deliver the low-cost bike-riding sessions in Castlemaine and Newstead during January.

“Riding to school was commonplace a generation ago, but these days, most children are driven to school – particularly at primary school level,” said Simone Hooppell, Council’s Healthy Heart of Victoria Health Broker.

“As a consequence, fewer children have had the opportunity to develop their road safety skills and experience through riding to school.

“These workshops give young people the opportunity to learn current road rules, develop their riding skills, and learn strategies for safe on-road riding,” said Ms Hooppell.

Council is providing the workshops as part of their commitment to support improved

health and wellbeing for the community, as outlined in the Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan 2021-2025.

“Cycling to school offers teenagers independence and regular exercise,” said Ms Hooppell.

“We know this has benefits for people’s fitness and mental health, and it’s also good for the planet,” she said.

“Along with students starting year seven in 2022, we welcome children in grade five, six, or year eight who are interested in improving their bike skills.”

Participants could choose to attend a twoday workshop in Castlemaine or a 1-day workshop in Newstead. Both sessions will be held from 10.00am to 3.00pm.

This program was proudly supported by Healthy Heart of Victoria, Mount Alexander Shire Council, and the Victorian Government.

Expo postponed The Bathurst Careers Expo, scheduled for 15 February 2022, has been cancelled.

The Expo, set to be held at Charles Sturt University for the first time, was initially scheduled to be held in August 2021, but was postponed until the new year in a hope that COVID restrictions would have eased.

With the return to school, and current restrictions in place until at least the end of February, a decision has been made to cancel the February event and focus on the return of the Careers Expo in its original August timeslot.

Bathurst Mayor Robert Taylor said in the last week a number of stallholders and schools had contacted Council to withdraw from the event, while Council has also been closely monitoring the current situation.

“Given the high level of interaction between stall holders and expo attendees, the

decision has been made to cancel the February event,” he said.

“We will focus on the return of the Careers Expo in its usual August timeslot and we will work with our sponsors, stallholders and schools to deliver an event for students and other job seekers.”

To help those who are currently in the job market, the contact details for each of the stall holders who were going to take part in the February events will be listed on the Bathurst Business Hub website (bathurstbusinesshub.com.au), so they can get in touch for any employment opportunities.

Details on the August 2022 Bathurst Careers Expo will be announced in coming months.

February 2022 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS 19

FOCUS ON HUMAN RESOURCES

Mural draws attention A large mural inspired by conversations with local Aboriginal people is stopping people in their tracks as they walk the streets of Huonville in southern Tasmania.

Painted on the wall of the Huon Valley Council’s Community Hub, the mural of black swans flying over the Huon River acknowledges the original owners of the land and celebrates Aboriginal culture and stories.

Mayor Bec Enders said following the establishment of the Hub in December 2020, Council surveyed the community to better understand what features they would like to see included both in the Hub and in the neighbouring green space.

“The design responds to feedback gathered through the survey, as well as ideas and desires we heard from our community through the Huonville Town Team Movement and through general discussions,” Mayor Enders said.

“Importantly, we want the greenspace to acknowledge the original owners of our land and celebrate Aboriginal culture and stories.”

The mural, supported by Community Bank Huon Valley, is part of a beautification and activation project, as well as a recovery action.

Aboriginal Elder, Rodney Dillon, said the swans tell their own stories.

“Aboriginal people would watch the swans and they could tell if it was going to be a dry or a wet year by where the swans built their nests… close to or away from the water line,” Mr Dillon said.

“There are lots of different things happening around us, nature has a way of expressing itself... if we take the time to watch, listen and learn we can all help care for country.”

The mural was painted by Jamin, a Hobartbased artist who is known internationally for

Huon Mural. his vibrant murals and street art.

Jamin spent around 24 days on the wall in total and he said spending time in the Huon

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Valley and making a work for the people had been a real privilege.

“I remember one day I was doing a mural

in another town and a man told me that he thought it humanised the place and I think that’s exactly what murals do,” he said.

Marisa new HR head for Stirling The City of Stirling has welcomed Marisa Kouts as its new Human Resources Manager.

Marisa has extensive senior Human Resource experience having worked across a number of large and complex industries including State Government (Western Australia and Victoria), Professional Services, Legal, Engineering Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM), Oil and Gas, Infrastructure and Environment, Power, Energy/Utilities and Retail.

