Australia’s National Local Government Newspaper AUGUST 2022
Cr Daniel Moloney, Mayor of Ballarat, said re gional Australia had an important role to play in the future development of the nation.
“People voted with their feet, drawn by the lifestyle, affordability and career options in re gional cities. This caused an uptake in migra tion from capital cities to regional Australia by over 16 per cent in the March quarter of 2022. Data from the Regional Australia Institute indi cates that there were nearly 85,000 job vacan cies in regional Australia in April this year, up nearly 25 per cent compared to the previous year.“In years past Australia rode on the sheep’s back and now we are surfing the wave of re gional diversity. Regional hubs are powerhous es of industry, tapping into their unique natural assets and playing to their strengths to valueadd locally and trade globally. “For example, mining and agriculture thrive in the Geraldton and Kalgoorlie-Boulder re gions in Western Australia while the Northern Rivers of New South Wales has strong capa bilities in food processing, manufacturing and tourism. The Latrobe area of Victoria has a wealth of opportunities in energy, manufactur ing and food production. The Hunter is a sup ply chain and logistics hub, while the Orana region of New South Wales is a destination for mining and agriculture. “It’s an exciting time for innovation and in vestment, with regional Australia ripe with op portunity and diversity. Policy makers are start ing to realise the untapped potential of regional investment, and the long-term benefits for na tionalWithproductivity.”theVictorian State election approach ing, one of the regions Cr Maloney believes is important to the future of the nation, Latrobe, is advocating for several of its community’s pri orities to further enhance the prosperity of the region.Latrobe City Mayor Kellie O’Callaghan said these include projects that will further transform the local economy and ensure opportunities for jobs such as a 50,000-tonne Gippsland Materi al Recovery Facility in Morwell and harnessing renewable energy and hydrogen technologies to drive Latrobe City’s New Energy Future. “We have a number of opportunities for our government partners that would deliver signifi cant opportunities and sustainable long-lasting outcomes for Latrobe,” she said. “We will be working hard over the coming months to secure commitments that are funda mental to ensure our continuing evolution as a thriving regional city.” “Council has welcomed major investment in the past including the GovHub, Latrobe Regional Hospital expansion and Gippsland Logistics Precinct. We hope to build on this success and seek ongoing investment and support.”
The Summit, 1-2 September, which will be led by the Prime Minister and Treasurer, aims to bring together unions, employers, civil society and governments to address shared economic challenges.Thegovernment has stated its goal is to build a bigger, better-trained and more produc tive workforce; boost incomes and living stan dards; and create more opportunities for more Australians to get ahead and to reach their as pirations.Thethemes and outcomes of the summit will inform the Employment White Paper, which will help to shape the future of Australia’s la bour market. It will be led by Treasury, which will invite submissions and engage the wider community over the next 12 months. Cr Moloney said in media comments recent ly that the Business Council of Australia had said in order to achieve lasting nation-changing reform, “we had to unleash the regions”. “These are interesting comments given that in years past, the common perception of regions was that they were laggards – sleepy hollows where time stands still and blowflies outnumber people,” he said. “They were not considered industrial giants, innovation hubs or our nation’s economic epi centre.“Until now. “We know that Australia’s economy was safeguarded from the impacts of the global pandemic due to our strong and resilient re gional economies. While capital cities strug gled with ongoing lockdowns, our regions kept supply chains moving and export trade buzz ing.
Push for regions
Moe in the Latrobe City LGA - one of the regions that could lead the way in the nation’s economic development, according to Regional Capitals Australia chairman, Councillor Daniel Moloney.
Regional Australia should be front and centre at next month’s Federal Government Skills Summit debate in Canberra, according to Regional Capitals Australia chairman, Councillor Daniel Moloney.
“In September, our nation’s leading minds will come together for a Jobs and Skills Sum mit, aiming to deliver a consensus on wages, economic growth and productivity,” he said. “Given that two thirds of our export earnings are derived from regional Australia, the regions must be front and centre to this debate. “We know that the growth of regional Aus tralia is inextricably linked to the performance of the national “Unfortunately,accounts.housing, skills, and lack of investment in critical infrastructure continue to hamper regional cities. “With Australia teetering on the economic brink, time is of the essence. All levels of gov ernment must work together to deliver a strong regionalisation agenda, with deliberate and tar geted measures for sustainable change.”
DIARY DATES 2022 ROADS AND WORKS CONFERENCE 24-25 August
CONTACT US Australia’s National Local Government Newspaper Website: LGFocus.com.au Noosa Telephone:Office: (07) 5455 6946 Address: 36 Mary Street, Noosaville Qld 4566 Pakenham Telephone:Office: (03) 5945 0666 Address: 10 Army Road, Pakenham VIC 3810 Network with LG Focus facebook.com/LocalGovernmentFocustwitter.com/@LGFocusau E:Editorial:editorial@LGFocus.com.au E:Advertising:advertising@LGFocus.com.au P:Classifieds: 1300 666 808 E: sales@NetworkClassifieds.com.au TaniaEDITORIALPhillips Journalist E: tania.phillips@StarNewsGroup.com.au PhillADVERTISINGLePetitSales Manager E: phill.lepetit@StarNewsGroup.com.au M: 0439 377 525 Louisa Kneller Sales Executive E: louisa.kneller@StarNewsGroup.com.au M: 0413 380 545 Published by Star News Group Pty Ltd ACN 005
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2 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS August 2022 LGFOCUS.COM.AU
The inquiry found that emergency services and NSW Government agencies were unpre pared and did not comprehend the scale of the February – March floods, which caused wide spread devastation and damage, particularly in the Northern Rivers and Hawkesbury regions.
· That the NSW Government consider a re structure of the NSW State Emergency Service with consideration to realigning the focus of the organisation to harness local knowledge and networks;
· That the NSW Government prioritise sup port for the full restoration of sewage treat ment facilities on the Richmond River, for the benefit of communities in the Northern Rivers region.LGNSW president Darriea Turley said it was essential that the NSW Government act on the inquiry’s key recommendations to ensure councils are well positioned to manage any extreme weather events that may occur in the future.“LGNSW’s submission made it clear that the scale of natural disasters in recent years re quired a substantial shift where the future focus embodies a greater emphasis on resilience and adaptation to ensure communities are better prepared for future disasters,” Cr Turley said. “It is heartening that many of the inquiry’s recommendations echo those made by LGN SW in our submission and recognise councils have a central role in emergency management – both now and into the future – and should be supported by other government agencies ac cordingly.“Welook forward to further discussions with the NSW Government on this issue, including how we can continue to work together to plan, fund, and resource the work of councils to not only manage their communities’ capacity to re cover and rebuild from disasters but also build future resilience.”
PEOPLE-EDUCATIONALTERNATIVESERVICES-LEISURENATIONALCOUNCILLORPROFILES8-91012-16ENERGY1718-19RURAL-REGIONAL20-22METRO-SUBURBAN23
CRADLE CONFERENCEAUTHORITYCOASTSEGRA2022 31 Aug - 2 Sept Paranaple Convention Centre, Devon port. AUSTRALIAN CONFERENCEBUSHFIRE 14-16 September To be held at the Fairmont Resort and Spa, Leura - this year’s theme of ‘Building Partnerships for Change’ will be explored across a two-day program and will bring together renowned national speakers and industry professionals to discuss re search, case studies and best practices for building in bushfire prone areas with the goal to seek improved outcomes in the way bushfires are managed, planned for and recovered from.
Councils will need significant support
Crucially, the inquiry supported LGNSW’s view in finding that local councils – especially in the Northern Rivers region – will need signifi cant support to repair private and public roads affected by flooding, potholes and landslips.
· That the NSW Government significantly in crease its investment in flood mitigation and preparation, including its support of local governments to do the same, by increasing ongoing, long-term funding and access to technical guidance and assistance for local councils and ensuring that land-use plan ning and development takes a risk-based approach;
EDITORIAL DESK Findings no surprise for locals The NSW Parliamentary Inquiry report on the Response to Major Flooding Across Australia has found that local councils –especially in the Northern Rivers region – will need significant support to repair private and public roads affected by flooding, potholes and landslips. This comes as little surprise to those living in the Northern Rivers where roads are still nonexistent in some places and constantly potholed in others. A local was heard to quip the other day that the brand-new Tweed Valley Hospital at Cud gen was a “world class facility on a thirdworld road”. This was unfair to the Tweed Shire Council which has been filling pot holes for months but you get the sentiment. - Tania Phillips NEWS
LGNSW president Darriea Turley. 848 108. Publisher Paul Thomas. All material is copyright to Star News Group Pty Ltd. All significant errors will be corrected as soon as possible. Distribution numbers, areas and coverage are estimates only. For our terms and conditions please visit LGFocus.com. au/terms-and-conditions/ THIS EDITION
Local Government Focus has joined with Inter national Greenkeeper, Strathfield, Sports Club, Sydney Sports and Fitness to find a new home for the refurbished cricket roller. Advertising manager Phill Le Petit said there had been plenty of interest in the roller with 60 entries so far. “There was great interest amongst dele gates at the recent ALGA National Convention in Canberra all keen and eager to win a cricket pitch roller valued at $10,000 for their council,” he said, adding that entry was through signing up to the paper online. Phill said signing up for the paper online had benefits of its own beyond going into the draw for the refurbished roller. “There is the convenience of receiving your Local Government Focus publication electroni cally approximately one week earlier than the hard copy,” he said. “Also, when you’re away interstate, region ally or overseas, you do not miss out on any of the interesting and relevant articles that are published as you can read content on your digital“Extremelydevice. user-friendly articles can be ex panded and simply flip the pages as you read.” While not new, the roller has been exten sively refurbished since being donated to Inter national Greenkeepers according the group’s Darryl“TheDavidson.rollerwas donated to International Greenkeepers by Strathfield Sports Club – they didn’t need it anymore and we thought, let’s clean it up and give it to someone that needs it,” Darryl explained. “So I approached my work, Sydney Sport and Fitness and they helped out in getting it mechanically up to standard, giving it a service and all of those kinds of things. We took all the old paint off and gave it a fresh paint job. Then speaking to Phill from LG Focus, he said we should give it away to someone. “It’s an old cricket wicket roller I’m sure there will be someone out there who will ap preciate it especially after the floods, drought and fires – clubs might have lost a lot of equip ment and with Covid they might not be able to buy a Phillroller.”saidto enter, go online to lgfocus.com. au/subscribe and enter name, email and post code and you are in the draw to win. The refurbished roller waiting for a new home.
The inquiry’s report made a raft of recom mendations to ensure NSW communities are better prepared and more resilient to respond to extreme weather events, many of which aligned with those made by LGNSW in its sub mission to the inquiry. Key recommendations include:
Launched at the ALGA National Convention in Canberra, the Local Government Focus Roller Giveaway competition is garnering plenty of interest with the winner announced in the October edition.
INSIDE
· That the NSW Government work with local governments to identify alternative routes to vulnerable roads, and that the NSW and Aus tralian Governments fund the construction of these important routes to improve evacuation and access options in times of disaster; and
Local Government NSW (LGNSW) has welcomed the release of the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry’s report on the Response to Major Flooding Across NSW in 2022.
· That the NSW Government advocate through the National Cabinet to widen eligibility un der the Disaster Funding Recovery Arrange ments to allow local councils to build back better;
LOCAL GOVERNMENT NSW CONFERENCE 23-25 October Registrations for this conference, to be held at the Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley, will open on Monday 4 July with early bird rates until Wednesday 17 August. WA LOCAL CONVENTIONGOVERNMENT 3-4 October The Local Government Convention will be held at the Crown in Perth – booking now open.
Entries rolling in for LG Focus’ giveaway
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tribute to the efforts of
· At the height of the flooding, the SES re ceived 216 requests for assistance, under took 24 flood rescues and 134 rapid damage assessments.
· The stormwater flooding in Blacktown City has been declared a ‘Natural Disaster’ by the NSW Government.
· Council closed about 15 roads due to local ised flooding. · Council supplied about 50 tonnes of sand to the SES to prepare sand bags.
Blacktown City Mayor Tony Bleasdale OAM.
· A large number of pot-holes have appeared throughout the city, particularly in the city’s north-west. Council crews are conducting temporary repairs at each location.
while calling on all levels of government to work together on “long-term, sustainable plans to deal with floods”.
services crews during the recent
Blacktown City Mayor Tony Bleasdale OAM has paid emergency weather event The recent severe weather event resulted in flooding, road closures and evacuations in some parts of Blacktown City, with the city de claring a natural disaster area for the second time in six months. “A huge thank you goes out to our volun teers, emergency services workers and our own council crews for their efforts during the second major flooding event to hit our city in a matter of months,” Mayor Bleasdale said. “We’ve had our local SES and RFS crews working around the clock, as well as SES crews from other areas, Australian Defence Force personnel, surf lifesavers, and Fire and Rescue crews all come together in this time of crisis.“Council crews have been working around the clock on our roads and other areas of flood damage to assist our affected residents and businesses.“Myheart goes out to those people who have been affected, especially those who have experienced their third major flood in 18 months.“I’mcalling for coordinated, long-term floodmitigation planning involving all three levels of government, emergency services, the ADF and the housing industry to provide some real solu tions to this recurring nightmare for residents and“Whetherbusinesses.it’s management of water levels in Warragamba Dam, restricting development, house buy-backs, increased evacuation routes, large-scale water retention schemes, massive engineering works, increasing green space or a combination of all of these – we need the long-term plans now, not for the next five or 10 years, but for the next 50 years. “Flood fatigue is real. It is having a devastat ing effect on the health and financial wellbeing of far too many residents, businesses and our volunteers.”Blacktown has worked with Resilience NSW in opening a Recovery Assistance Point in Riv erstone from 18 July and is providing a free clean-up service in flood-affected areas. The Federal Government’s Natural Disaster Declaration for Blacktown City means Black town receives financial assistance to support the clean-up and road repair costs. Summary of flood operations in Blacktown City:
The SCA’s ‘Future Proofing the South Coast Through Sustainable Building Design’ project will assess council buildings and facilities to identify cost-effective emissions reduction mea sures such as installing renewable energy or ret rofitting buildings to increase energy efficiency.
· Supports for mayors to perform their leadership roles.
· Supports for CEOs to most effectively and safely perform their roles – the VLGA would like to see some structural changes in regard to the CEO employ ment relationship.
ofliancezies,Dundas,ofalliance-programvironment/climate-change/regional-climate-GVROCisanallianceconsistingoftheCityKalgoorlie-BoulderandShiresofCoolgardie,Esperance,Laverton,Leonora,MenNgaanyatjarrakuandWiluna.SCAisanalmadeupoftheCityofAlbanyandShiresDenmark,JerramungupandPlantagenet.
PRESIDENT’S COMMENT - LGAT PRESIDENT CHRISTINA HOLMDAHL
A bit is going on in the Tasmanian local government sector. We are working through a once-in-a-genera tion review of the local government sector in our state. This provides an exciting opportunity to take stock and evaluate the way we operate and look at opportunities to improve the ser vices our sector delivers for the community. The objective of the review, which is being undertaken by the independent Local Govern ment Board, is to create a more robust and capable system of local government, for the benefit of all Tasmanians. The first phase is complete and has involved consultation with local government, a broad range of the community, users of local govern ment services and other stakeholders. There have also been some interesting research ar ticles prepared by the University of Tasmania on the history of local government in Tasmania that are worth a look. The Local Government Board is currently reviewing the community and stakeholder feedback to inform the second phase of the Review, which will identify the needs and op portunities for reform and a range of options for further consideration. In addition to the review, the Tasmanian Government recently introduced compulsory voting in our local government elections, due for October this year. This change in legislation has been mostly welcomed by the sector although disappoint ingly the government did introduce the chang es with no recent consultation with our sector. A point that was not lost during the Parliamen taryAsdebate.wehead to the polls in October, we are encouraging people from diverse backgrounds, genders, abilities, and ages to represent their community by standing for local government. Strong and effective councils reflect the di verse communities they serve. President Christina Holmdahl.
4 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS August 2022 LGFOCUS.COM.AU Ms Arndt has described the reports as “disheartening”.“Localcouncils, as the arm of govern ment closest to the people, are respon sible for the delivery of a vast array of services and facilities that support the health and wellbeing of their local com munities,” she said. “Over the past two-year period and membersity,standardsplaceandofstratingthatVictoriawaspandemic,throughoutthedisruptionoftheCOVID-19thisessentialservicedeliverymaintainedacrossall79councilsin–highlightingtheimportantroleourcouncilsundertakeanddemonthecommitmentandskillrequiredcouncillorsandcouncilstaff.“Itisdishearteningtoseeessentialimpactfulworkunderminedbyworkbehaviourthatfallsshortoftheofdignity,fairness,objectivcourtesyandrespectthatcommunityshouldexpect.“Beyondthelegalobligationsofcouncilstomaintainsafeworkplaces,nurturingacultureofcivilconductinsideandoutsideofthecouncilchamberiscentraltogoodgovernance.“Thereisadifferencebetweenthe‘cutandthrust’ofpoliticaldebateandconductwhichthreatenstheabilityofcouncillorsandcouncilofficerstodotheirjobs.WehopetoseethesecomplexdynamicsaddressedthroughtheVictorianLocalGovernmentCultureReviewProject.“However,theVLGAsubmitsthatintheabsenceofanygenuinecommunityandsectorappetiteforstructuralreform,weshouldrecognisethatcouncilsoperateinapoliticisedmodel.And,throughanumberofmechanisms,providecouncillorswiththetoolstodealconstructivelywiththetensionsthatarisefromworkinginsuchanenvironment.”TheVLGAwouldliketoseeanumberofoutcomesfromtheCultureReviewProject:
· A raised awareness of the roles, re sponsibilities and processes of coun cils for both candidates and the com munity (voters).
· Processes to support diversity and in clusion amongst the councillor groups.
Reports of conduct issues in Victorian councils are of concern, according to Victorian Local KathrynAssociationGovernmentexecutiveArndt.
The Goldfields Voluntary Regional Organisation of Councils (GVROC) – consisting of nine local governments – and the South Coast Alliance (SCA) – an alliance of four local governments –will use the money for two important projects.
· Increased external supports through expanded roles for monitors and gover nance organisations such as the VLGA.
What need...we
· Improved mandatory training for candi dates – not just programs for women – but for men and women – who wish to stand for local government.
WALGA president Karen Chappel has congratulated two Local Government Regional Climate Alliances (RCAs) who have received an additional $100,000 from the WA Government for projects to reduce carbon emissions.
WALGA president Karen Chappel. Changes afoot for local government
“It is evident that change is required to ensure that debate and interactions avoid hostility and aggression that compromises the ability of councils to perform at their best – in addition to discouraging people to stand (in local government elections) in the future,” Ms Arndt said.
GVROC’s ‘Carbon Emissions Baseline Study’ project will identify emissions sources for member local governments, promote emis sions reporting and monitoring tools, and sup port the prioritisation of new investments. President Chappel said both groups were pursuing ambitious work programs to transi tion their communities and economies to lower carbon emissions and a more climate resilient future.“WALGA congratulates both of the alliances in providing leadership within their communi ties, which builds on the great work of other local governments throughout WA that are transitioning to a low carbon future,” she said. “Communities throughout the state expect their councils to take action on climate change and local governments are doing just that with tangible, practical, cost effective measures to reduce“WALGAemissions.looks forward to continuing to support the alliances through project delivery as part of the Regional Climate Alliance Pilot Program.”TheRegional Climate Alliance Program was created when WALGA partnered with the De partment of Water and Environment Regula tion and the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries in 2021. The aim of the program is to support local governments to take action on climate change, energy and sustainability through regional part nerships.Moreinformation can be found at asn.au/policy-advocacy/our-policy-areas/enwalga.
· A culture of training and improved governance resources for councillors – the community should demand that councillors invest (as part of the bud get process) in professional develop ment to enhance their performance as councillors.
Reducing carbon emissions
· An emphasis on building conflict reso lution skills for councillors (whose role it is to disagree with each other at times).
Ex-mayor sentenced
For Aunty Gayle Minniecon, chairwom an of the Butchulla Aboriginal Corporation (BAC), the reinstatement of K’gari as the is land’s name has been a long time coming. “It means so much to the Butchulla Peo ple,” she said. “For us it’s about respect for our People. It’s important for us to let our ancestors know that our culture is still strong and we continue to care for our country.” BAC director Christine Royan said K’gari’s story was the Butchulla People’s Dreaming story.“The story of K’gari is the story of our cre ation,” she “Havingsaid.K’gari reinstated means that we are returning our story back to where it be longs – to its Resourceshome.”Minister Scott Stewart said the State Government had actively worked with the Butchulla People to recognise the cultural significance of K’gari. “We’ve listened to the Butchulla People who have maintained a strong commitment to reinstating the island’s traditional name,” Mr Stewart said. “The island has been known as K’gari for thousands of years and I hope it will be for mally known as K’gari for many more years to come.”Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Part nerships Minister Craig Crawford said a re turn to the island’s traditional name would honour the Butchulla People’s culture and continued connection to country. “K’gari forms part of a spiritually signifi cant story for the Butchulla People - one that should be celebrated and embraced by all Queenslanders,” Mr Crawford said. “On the Path to Treaty, recognising Indig enous language through proposed changes to place names like K’gari demonstrates the Palaszczuk Government’s commitment to truth-telling and reconciliation.”
25th anniversary marked
“The name Fraser Island is culturally in appropriate – it is a tribute to Eliza Fraser, a woman whose narrative directly led to the massacre and dispossession of the Butchulla people.”Member for Hervey Bay Adrian Tantari said renaming the world heritage area was well received by the community and believed the island’s traditional name should become official.“Our community has acknowledged the name K’gari for quite some time now, and I can’t wait for visitors to do the same,” Mr Tantari said.
The 25th anniversary of an historic declaration signed in Newcastle to pursue sustainable development was marked before representatives from Hunter businesses, not-for-profits, and local and state governments earlier this month.
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Queenslanders will be able to have a say in officially renaming the iconic Fraser Island as its Indigenous name, K’gari.