Over the past decade, she has been employed in a variety of senior Human Resource leadership roles in State Government organisations including the Victorian Government Solicitor’s Office, Western Australia Police Force, the Department of the Attorney General and most recently at the Department of Justice as their Manager, HR

Strategy and Workplace Services.

Prior to this, Marisa worked in the Engineering and Energy sectors and will bring to the City diverse expertise leading Work Health and Safety, Employee Relations and Human Resource strategy, people and culture transformation, and organisational change management.

On a personal level, Marisa is passionate about her two children, home design, going on adventures and food (cooking and eating!).

She is a self-confessed Human Resource geek and strives to always be learning something new, carrying on traditions and unearthing inspiration in the teams she manages and organisations she works in.

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FOCUS ON HUMAN RESOURCES

Launchpad for business Central Coast Council announced this year’s Social Enterprise Launch Pad Program with an information session being held later this month.

The Program will include a series of workshops and one-on-one mentoring sessions that will run from late March to June 2022.

Central Coast Council’s Community and Culture Unit manager Glenn Cannard said the annual Social Enterprise Launch Pad Program supported the development of innovative new enterprise models within the region and helped turn community focused business ideas into a reality.

“The free program, which has been running since 2012, provides a step-by-step guide to research, plan, seek funding and establish a social enterprise that benefits our community – whether it be social, environmental or creative,” Mr Cannard said.

“This annual program has helped start-ups, entrepreneurs, not for profit organisations and new businesses with a social vision go on to successfully launch community focused ventures such as the Iris Foundation’s ‘Wings to Succeed’ project.”

Sue Liptrott, Executive Officer of Iris Foundation said taking part in the Social Enterprise Launch Pad Program was a supportive and creative experience.

“In 2021, Iris Foundation was accepted to take part in the Social Enterprise Launch Pad Program and we were so grateful for the opportunity,” Ms Liptrott said.

“We were looking to introduce a project that would enhance the existing ‘Because We Care Boutique Central Coast’ and provide further support to women in need.

“Launch Pad provided not only the construction and formulation of a defined pathway forward, but also valuable marketing tools for immediate use. These were instrumental in creating a platform to apply for grant funding for our new ‘Wings to Succeed’ project and I am happy to say that we were successful in receiving a Council Social Enterprise Grant in 2021 and the project is now underway.”

Sue Bradley, concept founder of SWAMP (Sustainable Wetlands Agriculture Makers Project) Central Coast said that participating in Council’s Social Enterprise Launch Pad Program in 2020 had been key to the start-up success of SWAMP’s community garden project

Because we care boutique.

Sustainable wetlands. and education and training programs.

“The Launch Pad program has given me the confidence to establish lasting relationships with community organisations, to form partnership programs and reach out to local MP’s, government and private organisations as well as Council,” Bradley said.

“The continued mentoring after the pro-

gram was to me, one of the most helpful resources. I highly recommend this program to anyone wishing to bring their social enterprise ideas to life. Through these conversations I was able to locate a site on crown land for SWAMP Central Coast where people can connect and discover the importance of growing food with sustainable methods and respect to

the land and environment.”

Council Administrator Rik Hart expects this year’s program to be bolstered from an increased movement in society to undertake work with a purpose and give back to the community.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has many people rethinking their careers and long-term goals and want to use their skills and talents to help others and service their community,” Mr Hart said.

“I expect this year’s program will attract an increased number of participants and look forward to seeing what social enterprise ideas will come to the table for the benefit our region.”

This year’s development program will be delivered in partnership between Council, Business Centre and Community Compass.

For more information on this program search ‘social enterprise’ at centralcoast.nsw.gov.au or email Gregory.Combes@centralcoast.nsw. gov.au

Project assists Indigenous jobseekers The Kensington Gardens Reserve Project, located in the Kensington Wama / Kensington Gardens Reserve was opened by Premier Steven Marshall on 17 January.

The project aimed to completely revitalised the City of Burnside’s most popular recreational reserve and delivered a range of environmental, recreational, cultural, and economic benefits.

The Council worked closely with Kaurna Traditional Owners to ensure best-practice cultural heritage management throughout the project and deliver a range of cultural heritage recognition initiatives, including a place of reflection and a cultural walk with interpretive signage and artwork.