IBAC’s Operation Naxos investigated allega tions of fraudulent practices within the elector ate office of former member of the Victorian Parliament Khalil Eideh. The allegations related to the misuse of taxpayer funded resources to assist Justin Mammarella’s preselection campaign for the 2018 state election through branch stacking. In 2018, Justin Mammarella and Robert Mammarella conspired to give false evidence to IBAC regarding the use of stationery within the Cairnlea electorate office. Earlier this month, Justin Mammarella pleaded guilty in the Melbourne County Court to conspiring to attempt to pervert the course of justice, perjury and possessing an imitation firearm without the proper permit. He was sen tenced to a three-year Community Correction Order with 375 hours of community work. Robert Mammarella pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiring to pervert the course of justice and one charge of perjury. He was sen tenced to a three-year Community Correction Order and fined $12,000. Her Honour Judge Rosemary Carlin indi cated that if not for Robert Mammarella’s plea of guilty, she would have sentenced him to a total effective sentence of two years imprison ment with a non-parole period of one year and six months. Following the sentencing of Justin and Robert Mammarella, Operation Naxos has now concluded.
The Newcastle Declaration was endorsed at the Pathways to Sustainability International Conference hosted by City of Newcastle in June 1997, and signed by former Newcastle Lord Mayor Greg Heys, as well as represen tatives from the International Union of Local Authorities, International Council for Local En vironmental Initiatives (ICLEI,) Australian Local Government Association. The Newcastle Declaration made its way around the world, being presented to the Unit ed Nations at the 1997: Rio +5 Conference in NewTheYork.acknowledgement of its 25-year mile stone came during a meeting of the Hunter Region Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Collaboration Group, which works together on ways to achieve the United Nations’ goals across the Newcastleregion.Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said City of Newcastle remained committed to the objectives laid out in the original Newcastle Declaration.“Itisimportant to recognise this significant milestone and the actions of our former lead ers who were forward thinking for their time in responding to the challenge of establishing sustainable management practices with the Newcastle Declaration,” Cr Nelmes said. “As a result, City of Newcastle is now a leader in this space and over the past 25 years has successfully achieved economic, social, cultural and ecological goals by integrating sustainability into the design and implementa tion of our policies, programs and projects. “City of Newcastle was the first local government in NSW to switch to 100 per cent renewable electricity supply, with our 5-mega watt solar farm and a power purchase agree ment with the Sapphire Wind Farm. “By meeting together with local businesses, government representatives, and not-for-profit organisations that are also committed to sus tainable development initiatives, we will col laborate on ways we can bring the United Na tion’s Sustainable Development Goals to life in Greater Newcastle for an environmentally sus tainableLincolnfuture.”Hawkins reflected on the Pathways to Sustainability International Conference in 1997 as the Conference Chair and acknowl edged the collective work of all those involved in the Newcastle Declaration. “The Pathways Conference was held during a crossroads in the 1990s - a very significant time in Newcastle with the 1997 Bicentenary,” Mr Hawkins said. “The Newcastle Declaration was agreed on behalf of towns and cities around the world, who took a major step toward embracing the global challenge of sustainability at a local level.“The challenges and opportunities faced then are clearly no less important today. Their legacy continues to play a critical leadership role in showing us how to successfully transi tion to sustainability.”
Deputy Lord Mayor Declan Clausen and Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes with Lincoln Hawkins.
‘Story of our creation’: Change to K’gari
PublicPlaygroundsStreetscapesTransport
Understanding and addressing access and Universal Design in: Buildings and facilities Parks and Outdoor Recreation Areas
Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon said consultation follows the island’s world heritage area being renamed K’gari (Fraser Island) last year. “K’gari means paradise in the Butchulla language and as a popular destination for its natural beauty, is a much more fitting name for such an iconic place,” Ms Scanlon said.
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Former Melton mayor and Labor candidate Justin Mammarella and his father Umberto ‘Robert’ Mammarella, a former electorate officer, have been sentenced following IBAC’s investigation Operation Naxos.
The World Heritage Area became K’gari in 2021, but the official place name for the world’s largest sand island had yet to change.
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Mayor van Zetten is Launceston’s longest serv ing mayor, having served five successive terms in the city’s highest public office. He was first elected to the City of Launceston in 2005, be fore being elected mayor in 2007. “Serving as mayor of Launceston had been a tremendous honour, but I am now looking forward to spending more time with my amaz ing wife Lyndle, as well as our children Carmen, Joshua and Rosita and our beautiful grandchil dren,” Mayor van Zetten said. “Having devoted 17 years to the City of Laun ceston, I’m ready to move on to new adventures with Lyndle, who has been an incredible support to me during my time in office, and our family. “It has been a difficult decision, because serving as mayor of Launceston has been a tremendous honour and something I have thor oughly“Launcestonenjoyed. is an incredible city, with an amazing community of passionate, innovative, and caring people. “I’ve been proud to have served as an am bassador for this phenomenal community, which makes Launceston one of the best cities in the world. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people of Launceston who have put their faith in me to serve as Mayor — your support has meant a great deal to me and I’m extremely grateful.“Launceston is a city with enormous poten tial and a very bright future and I’m excited to see the city’s next steps under the leadership of a new mayor.”
Adelaide Hills Mayor Dr Jan-Claire Wisdom.
Hills to fight annex
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The commission has invited Adelaide Hills Council to provide comment on the inquiry brief they have developed to assist the com mission estimate the investigation costs which Campbelltown will be required to pay in addi tion to their own resourcing costs.
City of Ballarat chief executive officer Evan King said Cr Driscoll made an enor mous contribution to his community. “The City of Ballarat is deeply saddened to hear of Cr Driscoll’s passing. He leaves be hind a significant legacy.”
A community in mourning Cr Driscoll, who passed away on 31 July, had served Northern Grampians Shire Coun cil since October 2012 and represented the Kara Kara Ward. City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Daniel Moloney, whose city conveyed its sincere condolence to his family and friends, commended Cr Driscoll’s passion for serving his community. “Cr Driscoll was a tireless advocate for the Northern Grampians Shire Council and his loss will be widely felt right across the mu nicipality and broader region,” he said.
Mayor van Zetten bows out
Northern Grampians Shire Council Mayor Cr Tony Driscoll is being mourned by his friends, family, shire and the wider region.
“Adelaide Hills Council is deeply disappoint ed for the communities involved given the large majority of them have expressed opposition to being taken over by Campbelltown,” said Ad elaide Hills Mayor Dr Jan-Claire Wisdom. The commission met on 20 July 2022 to consider Campbelltown’s Stage 2 proposal, along with Adelaide Hills Council’s letter in re sponse to supplementary information provided by InCampbelltown.hislettertothe Adelaide Hills Council, the commission chairperson advised that the “… commission formed the view that the Proposal meets the requirements of Guideline 3 and generally aligns with the section 26 principles”. The commission therefore determined an in quiry into the proposal may proceed in accor dance with Section 31 of the Act and Guideline 4 – Investigations of General Proposals Initi ated by “ThisCouncils.isnotthe determination we had hoped for, but it has now been made and we will im mediately pivot to focus our efforts on the for mal inquiry process,” Dr Wisdom said. The inquiry stage is conducted by the com mission to assess the proposal against the pro visions of the legislation and the commission’s guidelines.Itincludes engagement with the affected councils and communities to obtain informa tion relevant to the assessment in order to make a recommendation to the Minister for a final decision as to whether the proposal should be adopted and under what terms and conditions.Thecommission has indicated a number of independent investigators will be required and the cost estimate for the inquiry has yet to be calculated.Itwillfall to Campbelltown’s new council after the November 2022 election to consider whether they wish to fund the cost in order to proceed. Should they decide to do so, the in quiry is expected to commence some time in 2023.“We hope the ‘new’ Campbelltown City Council who will inherit this situation will rethink the impact that an investigation will have on the wellbeing of the communities they wish to an nex,” Dr Wisdom said. These residents have already waited through three and a half years of uncertainty since the original Campbelltown Council resolution was made to go down this path. “During that time the community have stat ed their opposition in two surveys (conducted by both Adelaide Hills Council and Campbell town City Council) and will have to go through that all over again if the inquiry proceeds,” Dr Wisdom“Theyadded.feelconnected with the Adelaide Hills environment and are concerned about any potential future push for changes to zon ing. Adelaide Hills Council has a good reputa tion for valuing the open space and ambience that comes with retaining appropriate property allotment sizes consistent with the living stan dards desired and enjoyed by its residents.”
The City of Albany will welcome a new executive director of corporate and commercial services after council endorsed the appointment of Mr Matthew Gilfellon to the role at its July council meeting. Matthew Gilfellon.
chosenDirector
Launceston Mayor Albert van Zetten is calling time on his 17-year career in local government and will not contest the upcoming council elections in October.
The deadline is 29 August 2022 and this is the only formal action for Adelaide Hills Council to undertake prior to the ‘new’ Campbelltown City Council considering the costs and decid ing whether to proceed. “I believe that our council is well-placed to respond to the commission’s determination through our recent resolution to establish a Boundary Change Committee in response to the Campbelltown claim,” she said. “We remain concerned at what we consider to be minimal evidence produced by Camp belltown so far. “Should an inquiry proceed we would welcome a much deeper examination of the Campbelltown claim and a far more construc tive engagement with the affected communi ties that respects their values, expectations and aspirations.”
The council received notification from the South Australian Local Government Boundaries Com mission late last month that Campbelltown’s proposal to annex the suburbs of Rostrevor and Woodforde could proceed to the next stage.
Adelaide Hills Council are set to fight a plan to annex two of its suburbs and redistribute them in the new Campbelltown region.
Launceston Mayor Albert van Zetten with wife Lyndle. The city had been seeking a replacement to join its executive team and assist in the strategic management and leadership of the organisation after the resignation of Mr Duncan Olde in April 2022. Mr Gilfellon comes to the city with a wealth of experience in the local govern ment sector, having held the chief execu tive officer position at the Shire of Chit tering since 2019. Prior to this, he was the chief execu tive officer at the Shire of Dumbleyung for six years and chief executive officer at the Shire of Mt Marshall for two years, and has been chairman of the Muchea Industrial Park Working Group, board member of the State Library of Western Australia, and chairman of the State Li brary of Western Australia Audit and Risk Committee.Despitethe demands of his profes sional positions, Mr Gilfellon has also still found time for helping his community, volunteering for his local bush fire bri gades.City of Albany chief executive officer Andrew Sharpe said Mr Gilfellon’s knowl edge and experience would be an asset to the city and Albany community. “With qualifications in business, busi ness law, accounting, legal studies and commerce, combined with his previous sector experience, we’re very pleased to have Matthew joining our team,” he said. “Along with council, I’m looking for ward to working with Matthew and know that he will have a very positive impact on our community through his new lead ership role.” Mr Gilfellon said he was excited to be joining the City of Albany. “I’m really looking forward to moving to Albany with my family and being part of a wonderful community and enjoying everything the region has to offer,” he said.“The City of Albany has a strong repu tation and I’ll be committed to assisting council, the CEO and the team in con tinuing the great work they’re doing and supporting Albany to continue to grow andMrprosper.”Gilfellon starts his role in October.