The projects Heritage, Economic Workforce Participation Package supported the jobseekers in attaining accreditations and skills to pave the way for long-term construction industry careers.

The project created five full-time positions for Indigenous job seekers, as well as six casual roles. Around 23 per cent of the overall workforce hours of the project is attributable to indigenous workforce participation.

According to the City of Burnside council the project represented the exciting start of their journey towards reconciliation and provided a platform to discuss, learn and experience hands-on Kaurna culture.

In addition to the obvious recreational and amenity benefits, the project has delivered substantial environmental improvements including: Improved stormwater quality runoff from the polluted urban Wattle Park catchment before it is discharged into the downstream Stonyfell Creek system.

An extensive revegetation program with at least 40 new trees, 1,450 shrubs, over

·

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Indigenous art forms part of the new facility.

4,300 groundcover species, 4,800 new biozone plantings, and over 10,000 new plants in the wetland.

Improved local biodiversity, tree health, habitat, and riparian ecosystem and Opportunities for future harvesting and reuse of stormwater.

Funding partners for the $7.4 million project included $3 million from the Federal Government, $850,000 from the South Australian Government’s Open Space grant program, $215,904 from Green Adelaide’s 2019-20 Water Sustainability Grants scheme and $81,000 from Tennis SA / Tennis Australia.

· ·

Opening the new facility, from left, Federal Sturt MP James Stevens, Mayor Anne Monceaux, Bragg MP Vickie Chapman and Premier Steven Marshall.

February 2022 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS 21

FOCUS ON RECREATION AND ARTS

Goulburn performing arts The new Goulburn Performing Arts Centre officially opens on March 25 with it’s first season launch on April 1.

Located on land known as Mulwaree by local First Nations the new centre creatively reactivates the McDermott Centre – Goulburn’s historic town hall.

It will house a funky cafe and Box Office, with the Council Chambers converted into ‘the Meeting Place’ – a wine bar and boutique performance space.

A glass atrium connects to the 400 seat state of the art proscenium arch auditorium, which includes wheelchair seating and hearing loop.

There is a fly tower, counterweight fly system, lighting bridges, opera pit and a 15k lumen projector, with four dressing rooms, band room, green room, workshops and loading dock.

GPAC will present an annual Season of live performance – including drama, opera, classical and contemporary music, dance, circus, children’s and seniors programming, with featured First Nations and culturally diverse works. Both the auditorium and the Meeting Place are available for hire by commercial and community organisations.

The building was designed by Brewster Hjorth Architects and includes a suite of commissioned plaques tracing the site’s history from Traditional Owners to the present day.

The GPAC team has booked an amazing program of performances for the much-anticipated venue’s first ever season – and they have invited the whole community to get in on the action on Saturday 2 nd April when the doors are thrown open for the free family fun day, and the official launch of the GPAC Season for 2022.

There will be free workshops, live music, sausage sizzle and morning tea, ahead of a gala launch from 6pm with sizzling outdoor

Alphabet of Awesome Science. performances, complimentary champagne on arrival and sneak previews of the host of wonderful shows programmed for the year.

To give the public a taste of what is on offer GPAC manager Raina Savage said the GPAC has already put a selection of the earliest SEASON SHOWS on sale.

“To whet our audiences appetite we are releasing tickets for another six top quality the-

The largest national survey of local news audiences in Australia reveals the passion people have for their local newspaper and has found they want a much bigger say about its future The survey asked almost 4200 Australian country press newspaper readers in rural, regional and outer suburban areas about the role of local newspapers within their communities The Australia Research Council project involves researchers from Deakin and RMIT universities with support of Country Press Australia A number of results reveal…

Readers overwhelmingly view a printed copy of their newspaper as an essential service for the community There is continued strong demand (and passion) for the printed product in rural and regional Australia Readers are 2.6 times more likely to read their local newspaper in print than in a digital format Readers are FIVE times more likely to go directly to a local news website rather than Google or facebook and 10 times more likely than a council website The majority of audiences prefer a printed newspaper with younger generations also part of this trend 59% of readers believe the role of a local newspaper is to act as a community hub 52% of readers have read the same local newspaper between 11 years and 30+ years

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More reasons why your local newspaper is the best way to connect your business with the community

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“May brings the lauded Black Cockatoo, directed by Wesley Enoch, a deeply moving play about the first Aboriginal cricket team to triumphantly tour England in the 1860s.