6 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS August 2022 LGFOCUS.COM.AU
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On the other hand, many small towns continue to stagnate. The reasons are many - the pull of the cities, farming technologies, transport costs, withdrawal of manufacturing assistance, lack of strong regional development policies. The list goes on. It’s a complex field, but I’d like to suggest three success factors in small town develop ment, and offer some solutions. Good understanding of economic drivers
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LGFOCUS.COM.AU August 2022 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS 7 YOUR COUNCIL AIRPORT MANAGEMENT IS NO LONGER A CHALLENGE Providing Airport Management Solutions To Councils Discuss your specific needs today and remove the stress from employees not properly qualified to manage such an important facility by contact@ozairports.com.aucontacting:Mobile:0407721664ozairports.com.au
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NEWS Supporting small towns
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Local councils should know their towns better than anyone, but knowing the potential eco nomic drivers of towns is a different proposi tion.To explain, an economic driver sparks solid investment and jobs growth. A good example are the various solar and wind energy projects springing up around regional Australia. Two decades ago, no one knew much about the potential of these economic drivers for regional towns.Interestingly, small artisan and tourism businesses were once the economic drivers of small towns. But they’ve had a high attri tion rate in recent decades as these towns declined. Highway bypasses, Covid and high petrol prices have added to the problem. Example of artisan/tourism economic driver
A small town outside Canberra has a great pub, an empty building next door, a bushranger history, a recently renovated old railway station, a corner store, a servo, some very nice homes, numerous surrounding cattle-sheep properties and not much else. The town has lost its mojo. The fascinating opportunity is for the build ing next door to the pub to be home to 8-10 businesses that actually produce goods and services, as well as sell them viz. timber furni ture, chutneys and jams, boutique beer, com puter repairs, animal feeds and funky things like wedding dresses etc. The rationale is that the pub and the busi nesses next door are complementary assets. They would create an inter-dependent busi ness hub that could attract serious tourist traffic from Canberra and travellers along the Hume Highway. The stumbling block is the owner of the empty building, who lives inter state. See below for my suggested solutions. Effective facilitators The second problem for small towns is that they invariably lack facilitators to address ‘co ordination failure’. This is a fancy economic term which basically means that the key stake holders don’t properly engage - they forget, or they lack confidence or networking skills or whatever. As Professor Mike Enright (University of Hong Kong) once said ‘they just can’t orga niseTheit’. sad truth is that facilitators in small towns do enormous amounts of unpaid work, but they eventually become disillusioned and/ or suffer burnout. My suggestion therefore is that Councils should step into this breach, by (a) funding lo cal facilitators a modest annual sum for their efforts, say $10-15k/year, and (b) appointing existing council staff as facilitators to designat ed towns i.e. these staff would be tasked with understanding the town’s economy, its issues and key stakeholders. They could thus help progress projects in timely fashion. In the artisan/tourism example above, both the town facilitator and the council facilitator might start with both having a discussion with the building owner to ascertain his intentions, particularly to determine how the building might become a business hub. For example, the two facilitators could meet with prospective tenants ahead of a joint pitch to the building owner for a hub, and to pay for partitioning and extra power points to make it happen. There may be a program for 50/50 funding of these items between the owner and the state government? Similarly, the 8-10 prospective businesses could see if the state government might subsidise their rental costs for a period. In this context, there is a regional development argument to support such subsi dies, and there are precedents. The critical factor in this scenario are facili tators that can develop and deliver the deal. The regional economic literature talks about fa cilitators needing Type A personalities - ambi tious, competitive, organised, impatient. I tend to agree, because the more relaxed Type B types have difficulty in generating or maintain ing the necessary momentum. Councils might care to reflect on this. Strong project justification The third problem area, and it’s a considerable one, involves the economic-social arguments to underpin the proposal. For a relatively straightforward proposal like my artisan/tourism example, the need for documentation isn’t great. And for private sec tor projects, the companies can do their own feasibilityHoweverstudies.documentation is critical for big gish public projects, especially after the recent rorting of federal and state programs. The dilemma here, as small councils would well understand, is the cost of feasibility stud ies and the like. To its credit the NSW has re cently taken the lead in funding some of the required work. I also think that regional univer sities could be more active in this space. Failing that, councils might commission the Cockatoo Network to do the work! We have an amazing breadth of talent. Crazy pricing A 25 pack of cigarettes is $50.95 in Australia - the highest in the world. The price in Paki stan etc. is about $2. The rationale is obviously health benefits to we citizens and the hospi tal system. But a loaf of excellent Aldi bread is only $2.20. Go figure. I’m hoping kids aren’t missing out on a square meal. Moral of the sto ry? Smokers deserve no sympathy, but are our tobacco taxes a little over the top? Northbourne Avenue speeding ticket My kids say I drive so slowly that I should wear a hat and have out front with a lantern. So it was particularly galling and embarrass ing when I was recently booked for speeding on Northbourne Avenue, the bush capital’s main thoroughfare. I was doing 46km/hour in a 40 zone, and the fine was an astonishing $301. Moral of the story? The ACT Government has an unassailable lead in the polls, hence ex tortion of this sort. And it surely leaves a bad image for interstate/overseas drivers who’d be prime casualties. BROWN
We’re currently witnessing remarkable population growth in some rural lifestyle communities, thanks to Covid and fundamental changes in work arrangements.
• Our staff are available for short and long term periods during planned absences or the duration of a recruitment process.
• Reduce the impact of staff shortages with experienced CASA compliant Aerodrome Reporting and Works Safety Officers.
I came in on a platform of increased fire mitiga tion on the back of the 2019 Bushfires. Since my time as Mayor, Noosa Council has greatly increased its fire mitigation and resilience plat forms.From last year’s budget, we’re funding new equipment, and a new fire management officer role to enable us to carry out our own controlled burns without relying on private contractors.
Scott Carver Director of Landscape Archi tecture, Esther Dickins said working with su permanoeuvre on an integrated outcome for Periscope Canopy within the surrounding The Canopy landscape, public domain and retail project was part of the concept of literally re flecting the Lane Cove community. “Inviting supermanoeuvre to collaborate on a key part of the project also reflects the value of deep collaboration to form unique design outcomes,” Ms Dickins said. “Considering how the landscape would enhance this experience and doubling its impact within the reflective surface was key, particularly the role of the green wall that greets people and acts as ‘green’ signage, connecting the restaurant and retail precinct without the need for words. “The award is a satisfying recognition of this unique work that realises Scott Carver and supermanoeuvre’s passion and innova tion and the vision of Lane Cove Council for a collaborative outcome where the best reward is always the smiles on the faces of the peo ple using the attractive, active and inclusive environment we created.”
The mirrored ‘periscope’ ceiling at The Canopy Lane Cove has taken out two awards at the prestigious International Architizer A+Awards. ‘Different by nature’ is our catch cry and our environmental record supports that. We are a small council and a relatively small shire - with around 55,000 residents but we are a robust, resilient and very proud community. Our council reflects that. With tourism being one of the major indus tries in our shire, our businesses and our com munity were hit hard during covid. Testament to the resilience of our business owners and operators, the majority of busi nesses, despite facing a huge reduction in rev enue chose to stay on and trade. Similarly, the impacts of our recent major weather events; two floods earlier this year greatly impacted our shire but, like with every thing else, our community and our council sup port and rally.
architecture firms su permanoeuvre and Scott Carver achieved both Jury Winner and Popular Choice Win ner accolades at the recent 2022 Architizer A+ Awards, which recognised the Periscope Canopy project collaboration as a global cat egoryThestandout.A+Awards is a showcase of the world’s best architecture and spaces and this year’s event celebrated a decade of inspi rational design with more than 5000 entries from over 100 countries in a wide selection of categories.PeriscopeCanopy, which formed part of the mixed-use retail and public domain proj ect The Canopy in Sydney’s Lane Cove, gar nered multiple awards in the Details: Archi tecture + Ceiling category for Jury Winner and Popular Choice Winner and was ranked as a top-five finalist in the Details: Architecture + MetalSupermanoeuvrecategory. with Scott Carver was part of the six Aussie firms shortlisted for mul tiple awards, recognised with just one other local company (Koichi Takada Architects) as a Jury Winner for any category, while also tak ing home the Popular Choice gong. The winning project, Periscope Canopy, is a prime example of how built form and land scape design can create synergy and seam less design outcomes through a collaborative approach.“WithPeriscope Canopy, we wanted to achieve a unique landmark that amplified the vitality of Lane Cove and created a memorable and enduring experience for the community,” supermanoeuvre Director Dave Pigram said. “The project derives its name from more than 2000 mirrored shingles that adorn its underside and in concert with the canopy’s sweeping form, the roof quite literally allows people to see around corners and from below to above.“Periscope Canopy serves as an experien tial amplifier that increases the vitality of ev eryday life and the drama of our movements, spanning the pragmatic to the poetic.”
COUNCIL SUCCESSES AND HOPES
8 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS August 2022 LGFOCUS.COM.AU
Our resilient community Noosa is a very special place. We all know that. Clare Stewart, Mayor, Noosa Council.
I’d like to see the issues with our river (mainly pollution from liveaboards) in our river addressed and sorted- we have a Noosa Riv er Stakeholder Advisory Group formed with MSQ but I would like to see our river cleaned up once and for all. I’d like to see tangible re sults from our transport strategy occur to help reduce congestion and parking issues during peakI’dperiods.liketo see on the back of the 2032 Olympics our sports precincts upgraded our our major sports complex in design face- Te wantin Re-Gen complex completed. Our first Mingle with the Mayor Ball held last year raised $280,000 for DV in our shire to enable a second outreach centre. Council has supported transi tional housing for our most at risk and vulner able and I’d like to see this continue. There is much to be done, and I recognise that. I feel as if I am only just beginning.
COUNCILLOR PROFILE
I think what is facing us is similar to many other councils. The challenges of affordable hous ing providing accommodation for our essential workers.Rising housing costs and next to zero avail ability for accommodation is putting significant pressure on our community, our workers and our businesses who struggle getting staff. Similarly, the impacts of the floods have beenWehuge.have a landslip in our shire which is said to be the biggest ever on the Sunshine Coast - recovery costs have been estimated to be in the tens of millions of dollars and will take a few years to Manyfix.of our residents are greatly affected because of it, and we are working as hard as we can but with a small team we will need sup port from other levels of government- which so far have been great. We have our second largest ever capital works program to deliver (last year was the big gest) and with rising costs of resources, inabil ity to get staff and weather interruptions, de livery is challenging but we have will get there.
Council’s Disaster Resilience team, along with the Peregian Digital Hub, have also spent the past two years formulating relationships with QFES and assembling a panel of global tech companies so the Fire-tech trial phase can begin. I said during my campaign that protecting our natural environment and supporting busi ness opportunity and growth are not mutually exclusive. I believe that and I work had every day on that. I would like to see Noosa main tain the natural environment that we all hold so dear - we need to support and protect that, but I would like to see our workers housed, our es sential workers able to live in our Shire and our businesses thriving. Our draft housing strategy is the most aggressive and progressive step Noosa Council has ever taken in this field and I am proud of that, but there is much to be done. I would like to see us (and we are already on track) be a word leader in fire management and resilience and I would like to see us drive, support and promote our innovation and tech hubs. Our Peregian Digital hub is doing just that and I would like this industry to continue.
FIRST FEMALE MAYOR I was elected Mayor in the 2020 Local Govern ment elections. The first female to ever hold the position here in Noosa Shire. Prior to the elec tion, I had never been in local government but I chose to become involved because I wanted to make a difference - for the better. At the end of the campaign, even if I had of lost, I felt I had won because I felt closer to my community, issues that mattered to the com munity and had met some wonderful people along the way. I feel incredibly privileged to be Mayor of Noosa Shire and I work hard every day to make a difference, however great or small, and I guess that is why I became in volved in politics.