“There is fantastic classical and jazz music concert from the Black Tulip Jazz Trio – featuring the hand crafted new concert grand piano with cello and double bass – in Bach to Bolling – with a glass of bubbles – on Sunday May 8.”

New arts facility open in Gippsland

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atre shows with something to delight every member of the family,” she said.

“During April theatre goers can join Keith Potger of The Seekers and friends for a fabulous Sunday afternoon concert celebrating the music of Gordon Lightfoot, or take the kids to experience the WOW of science – with the Alphabet of Awesome Science – 26 crazy experiments in 60 minutes on April 8.

The stage is almost set for world-class shows and entertainment as construction of the $42.1 million Gippsland Performing Arts Centre (GPAC) nears completion, ready for the March 2022 opening.

Gippsland Performing Arts Centre is launching with OPEN: a four-day festival celebrating the completion of Gippsland’s new home of the arts featuring the best in music, comedy, live performance and plenty of fun for everyone.

The festival will put a spotlight on all the venue offers, including The Big Family Weekender, a large free outdoor public program running from Saturday 5 – Sunday 6 March 2022 designed for families and children.

The opening event TOGETHER on Thursday 3 March will highlight Latrobe City-grown performers in a community celebration winding through the new precinct.

This will be followed by a world-class program across the weekend with performances from Client Liaison and the OPEN Comedy Gala headlined by Dave Thornton and Peter Helliar.

“The opening festival is a chance for our whole community to explore and feel welcome in the Gippsland Performing Arts Centre, as we lift the curtain on this amazing new facility and celebrate what it has to offer,” said Mayor of Latrobe City, Councillor Kellie O’Callaghan.

“The Gippsland Performing Arts Centre will also make a significant contribution towards the ongoing recovery of our creative industries and visitor economy from the challenges of COVID-19.

“Councillors were lucky to have a site tour in late 2021, and were blown away by the scale and quality of the building and the range of spaces available that our community will enjoy for decades to come,” said Cr O’Callaghan.

The new Gippsland Performing Arts Centre.

The $42.1 million project has been made possible by collaborative investment from the Victorian Government ($12 million), the Australian Government’s Community Development Grants Program ($10 million), and Latrobe City Council.

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FOCUS ON TOURISM

Tops in NSW tourism The state’s peak tourism organisation, NSW Tourism Industry Council, announced the winners of the prestigious NSW Tourism Awards for 2021 in a virtual ceremony broadcast live earlier this month to an audience of more than 650 industry guest around NSW The acceptance speeches streamed live into homes and workplaces in a covid-safe manner.

“The NSW Tourism Awards are a celebration of the outstanding resilience and innovative spirit demonstrated by our magnificent industry over the past two years,” said NSW Tourism Industry Council Executive Manager, Greg Binskin.

“It’s been an extremely challenging period for the NSW visitor economy and after a break in 2020, the return of the NSW Tourism Awards demonstrates the renewed energy of the visitor economy and celebrates the people, places and the vibrant culture of our feelgood state”.

“The Tourism Awards categories recognise the broad range of services and experiences across the broader visitor economy.

“It is impressive to see the number of operators and regions who made the most of lockdowns and restricted travel to build new visitor experiences and worked together to attract domestic visitors” Mr Binskin said.

“The 2021 awards showcase NSW’s ‘visitor first’ approach and our strengths in digital innovation, high quality product and collaborative efforts.

“These awards are managed by the NSW Tourism Industry Council, supported by Business NSW, and in partnership with the NSW Government and Destination NSW and celebrate our industry’s path to recovery, re-energising and unifying all who are working hard to build back better,” he Binskin said.

“I am immensely proud of all finalists of the

2021 NSW Tourism Awards, who have shown remarkable professionalism and dedication over an incredibly difficult period to deliver the best possible outcomes for the NSW tourism industry,” said NSW Minister for Tourism, Stuart Ayres.

“The winners have shown a particular commitment to excellence, and I congratulate them for their innovation and perseverance that these awards represent.