HOUSING A BIG CHALLENGE
The Canopy ceiling won both the Juried and Popular Choice 2022 in the Architec ture +Ceilings category which means it was deemed Best ‘Ceiling’ in the world in 2022. It was also one of the top five designs in the Architecture +Metal category in the same awards.According to the Lane Cove Council, the Periscope Canopy was one of only two Aus tralian entries to receive multiple accolades in the global Leadingawards.Sydney
Lane Cove Council project takes top gong
A new Bushfire Resilience and Response Levy implemented last year will fund a doubling of hazard reduction burns and increase fire trail maintenance across the shire. There was also more funding for back-burns and creating new fire access trails across the shire.One of the initiatives is a $2 million commit ment for the Peregian Beach Digital Hub Fire Tech Living Lab. And now, council’s commitment to fire re silience and management in the Noosa Shire has taken another step forward with the start of the trial phase of our world-class Fire-tech ConnectDrones,program.fuelmoisture sensors, robots and AI cameras are just some of the technology to be put to the test in these trials to predict, de tect, track and fight bushfires. This is a world first. The work of the Fire-tech Connect program is groundbreaking and the adoption of innovative solutions could change the way regional Australia prepares, predicts and detects future bushfires, putting Noosa at the forefront of bushfire preparedness.
A FULL TIME JOB Being Mayor is a full-time role for me. Prior to being involved in politics, I was a Barrister at law at the Private Bar in Brisbane and also here on the Sunshine Coast. Prior to being Mayor I was on the not-for-profit Boards Youngcare and Youngmac. I remain on those boards now. They give me an additional sense of purpose as my role with those organisations is to sup port, enhance and advocate for improving the lives of young people with high care needs. I have just been appointed by my fellow South East Qld Council of Mayors to the Bris bane Organising Committee for the Olympic Games which I am incredibly thrilled and hum bled by. I will advocate strongly alongside Lord Mayor Shrinner for South-East Qld and look forward to being a part of the discussions and deliberations going forward. With three small children, aged 11, 9 and 6 I am, like every other mum, busy and between work and home life there isn’t much spare time. But I chose the role and I choose this life and I feel humbled and privileged to be in the role I am. I wouldn’t change it- maybe add an hour or so extra for sleep (who wouldn’t) but otherwise I consider myself very lucky.
Mr Pigram said the latest accolades for the multi-award-winning project solidified super manoeuvre’s commitment to the creation of public spaces that are impactful, sustainable and“Periscopeenduring. Canopy was a great opportu nity to demonstrate the value of our design approach while showcasing our international experience and computational design capa bilities in a commercial Australian context,” he “Assistingsaid. local governments to envision and deliver such places lies at the core of our practice, and we hope other LGAs and pri vate clients will be encouraged to collaborate with us.”
The constant complaints prompted Nev to enter local “Everybodypolitics.was coming in and whinging about everything to me, but mainly about the roads, which pushed me to stand for council. I wanted to fix the roads.”
LGFOCUS.COM.AU August 2022 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS 9 12544024-JC15-22
$618.78millionfromthestateand$501.62mil-lionfromtheCouncilofMayors(SEQ),plus$75millionfromindustry.PrimeMinisterScottMorrisonsaidtheSEQCityDealwasallaboutdeliveringforthepeo-pleofSouthEastQueensland.“ThisisapartnershipforQueenslandjobsandQueenslandinvestmenttodeliverastron-gereconomyandastrongerfuture,”thePrimeMinistersaid.“SouthEastQueenslandisoneofthefast-estgrowingregionsinAustralia,andwiththepopulationexpectedtocontinuetogrow,itiscrucialthatweinvestintheinfrastructureitneedstothrivefordecadestocome.“FromBrisbanetoToowoomba,IpswichtotheSunshineCoastandeverywhereinbetween,thisDealdeliversforSouthEastQueenslanders.“Weallshareavisionofamoreconnected,liveableandexport-competitiveregion,andthisbringsthatvisiontolife.“Theeconomicimpactofthismajorinvest-mentwillbesignificant,withmorethan30projectssettogeneratemorethan2,000jobs,whileensuringthatthestateisinthebestposi-tionpossibletohostasuccessful2032Olym-pics.”QueenslandPremierandMinisterfortheOlympicsAnnastaciaPalaszczuksaidtheco-operationbetweenalllevelsofgovernmentwouldensurethattheregionhastherightin-frastructureinplaceasthepopulationgrows.“Ihavealwayssaidweworkbestwhenweworktogether,”thePremiersaid.“TheCityDealprovidesvitalinfrastructuretoplanforourgrowingpopulation.“ThatincludesnewtransportlinksfortheGabbaintimeforthe2032OlympicandParalympicGames.“ThewinnersareQueenslanders.”CouncilofMayors(SEQ)ChairandLordMayorofBrisbaneAdrianSchrinnersaidthe
Mayor Nev Ferrier has spent his life on the land. Mayor Nev and his little granddaughter.
Cities transformed An idea generated by the then Mayors of South East Queensland in 2014 came into being in March, when the Australian Government, the Queensland Government and the Council of Mayors South East Queensland (CoMSEQ) signed the South East Queensland (SEQ) City Deal.
The SEQ City Deal is a 20-year partnership between the Australian Government, Queensland Government and 11 Councils which make up the Council of Mayors (SEQ) which provides a shared commitment to transform SEQ and deliver region-shaping infrastructure. The SEQ City Deal will deliver a significant package of investments that will generate thousands of local jobs, boost digital and transport connectivity, enhance liveability and support one of the fastest growing regions in theThecountry.City Deal is supported by a $667.77 million investment from the Commonwealth,
Australia’s National Local Government Newspaper APRIL 2022
“The Banana Shire is home to three coal mines, a coal-fired power station, a gold mine, a nitrate plant, a meat works, plus thousands of farms,” said Nev. “We are very lucky we have different indus tries in the shire.”
The diverse industries in the shire means rates can be subsidised by industry. “We are very lucky to have the coal mines and power stations operating here as they help pay a big percentage of the rates for the shire. It keeps the rates lower than what they prob ably would have been otherwise,” Nev added. Nev became a councillor of Banana Shire back in 2004 after spending 30 years running his own transport company. He sold the business and bought a pub in Dululu and became the local publican. “Being a publican is a bit like being a coun sellor, you hear everyone’s troubles,” said Nev.
The glorious Dawson River is Nev’s favourite spot in the Banana Shire which runs through Taroom, Theodore and Moura and is the life blood of irrigation along the river. “It’s a magic river, heaps of free camping all the way along it, you can sit down, have a think and watch the water go past,” said Nev. Banana Shire is set for a huge growth phase with many new renewable projects in the pipe line and two that council hopes to be operating by the end of 2022. “Renewables is going to be a big thing up here. Whether you agree with it or not, it’s coming and the State and Fed eral Governments want it. We are in a good position to take on renewables as the existing coal fired power station has the wire network already set up,” said Nev.
The key challenges facing Nev and the Ba nana Shire Council is the rising costs of coun cil’s oncosts and waste facilities in the shire.
deal is a critical step towards ensuring the south-east corner can cater for a booming population and is ready when the world’s biggest sporting event arrives in just over a decades’“Thistime.deal demonstrates what great things can be achieved when all levels of government work together,” Cr Schrinner said. “There might not have been a time in our region’s history when such co-operation has been so critically important. “SEQ is experiencing significant population growth as more and more Australians discover our unmatched lifestyle and want to call our region“We’rehome.also a decade away from the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games which presents a unique chance to showcase our region to the world while establishing a legacy that can continue to deliver for the generations to come. “This City Deal puts us on a path to manage population growth, deliver the best-ever Gamesand,importantly,improvethelivesofallofourresidentsthroughongoingco-operation.“Welookforwardtocontinuingtowork closely with industry and the other levels of government to empower the SEQ City Deal to deliver the needs of our rapidly growing region.”CityDealsareanapproachtobringtogetherthethreelevelsofgovernment,thecommunityandtheprivatesector.Thispartnershipfocusesonaligningplan-ning,investmentandgovernancetoacceler-ategrowthandjobcreation,stimulateurbanrenewalanddriveeconomicreformstosecurethefutureprosperityandliveabilityofthere-gion.
Born on a farm and raised in Central Queensland, Nev is still working the land, tending cattle, and growing produce, as well as being Mayor of Banana Shire, a sprawling 28,000-square-kilometre shire covering 12 towns, with a population of 15,000.
The Banana Shire is already home to two innovative companies, Novum Tyre Recycling Plant and the Solar Recovery Corp, both open ing their first facility in Australia, in Biloela in the past 12 months.
The Morrison and Palaszczuk Governments and the Council of Mayors South East Queensland (SEQ) launch the SEQ City Deal.
“Inflation and waste will be one of our big gest challenges, we will be spending millions of dollars on waste, so we have to get that right,” saidForNev.Nev, the best part of being a council lor is when funding comes through for projects that council would never be able to afford. “This can be anything from a new sewage plant or money for roads, flood damage, any thing like that,” said Nev. “You put in for it, you wait and wait and when the funding comes through, it’s an amaz ing feeling,” said Nev. The worst part for Nev is when he can’t help everybody.“There’s so much to do and we just don’t have enough money to go around,” added Nev. The future looks bright for Mayor Nev and the Banana Shire with Council being debt free, a first in Nev’s 18 years of service for council. “We are debt free now, and we want to keep it that way. Renewables are coming here, and these companies will bring more business, more jobs, and more opportunities here. It’s an exciting time to be in the Banana Shire.”
From building better roads, to negotiating with new renewable industries and liaising with key government figureheads, Nev has never been busier, but he can still manage some downtime when he gets the chance. “I have got a small family farm still, so I like to muck around with cattle and just sit on the tractor; ploughing and smelling fresh soil turnover is a wonderful thing. You can just sit there for hours and think about things it’s just like driving a truck, you’re there but your mind is always thinking. You’re by yourself, it’s that peaceful spot,” said Nev.
Exciting times in Banana
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Planning ahead for bushfires
The 8th Australian Bushfire Building Conference is bringing industry leaders from across Australia together to build partnerships for change and bring stronger innovation to urban planning and bushfire management.
Councils from across NSW have been recognised for their outstanding achievements over the past year at the Local Government Week Awards 2022.
Gunnedah Shire Mayor Jamie Chaffey and Gunnedah Shire librarian Christiane Birkett accept the Special Acknowledgement award at the Local Government Awards in Sydney. They are pictured with LGNSW president Cr Darriea Turley AM, and Local Government Minister the Hon Wendy Tuckerman MP. Picture: Local Government NSW In the letter, Paech said that VDRC’s new cloud-based software packages –which have been fully operational since 1 April 2022 – were sufficient for coun cil’s operational and reporting require ments, and capable and robust enough to stand VDRCalone.submitted a request to the NTG on 9 May to resign from CouncilBiz by 30 June 2022. VDRC Mayor, Brian Pedwell, said a major reason for the move was because the customer service CouncilBiz pro vided wasn’t at a satisfactory level, and that shifting to a cloud-based storage system made sense for VDRC’s current and future “Movingneeds.tocloud storage enables real time access to data through all de vices, including mobile phones, iPads and desk computers,” Mayor Pedwell said.“This was a move spearheaded by me and the other councillors to improve the services that run within our region.”
10 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS August 2022 LGFOCUS.COM.AU NATIONAL
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Victoria Daly has become the first regional council to resign from data storage system, CouncilBiz, following a sign-off from the Northern Territory Minister for Local ChanseyGovernment,Paech.
The awards, which were staged at the Fuller ton Hotel in Sydney in early August, celebrate councils who demonstrate excellence across a range of categories such as arts and culture, events, communications and planning. Woollahra Municipal Council was the big winner on the night, taking home three awards including two Leo Kelly OAM Arts and Culture Awards and a LGNSW Planning Award. Two of the awards were for the Woollahra Aboriginal Heritage Study, which provided the council with a much better understanding of the Ab original history and heritage of Woollahra. Gilgandra Shire Council also won multiple awards including a RH Dougherty Award for excellence in communication and a Depart ment of Communities and Justice NSW Youth Week Award.
Showcasing shires
Inner West and Yass Valley councils also re ceived NSW Youth Week Awards.
According to the VDRC, CouncilBiz was introduced to NT regional councils in 2008 by the then Northern Territory Government; CouncilBiz hosts all users on the same server. So many users on the same system created major issues for VDRC’s effi ciency, accessing proper training, and using the systems in remote communi ties.By transitioning to a cloud-based system, VDRC is now able to use indi vidual programs and apps more flex ibly and can tailor them to the needs of council and can update these programs and provide training to staff with mini mal effort or cost.
Based on projections, the VDRC said they hoped the new system would save them an average of over $157,000 per year for the next five years. The council believe it will also streamline business processes, is more compatible across a variety of software, creates better communication across the organisation, enhances productivity and efficiency in the way programs are used, is much more user-friendly, and is more accessible in remote regions. Overall security of council will also be boosted through adopting a two-factor authentication system, something that was not possible under CouncilBiz. Mayor Pedwell said that council and staff across the five VDRC Wards were “buzzing”.“Thismove will mean council is more in line with current and modern technol ogy suitable for council needs,” he said. “We would like to extend our thanks to Minister Paech for approving our res ignation from CouncilBiz.”
Returning to an in-person setting after two years of virtual events, the conference is fo cused on collaboration across the sector to discuss and solve problems around bushfire control measures, regulations, planning, de sign, construction, resilience and recovery, and material innovation. The conference will also be held online providing a virtual option for those who wish to attend but are unable to in-person. This year’s theme of ‘Building Partnerships for Change’ will be explored across a two-day program featuring renowned national speakers on topics related to collaboration and innova tion across the sector. Bringing thought-lead ers and industry professionals together in one space to discuss research, case studies and best practices for building in bushfire prone areas will see the event leverage its industry community for improved outcomes in the way bushfires are managed, planned for and recov eredThefrom.8th Australian Bushfire Building Confer ence, presented by Blue Mountains Economic Enterprise (BMEE) in partnership with Blue Mountains City Council (BMCC), is Australia’s premier event for professionals involved in the planning, designing, building, consulting, regulating, and certifying buildings in bushfireproneTheareas.event will be held from Wednesday 14 September to Friday 16 September at the Fair mont Resort and Spa, Leura. However, guests are welcome to attend online as part of the hy bridBlueevent.Mountains Mayor, Cr Mark Greenhill, said the event was central to developing new ideas on bushfire management that would ben efit communities across Australia. “Given the unprecedented bushfire seasons we’ve seen in Australia over the past few years, it is more important than ever that industry pro fessionals gather to share ideas and learnings to further improve the way we plan for and im plement bushfire control, design and construct buildings and recover from wildfires, while pro tecting our unique and vulnerable ecology,” Mayor Greenhill said. “With a great lineup of speakers and discus sion forums planned, the conference will drive transformation in fire management as well as policy and operations across Australia.” The Australian Bushfire Building Conference has again partnered with the NSW Rural Fire Service for the event. NSW Rural Fire Service spokesperson, di rector built and natural environment, Assistant Commissioner Mathew Smith said it was im portant all professionals involved in bushfire safety attended the event. “Over the years, the issue of preparing for, mitigating and building to prevent risk of bush fire has become more complex. Our best ap proach is to plan ahead and use the power of knowledge from many to ensure we are build ing communities that consider bush fire safe ty requirements, ecology and good practice around design and construction,” Assistant Commissioner Smith said. TBA Firefly general manager, Lesley Mitch ell said: “TBA Firefly are proud to be returning as the Platinum Sponsor for the event. We are always excited to be part of such a significant event within the bushfire industry.”
“The conference provides the perfect op portunity to network with other industry pro fessionals and share key industry insights and we look forward to seeing everyone in person again this year,” Mr Mitchell said. TBA Firefly has come onboard as Platinum Sponsors for another year, whilst Bushfire Roll er Shutters have secured Gold Sponsorship and XFerno Silver Sponsors. Key dates and locations:
Murray River Council received two RH Dougherty Awards as well for innovation in special events and reporting to its community. In addition, Fairfield City Council also had a winning night, receiving a RH Dougherty award for excellence in communication and a NSW Youth Week Award. Local Government NSW President Darriea Turley congratulated all the award recipients and“Asnominees.thepeak body for local government in NSW, we are so proud to showcase the won derful work our NSW councils are doing right across the state for the benefit of their com munities,” Cr Turley said. “These awards – as well as Local Govern ment Week – have once again demonstrated how councils have gone above and beyond in what has been another particularly challenging year for “Whethermany.it be rural, regional or metropoli tan areas, it is local government that is on the ground and manning the frontlines to keep the heart of their communities beating.” Other winners included Forbes, Blacktown and Maitland councils, who all took out Leo Kelly OAM Arts and Culture Awards. Canterbury Bankstown, Goulburn Mulwa ree, Hawkesbury, and Parramatta Councils re ceived RH Dougherty Awards with a Gunnedah Shire Library initiative receiving a special ac knowledgement in that category while Coon amble and Penrith won Planning Awards.
· Registration is $735 for the full two-day con ference and networking dinner or $275 for virtual attendance. Delegates are encour aged to attend to network with like-minded professionals, take part in important discus sions, contribute to the economic growth of a bushfire impacted region. For more information and to book your tick ets, visit bushfireconference.com.au
· The 2022 Australian Bushfire Building Con ference will be held from 14 to 16 September at Fairmont Resort & Spa Blue Mountains, Leura.
The new cloud systems are scalable (users can be added or removed in stantly away), and software licences are pay-as-you-go, rather than – for exam ple – paying for a pack of 200 software licenses when VDRC only used 102.
McAlpin Reserve in Ringwood North, within the municipality of Maroondah City Council, has received a major makeover.
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Junior and senior agility equipment along with swings, sensory area and roll play bike path make the play space an inviting and safe area for children. This project has seen positive outcomes for the Maroondah com munity, improving an already well-loved re serve and now providing a welcoming open space with facilities that can be enjoyed by users of all ages and abilities for many years to come. McAlpin Reserve.
NEWS TURF TALK Playground refresh
International Greenkeepers are do ing everything they can to promote the industry through social media, expos and high school careers markets but we desperately need the clubs, employers, committees, members and residents to understand these times are not for ever. If the local park or golf course looks unmaintained from a distance, there is probably a very good reason. Maybe it’s the record rainfalls with fields that have no drainage or Covid affecting the amount of staff. I guarantee you no one in our industry wants to have their surfac es flooded or turned to mud so next time you see or play on a mess make sure you think twice before writing a complaint or posting something on social media that will cause the poor people trying to main tain that area even more heartbreak. If you are a frustrated employer and are looking to find new staff or new ways to move forward, International Green keepers can put you in touch with one of our volunteers at no cost to give you a second opinion before making big de cisions that can seriously affect people’s lives. Email greenkeepers.comfh@gmail.cominternationalgreenkeepersorgotointernational
The upgrade will feature a series of permanent and temporary installations to make the public spaces more vibrant and engaging. Working with End Street businesses, the project will include the installation of “parklets” outside three hospitality venues. These will be great places to share a meal and catch up with friends and family. Other work includes an Indigenous garden outside Yarkuwa Indigenous Knowledge Centre, the cleaning and beautifying of older buildings with art installations, and much more! “We saw an opportunity to foster a real sense of community in End Street by creating vibrant shared public spaces. We are thrilled to implement a project that will increase econom ic activity, business awareness and visibility in End Street,” said Mayor Cr Peta Betts. “The addition of a new easy crossing for pedestrian traffic and a slight reduction of the speed zone will encourage people to walk, cycle and socialise in the area and enjoy the incredible local art and culture on display.” The project is possible thanks to the NSW Government Department of Planning and Envi ronment Streets’ Shared Spaces program. Council looks forward to the whole commu nity opening celebration in October.
Approximately 24km east from Melbourne’s city centre, the reserve is considered one of Maroondah’s hidden gems. It is a well utilised and popular open space in Maroondah used for play, exercise, walking, riding bikes, pic nics, dog walkers and social gatherings. The reserve has wide open grass spaces, large and inviting trees, barbecues and shel ter, play space, a pond and walking trails throughout the reserve that connect through to Monterey Bush Park. The play space at McAlpin Reserve re ceived a major upgrade in 2021, funded by Maroondah City Council in partnership with the Victorian Government’s Local Parks Pro gram. The space boasts innovative design and construction with carefully considered elements and features, with accessibility and equipment for all ages a priority of coun cil and the community. The project also re ceived finalist status at the 2022 Parks and Leisure Australia awards. To recognise the land in which the play space is built on, wooden posts with native animals are scattered around the space, con trasting natural and manmade materials. Elements have also been included that draw on the history of the site as an orchard. This includes the ‘McAlpin Orchard’ area with fruit crates and giant wooden apples and pears for climbing over.
Enjoy a bite to eat in a ‘parklet’
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The past few years have been an absolute living nightmare for everyone.
Nambour residents large and small are in for a real treat when they see the next stage of Quota Memorial Park playground improvements – a 7-metre-high ‘Spire Gear Tower’.
Reserve receives a makeover
Sunshine Coast Council Division 10 Coun cillor David Law said he was excited works would soon start on the impressive junior and toddler play space which is sure to please the kids.“I’m very pleased to see the community al ready using the new 1.7-hectare open space park extension which was part of Stage 1 works completed in January 2022,” Cr Law said. “With Quota Memorial Park being such a popular location for families with varying aged children to visit, council has redesigned part of the playground’s layout to make it more as sessable for all. “The artist impressions show various sized ‘gears’ on the outside of the tower to provide a meaningful connection to the park’s history. “The old playground was based on the 1894 Moreton Central Sugar Mill theme and the skate park features a cog from the mill. “We designed a playground for the compact area, with sensory play elements which weave in the heritage of the area to create sense of intrigue and imagination for children moving up the“Whilespire. the playground upgrade will also see a new table tennis table installed in the junior play area, the existing ‘Evos’ play unit will be relocated within the play space and the basket swing moved to the toddler play area. “Parents will be pleased to know the view lines between the Youth Activity Precinct and the junior and toddler play spaces will be im proved by replacing the picket style fence with a pool style fence. “The tower’s bubble windows, hole panels, and rope elevator all help to provide a great view for the kids, while allowing parents and carers to see into the tower for supervision. “Council is continuing to give this area a green injection with additional shade trees around the playground, and an additional shade sail also to be installed. “It’s been wonderful to watch the works take place transforming the space into a green, family-friendly area for existing residents, visi tors and new people set to call Nambour home in theWorksfuture.”started earlier this month. This project is part of the Petrie Creek Park lands Open Space Master Plan which was en dorsed by council in late 2017 and delivers on council’s Environment and Liveability Strategy to provide long-term direction to guide growth and shape the future of our region.