“The NSW Government is committed to supporting tourism operators and events that create jobs, boost regional economies and position NSW as a global destination.

“We thank you for your outstanding contributions over the past 12 months and look forward to working together to achieve our goal of making NSW the premier visitor economy of the Asia Pacific,” Mr Ayres said.

Sierra Escape, Mudgee and Riverside Holiday Resort Urunga were inducted into the prestigious NSW Tourism Awards Hall of Fame, for taking out top honours in their respective categories, Unique Accommodation and SelfContained Accommodation for the third year in a row.

Ruth Sandow, Chair of Milparinka Heritage and Tourism Association was awarded the Dean Gorddard Award for Outstanding Contribution by an Individual to NSW in recognition of her dedication over the past 25 years to tourism in Corner Country, NSW. Milparinka has an average population through the year of four, two at its lowest, six at its maximum. Yet Ruth’s programs have over

100 volunteers that become part of the community in the peak season. Milparinka would not be welcoming 20,000 visitors a year if it wasn’t for Ruth.

She understands that by building Milparinka as a destination, all of Corner Country benefit and in 2020 she was successful in a monumental project, known as “Sturts Steps”, that has linked the whole region together and set it up for tourism success.

Recipient of the Young Achiever Award, Hugh Sutherland, Instructor with Blue Mountains Climbing School was recognised for his passion as an outdoor guide and educator who has high aims for the industry as a whole that is beyond just the areas he and his employers benefit.

Hugh has devoted considerable effort and energy in furthering and supporting the NSW and Blue Mountains Adventure tourism guiding industry through mentoring young guides and contributing to recent developments towards generating an outdoor industry employment award.

Eden Visitor Information Centre, The Sapphire Coast; Port Macquarie-Hastings Council and Simpson Cottage, Bundeena were the recipients of a new accolade awarded by the Judges, ‘Tourism Star Award’ to acknowledge their tremendous resilience shown in response to floods, bushfires and COVID-19. Winners in the designated national award categories will represent NSW at the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards to be held on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, 18 March 2022.

New centre for Whitehorse Melbourne’s reputation as Australia’s centre of arts and culture is soon to be bolstered with a new performing arts facility being built in the city’s eastern suburbs.

Kane Constructions started work in November 2021 on the new performing arts centre, being built by Whitehorse City Council on the site of the former Whitehorse Centre in Nunawading.

The facility will be a place for the whole community to participate in arts and cultural activities. It will be a home for Whitehorse’s diverse creative community to flourish.

“The new centre will bring to fruition Whitehorse City Council’s vision to build a modern theatre, festival and function centre that is welcoming, flexible and accessible to all,” Whitehorse Mayor Cr Tina Liu said.

“Arts and culture contribute positively to community health and wellbeing, community vibrancy, people’s sense of place and belonging, and to the economic prosperity of the City of Whitehorse.

“That’s why we are making this important strategic investment for all current and future Whitehorse residents.”

During the construction phase and beyond, the project will generate about 320 jobs, directly and indirectly.

Being built on the site of the former White-

An artists impression of the foyer of the new centre. horse Centre in Nunawading, the centre has been designed to be a place where people can be entertained, connect and socialise, learn new skills and come together to celebrate as a community.

From large-scale theatrical performances to intimate shows and concerts, this unique facility will also offer a festival stage playing out to a natural amphitheatre. It is destined to earn a special place in the hearts of seasoned artists and patrons, and welcome new members of the wider community.

Designed by BKK Architects and Kerstin Thompson Architects, key features will include:

626-seat auditorium, 200-seat studio theatre, multipurpose rehearsal/dance studio, multipurpose function space, large soundshell and amphitheatre for community events and festivals and 430+ parking spaces nearby.

BKK Architects Principal George Huon describes the project as a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ opportunity to design an enduring asset for the whole community.

“The building contains a range of diverse functions; each space has its own identity while being part of a cohesive whole,” George said.

“The centre is designed to accommodate smaller human-scaled moments, places for people to meet, and then open up for some surprising ‘wow’ moments.”

The new performing arts centre will join other Council-owned facilities, such as the Box Hill Community Arts Centre and Town Hall, Whitehorse Artspace and Nunawading Community Hub, in providing diverse opportunities for the people of Whitehorse to enjoy and participate in arts and culture.