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By Daryl Davidson However, it has been particularly tough for the turf industry. We are one of the lowest paid indus tries but we have been so important for everyone’s health and well-being with the huge increase in participation in sport. With the pressure of Covid, floods, re cord rain falls, inflation and lack of staff, the turf Industry is really struggling. No one in our industry has been through this ever before but unfortu nately if there’s the opportunity, people will take advantage of situations like this, when everyone is bleeding, they come in trying to sell a silver bullet. People being made redundant from the turf industry during a time when no one can find staff is absolutely crazy, but it is happening because some people are taking advantage of these crazy times. We constantly hear how a young per son has had one bad experience so they decide their entire career on that expe rience, making it harder to recruit new talent as they tell their friends and family about their bad experience. After three years of hell, the people left in the industry around the world de serve a medal and it’s up to the industry to try and recruit new people to join.
A contoured rock wall, climbing rope net, ban ister slide, internal climbers with various levels of challenge, a rope elevator, and a huge spiral slide will all be part of the park’s refresh.
Edward River Council is working on an innovative $500,000 revitalisation of the End Street business precinct.
The project will include the installation of “parklets” outside three hospitality venues.
The Orange Readers and Writers Festival returned to the Hotel Canobolas earlier this month after a hiatus due to Covid. The event, featuring workshops and talks with inspiring authors, coincided with the town’s Winter Fire Festival and was last held in 2019, due to the pan demic.The 2022 event featured a notable group of fiction and non-fiction authors on board to entertain Central West read ers with their stories and experiences.
“What better time to sit down with a good book than winter, and the guest authors at this year’s festival are sure to inspire some great reading,” Cr McDonell said.
Creative Open is a new annual program that spotlights the creative sector of Northern Beaches.It’sdesigned to be a highly flexible, living and breathing format that can show off the powerhouse of art, design and creativity that exists on the Northern Beaches from year to year.In each iteration, it will grow and adapt with the local creative community by showing off the best in art, sculpture, craft, design, fashion andMayorcreativity.Michael Regan said the event aims to support the Northern Beaches’ unique cultural sector and grow the region’s cultural tourism.“It’sa great opportunity to go behind the scenes, see the artists and businesses in situ, learn about their industry and witness firsthand their skills and the creation of their work. “Think of it as an arts trail; you can dip in and out, as you go from one site to another. This way, the creative sector can connect with new audiences and it promotes greater awareness of the different forms of creative expression.”
The city has three other libraries and al most 70,000 library members amongst ap proximately 130,000 residents. In 2021/22, the city’s libraries delivered more than 1500 program sessions attend ed by more than 21,000 young people and adults. These ranged from Move and Sing sessions for toddlers to Learning Noongar Through Storytime, as well as book clubs, craft and games groups, and language class es.The $1 million project includes $540,000 funded by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Com munications through the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program, as part of the Australian Government’s plan to stimulate local economies and assist recovery from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The new Mills Park Library is open seven days a week.
The Art House has dominated the Wyong Business (Chamber of Commer) 2022 Annual Business Awards on the NSW Central Coast recently. Owned by the Central Coast Council and man aged by an independent not-for-profit entity with an independent board of directors, the Art House took out the Excellence in Large Busi ness and Wyong Business of Year Award. Council administrator Rik Hart said the awards provided recognition of the high quality of programs and services delivered and valu able contribution the arts and cultural hub de livered for the local community.
“These awards are reflective of the wonder ful Art House staff and their contribution and commitment in ensuring the Art House is shin ing in every moment, and the great support of theTheboard.”ArtHouse is a professional theatre for the whole community. Its joint focuses are on bringing national and internationally renowned companies and performers to its stage and on providing a state-of-the-art performance space for the local community. It consists of a 500seat theatre, 130-seat studio, a foyer exhibition space, meeting facilities, and a cafe/bar.
Positive response to library
The Rural City of Wangaratta recently worked with Arena Theatre Company to engage with local school students in workshops to develop virtual reality creatures.
inCreaturestown
A s a result, they have hidden disks where the virtual reality creatures ‘live’ within Merriwa Park. Arts Culture and Events manager Simone Nolan said the work was part laboratory, part performance and all imagination. “Hidden Creature Gallery is an exciting in teractive work for school aged children and their families. Sitting between the digital and the real, this work empowered young people to bring to life the places and objects around them and give them voice,” she stated. The students were encouraged to engage with their surroundings to notice the signs, smells and sounds around them to create an imaginary virtual reality creature. Local schools including Whitefield District Primary School, Carragarmungee Primary School, Everton Primary School, St Patrick’s Primary School, Springhurst Primary School, Oxley Primary School and Wangaratta West Primary School are all took part. The Hidden Creature disks are now hidden throughout Merriwa Park and once the disk is scanned with the finder’s device, a virtual re ality creature developed by local students will appear.Thecreature also has a voice over recorded by the students with the intention of enabling young people of our community to express themselves through the creature. Flyers with a map of the hunting area can be collected from the Visitor Information Centre.
“The Art House is an exciting performing arts centre which brings world-class perfor mances to local audiences and attracts visitors to our region,” Mr Hart said. “The success of The Art House creates a ripple effect of economic benefits for our com munity with the provision of local jobs, which leads to more local business spending, and support to surrounding hospitality businesses from audiences that come from near and far. “The management and staff provide excel lence in service and programming that match es the architectural distinction of the venue, and I’m delighted for the team on their welldeserved wins.”
The new Mills Park Library, which opened in July at Beckenham, in the City of Gosnells, is a vibrant and modern space, designed with an emphasis on technology.
The Art House. Picture: Hilda Bezuidenhout
New arts festival launched
At Northern Beaches Council, a brand-new arts festival was launched this winter.
12 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS August 2022 LGFOCUS.COM.AU
The Art House executive director, Anne-Ma rie Heath said it was an honour to receive these awards for excellence from the local business community.“Ourteam is very proud and grateful to re ceive Business Wyong’s Excellence in Large Business Award, but most of all we were com pletely surprised and excited to have also re ceived the main award of Business of the Year,” Ms Heath said. “It is very rewarding that The Art House is recognised for its service to the community as an arts organisation but as also for our busi ness operations.
FOCUS ON RECREATION AND ARTS
The main day of the festival was held at the Hotel Canobolas from 10am to 3.30pm on 6 August and featured Rob ert Tickner - Ten Doors Down: The story of an extraordinary adoption; Helen En nis - Olive Cotton: A Life in Photography; Petronella McGovern - Six Minutes, The Good Teacher, The Liars; Michael Bris senden - The List and Dead Letters; and Todd Alexander - You’ve Got to be Kid ding: A Shedload of Wine and Farm Full of Goats.Orange City Council Services Policy Committee chairwoman Mel McDonell said the festival was a great way to bring readers and writers together in regional NSW during the winter months.
festivalInspiring The Orange Readers and Writers Festival returned to the Hotel Canobolas earlier this month after a hiatus due to Covid.
The program will centre on creative microhubs throughout the Northern Beaches in ar eas such as Brookvale, Mona Vale, Manly and Avalon. The aim is to have venues and activi ties within walking distance of one another in each hub to enhance the overall visitor experi ence. The event has run over two weekends in August, Saturday 13 to Sunday 14 and Satur day 20 to Sunday 21. There is a Rex Dupain exhibition at Michael Reid in Newport, open studios of Gina Fenton at Curl Curl and at Paper Couture at Q-Station cottage in Manly. There is a series of Makers Markets at Manly to showcase designers and industry events like a work shop on NFTs and theWithmetaverse.more than 70 events, visitors from across the state will go behind the scenes to get a taste of the quiet creativity powering cul ture on the beaches. A new festival has been launched. One of the first visitors to the library.
“The library is at the heart of the Mills Park Centre, alongside existing facilities including a children’s nature play area, function rooms, a skate plaza, basketball and tennis courts, sports fields and a cafe, and a new all-ability playground is under construction opposite the library.”
The new Mills Park Library, which opened in July at Beckenham, in the City of Gosnells, is a vibrant and modern space, designed with an emphasis on technology. Mayor Terresa Lynes said community re sponse to the new library had been extremely positive, with more than 2300 people visiting in the first week, 87 people signing up as new members and close to 950 items borrowed, including books, DVDs and board games. “Mills Park Library is more than a place to borrow or read a book – it has free public ac cess computers and WiFi, study and reading areas and hosts a wide range of community programs throughout the year,” she said.
Best in the house
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$200 million facelift for Parramatta
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The council endorsed its Operational Plan and Budget for 2022/23, with $209 million al located for capital works projects, on top of the $311.4 million to be spent delivering vital services to the community. Community projects include $33.9 million for the Parramatta Aquatic Centre; $15.8 million for revitalisation of the Town Hall and $6.7 million for upgrades to Charles Street Square. Lord Mayor Cr Donna Davis said it was important council continued to invest heav ily in community infrastructure to support the City’s growing population, as the recovery from COVID-19 continues. “The pandemic highlighted the important role council plays delivering critical services to our residents and businesses as well as building and maintaining the open spaces and public facilities that our community needs and uses every day,” Cr Davis said. “Sound financial planning over the past two years has allowed us to put forward a strong capital works program that includes revitalisation of local roads, parks, sport and community centres. This budget is our blueprint for the future so we can flourish and evolve while continu ing to deliver a high level of infrastructure and services for our communities. “The City of Parramatta is rapidly trans forming and growing. We need to ensure our city remains a sustainable, liveable and productive place for present and future generations.”
LIBRARIES AND SOCIAL PLANNING
The City of Parramatta is set to spend more than $200 million on important community projects over the next 12 months, including council’s new community and civic hub and aquatic centre.
Electrifying library team
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The Operational Plan and Budget 2022/23 is part of council’s Delivery Program 20222026, outlining how council will implement its core services, activities, programs, projects, fees and charges, over four years.
Community members now have easier access to Penrith City Council’s library services thanks to a new member of the team. Evie, council’s second electric vehicle, is zoom ing around the city helping library staff provide essential services to the community, including the delivery of books and toys to residents who needAnthem.official launch of the eco-friendly van was held in celebration of Library and Informa tionPenrithWeek. Mayor Tricia Hitchen said the 100 per cent electric vehicle benefited the com munity while serving as a reminder of council’s commitment to a cleaner future. “Council is really proud to launch Evie, our newest electric vehicle which is great for the environment with low emissions and reduced running costs compared to a standard car or van,” Cr Hitchen said. “We have seen firsthand the benefits of us ing an eco-friendly vehicle and understand why it’s a valuable resource in assisting council staff to deliver much-needed services within our community.
The council’s first electric vehicle, a Renault Kangoo, has covered just over 44,500km while being recharged using 100 per cent Green Power, with a recharging cost of only $911 over three years (as of Feb 2022). The second electric vehicle joins council’s fleet to build on existing work in the sustain ability space, and to better serve the commu nity going forward.