It will also strengthen a proud tradition of artistic endeavour in the Whitehorse area, the birthplace of Impressionism in Australia in the 1880s.

The Whitehorse performing arts centre is being constructed by Kane Constructions, with completion expected in late 2023.

Gold for Bendigo It was gold, gold, gold for the City of Greater Bendigo, winning top accolades in three categories at the Victorian Tourism Awards held at Melbourne Town Hall earlier this month.

The City won the Local Government Award for Tourism for the second year in a row.

The award recognises excellence in tourism planning, the provision of tourism facilities and services, marketing, event development and management, and the overall contribution made both locally and overall to their state’s tourism industry.

Bendigo Visitor Centre was awarded gold in the Visitor Information Services Award category in recognition of its consistent high-quality customer service and face to face interaction with visitors.

The Living Arts Space (LAS) and the Uniquely Bendigo brand scooped gold in the Tourism Retail and Hire category.

LAS is a niche exhibition venue celebrating the diversity of work from local artists and creatives. The popular Uniquely Bendigo retail brand at Bendigo Visitor Centre promotes locally made artisan products, treats and crafted items together with artworks or items featured in LAS exhibitions.

The City’s 2020 Bloom spring campaign was also a finalist in the Tourism and Marketing Campaign category.

The Tourism and Major Events manager Terry Karamaloudis said the City was thrilled to win gold in three out of four nominated categories.

“It is fantastic news to win in so many highly competitive categories with contenders from across Victoria,” Mr Karamaloudis said.

“This is wonderful recognition of how our staff and volunteers have been able to overcome the enormous challenges during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to create unique experiences and welcoming opportunities for visitors.

“To achieve this and win three golds is just fantastic and the City is very proud of our staff and volunteers who deliver exciting tourism, events and visitor services, and work hard to make everyone’s visit to the region a memorable experience.

“Our staff and volunteers continue to show incredible creativity, resilience and passion for our local tourism industry and its recovery.

“The City also congratulates Balgownie Estate Bendigo for winning gold in the Unique Accommodation category for its glamping experience.”

Bathurst visitor centre takes top prize The Bathurst Visitor Information Centre (BVIC) has taken out the top honour with Gold at the prestigious NSW Tourism.

The Awards are the peak annual tourism industry event and recognise the best tourism and hospitality operators and events from all over NSW with 116 entrants competing across 29 categories. BVIC took out the Gold Award in the category of Visitor Information Services, beating other category finalists including Mudgee, Shoalhaven and Eden. It is the first time that Bathurst has claimed the top prize at the State Awards.

Bathurst’s success continued at the Awards with The Bathurst Winter Festival being awarded Silver in the highly competitive ‘Festivals and Events’ category.

Mayor Robert Taylor said the awards were LGFOCUS.COM.AU

a tremendous achievement and recognition for the hard work and commitment of Council’s tourism and events staff.

“Tourism is a strong focus for Council with the sector contributing $245 million annually to the local economy prior to the disruptions caused by Covid” he said.

“The Bathurst Visitor Information Centre really is the heart of tourism for the region and the team there is passionate about what they do, ensuring the best experience for all who visit as well as working every day to keep those visitors coming and staying for longer.

A great experience begins with great people, and Council is fortunate to have such a dedi-

cated team at BVIC”.

“The Bathurst Winter Festival has transformed what was traditionally one of the quietest times in Bathurst to one of the most vibrant and eagerly anticipated. Despite the difficulties of the past two years Council’s events team has worked hard with local businesses and the community to find new and creative ways to deliver this sensational event, and to see it receive the Silver Award is an outstanding recognition of this hard work and of the quality of the Winter Festival as a signature event”.

BVIC will now go on as the NSW winner to compete as a finalist at the Qantas Australian

Tourism Awards to be held at Queensland’s Sunshine Coast on 18 March.

The Bathurst Visitor Information Centre at 1 Kendall Avenue is open 363 days a year and is an outstanding resource for both visitors and the local community. The centre is committed to growing the Bathurst region visitor economy and working with the regional industry and operators to improve the visitor experience and to market the Bathurst region as a destination of choice.

The Bathurst Winter Festival has become one of the most popular and celebrated events in regional NSW will return in 2022 from 2 -17 July.

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