“Some residents are unable to attend coun cil’s libraries in person, so Evie provides the opportunity for our library team to go directly to community members – either putting smiles on young faces through our Toy Library Outreach Service or delivering books, DVDs and iPads to our less mobile or unwell library members, as part of the weekly Home Library Service. “Council sees the importance of our librar ies and how they enrich the lives of our resi dents; Evie was purchased to enable staff to better serve the community and enhance our Pop-Up Library offering in an environmentally conscious way.”
Penrith Mayor Tricia Hitchen, library services manager Sarah Dean, and council’s director community and people, Sandy Davies.
Golden Plains Shire Council has invited community members to several planting days in August and early September to bring their Living Sculptures vision to life with an official launch on Saturday 3 September.
Wadawurrung artist Kait James said the Living Sculptures art project was a great op portunity to bring Wadawurrung culture back to Linton.“Wecame across a record at the Linton Historical Society of a Wadawurrung man be ing commissioned to carve snakes into the veranda of a house in Linton,” he said. “I thought this was a lovely that once again, the Linton and Wadawurrung people are working collaboratively again on the Living Sculptures art project. The project is funded by a $30,000 grant from the Aus tralian Government’s Regional Arts Fund provided through Regional Arts Australia, administered by Regional Arts Victoria, and $14,940 from council.”
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· Peter Duck – Wildlife Preservation Society of Qld, Fraser Coast Branch. “The reaction from residents and visitors to recent openings of trails in the Gladstone re gion shows they are well used and attract visi tors to a region,” Cr Lewis said. “I look forward to our first meeting and driv ing the project forward.” In 2019, council endorsed the Mary to Bay Trail Feasibility Study Development Plan to guide future works. “The new advisory committee will provide a forum for the community and user groups to make recommendations to council on the development and management of the Fraser Coast Rail Trail and oversee the implementa tion of the development plan,” Cr Lewis said. The advisory committee will also include two councillors (Chairman Cr Lewis and Cr Phil Trus cott), one representative from the Department of Transport and Main Roads and one representa tive from Fraser Coast Tourism and Events. In the past two years, members of the Fra ser Coast Bicycle Users Group have gained State Government and council funding and been heavily involved in refurbishment works of sections of the trail.
Mayor Cr Gavin Gamble said the Living Sculptures art project was an exciting oppor tunity for residents in our shire to connect to Wadawurrung Country. “I encourage Golden Plains residents to attend one or more of the planting sessions and participate in this regenerative project that builds on the community’s rich cultural connections to the land,” he said. “The planting days are an opportunity for the community to take care of Edinburgh Reserve in an imaginative and creative way, whilst enjoying the beautiful landscape in Linton and learning how to collect seeds and propagate local native plant species. It’s a great community project and will be some thing to be proud of and admire in future years.”
· Max Voigt – Bicycle User Group;
Trail a step closer
The appointment of six community members to the Fraser Coast Rail Trail Advisory Committee marks the next step in the development of a shared path for pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders linking Maryborough and Hervey Bay.
Community members took up the opportunity to have one-on-one appointments to discuss planning matters with council’s planning de partment staff. The sessions were held in each township throughout Strathbogie Shire with several being completely booked out. Cr Binks said the initiative was just another innovative way council was engaging with its community.“Theinitiative saw council’s planners hitting the road, making themselves available in town ships across the municipality to offer advice and information and seek feedback on the cur rent Planning Scheme Review,” she said. “We sought feedback on community plan ning priorities and how we can improve the Local Planning Policy to better meet the com munity’s needs. “Our planning scheme review will assess whether the local planning policies and provi sions are meeting the needs of the local area and“Itcommunity.willalsolook at how the planning scheme is addressing state and local planning policy objectives.”Thereview will also cover five key themes: Neighbourhood character; Sustainable de velopment; Connectivity; Commercial and in dustrial development, and Vegetation and our environment. The ‘Talk to a Planner’ sessions have been successful.
The Strathbogie Shire ‘Talk to a Planner’ sessions have been a huge success, according to Mayor Laura Binks.
Currently: The former rail lines.
Advisory committee chairman and Fraser Coast Regional Councillor David Lewis said the com munity members represented a wide cross sec tion of the groups that would use the trail and have a vast amount of community experience. “The committee members bring real-life experience which will help us understand the needs of their groups as we develop the rail trail, and they have experience in harnessing community support for projects that benefit the wider region,” he said. The council bought the rail line land from the State Government in 1992 to transform it into a shared path for use by pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders that will link Maryborough and Hervey Bay. It has has invested significantly in the project with the construction of 13.5km of pathway from the Urangan Pier to Nikenbah and a 3.5km sec tion from Piggford Lane to Stockyard Creek. The Community members are:
· Andy Riley – Disability advocate and eques trian experience;
14 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS August 2022 LGFOCUS.COM.AU FOCUS ON INITIATIVES, INNOVATIONS IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS
The Living Sculptures art project involves the creation of an endemic Indigenous plant community at Edinburgh Reserve in Linton, which honours Wadawurrung Country, to be planted by the Linton community. The Living Sculptures will form the shape of a 13-metre buniya (eel) on the pond side of Edinburgh Reserve and a 23-metre kadak (large snake) which will curve around the ex isting trees on the fence in the direction of SnakeTheValley.launch of Living Sculptures will be held at Edinburgh Reserve on Saturday 3 September from 3pm, where Wadawur rung storyteller and song man Barry Gilson will share stories and perform a traditional Smoking Ceremony to Welcome to Country the Living Sculptures.
· Steve Case – Fraser Coast Cycling Club;
Detox your Home is a free and convenient service for residents to safely dispose of everyday household chemicals.
Successful talks with planners
The Rural City of Wangaratta Council is inviting residents to get ahead of their spring clean by clearing out sheds, cupboards and under the sink areas of unwanted household chemicals and disposing of them safely at Sustainability Victoria’s Detox your Home event on Saturday 20 August from 9am to 12pm at Rural City of Wangaratta Co-hosted with the Rural City of Wan garatta, Detox your Home is a free and convenient service for residents to safely dispose of everyday household chemicals such as weedkiller, pesticides, cleaning chemicals, cosmetics, cooking oil and much more. “Council encourages correct waste disposal practices; the Detox Your Home program provides necessary controls and treatment of household hazardous waste to ensure safe disposal,” said council’s waste services coordinator Sean“EveryoneGinnivan.in the community can help keep toxic chemicals out of the environ ment by registering online and bringing items to the Detox your Home event. It’s a free event that benefits the whole com munity.”Detox your Home events are staffed by experts who identify and sort the chemicals for safe transport back to a licensed facility in Melbourne where they are processed for reuse or safe disposal. Chemicals that can be disposed of also include items you can find around your home labelled Corrosive Eight, Oxi dizing agent 5.1, Toxic 6.1, Flammable liquid three, Flammable solid 4.1, and detergents, glues, fire extinguishers and more.Common products such as cooking oil, cosmetics and cleaning products are all materials that can harm the environ ment and should not be placed in kerb side bins. Residents are urged to see council’s website for a comprehensive list of items that can be included in kerb side bins: Safeandyourto-put-in-your-binwangaratta.vic.gov.au/what-Withcommunitysafetyinmind,DetoxHomeeventsarenowdrive-throughcontactless,supportedbyaCOVIDplan.
Sculpture vision brought to life
· Kelly Adams – Wide Bay Trail Riders equestri an-based experience; · Alan Whyborn – Hervey Bay Triathlon and Fraser Coast Cycling Club, and
Entertainment facility opens
At Northern Beaches Council, a brand-new arts festival was launched this winter. Creative Open is a new annual program that spotlights the creative sector of Northern Beaches. It’s designed to be a highly flexible, living and breathing format that can show off the powerhouse of art, design and creativity that exists on the Northern Beaches from year to year. In each iteration, it will grow and adapt with the local creative community by showing off the best in art, sculpture, craft, design, fashion and creativity.
“This historic former dairy factory has been redeveloped through a project sup ported by Logan City Council and the Queensland and Australian Governments,” Cr Power said. “The redevelopment has delivered a multifaceted arts and entertainment space which will provide amazing new entertainment op tions for City of Logan residents and visitors. “We now look forward to the community experiencing KBF for years to come.” Minister Fentiman said the project was exactly what the $200 million COVID Works for Queensland program was designed to help councils deliver. “This facility will have an enormously positive impact on the Logan community and was made possible with $6.57 million from the Queensland Government’s COVID Works for Queensland program,” Ms Fentiman said. KBF was built in 1907, and by the 1930s was Queensland’s largest butter factoryproducing up to 50 tonnes of butter each week (around 90,000 tubs of butter in today’s terms).The facility ceased operating as a dairy factory in 1983. The first displays in the Living Museum of Lo gan will allow visitors to see, hear and expe rience the stories of people from the City of Logan and include: · Nourish: Feature stories from Logan’s kitchens, markets and gardens and high lights people’s connection to food and each other.
Mayor Michael Regan said the event aims to support the Northern Beaches’ unique cultural sector and grow the re gion’s cultural tourism. “It’s a great opportunity to go behind the scenes, see the artists and business es in situ, learn about their industry and witness first-hand their skills and the cre ation of their work. “Think of it as an arts trail; you can dip in and out, as you go from one site to an other. This way, the creative sector can connect with new audiences and it pro motes greater awareness of the different forms of creative expression.”
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The program will centre on creative micro-hubs throughout the Northern Beaches in areas such as Brookvale, Mona Vale, Manly and Avalon. The aim is to have venues and activities within walking distance of one another in each hub to enhance the overall visitor experi ence.The event has run over two weekends in August, Saturday 13 to Sunday 14 and Saturday 20 to Sunday 21. There is a Rex Dupain exhibition at Michael Reid in Newport, open studios of Gina Fenton at Curl Curl and at Paper Couture at Q-Station cottage in Manly. There is a series of Makers Markets at Manly to showcase designers and indus try events like a work shop on NFTs and theWithmetaverse.more than 70 events, visitors from across the state will go behind the scenes to get a taste of the quiet creativ ity powering culture on the beaches.
· Chrys Zantis’ multi-panelled group portrait Ora from her year-long project working with the Beenleigh International Cooking Group. People were invited to cook a meal that represents their home. The Butterbox Theatre will offer exciting arts experiences including music, drama, comedy, workshops, talks and ideas. andThefinalcomponentofSouthEastQueensland’snewest,$22.5millionpremierentertainmentculturalvenuewasofficiallyopenedinlateJuly.
Mayor Darren Power and City Lifestyle chairwoman Lauren Koranski.
Daytime and evening events in Blacktown
The competition had 10 contestants who were competing for three prizes that either provided them with performing opportunities or could assist them in developing their music careers. The artists showed off their skills to a crowd and judges Ben Ceccato, Luke Piccolo and BonnieGrassOwen.Roots founder Ben Ceccato said Grassroots 2022 was a resounding success. “As one of the founders of the event, I couldn’t be more proud of the teamwork and camaraderie in making this happen,” said Mr Ceccato.“Thisyear’s entrants were brilliant and at tendees would be hard pressed to believe the afternoon was an ‘open mic’ as all the acts wereLillyworld-class.”Harrisopened the event accompanied by Matthew Segrave on piano with acoustic covers of Lady Gaga’s Always Remember Us This Way and She Used to Be Mine from the musicalSecondWaitress.upwas Alana Bernardi with some powerful ballads, followed by Luke Rokotav aga known as 679lukey who performed his original song Trench Baby. Previous Grass Roots winner Jorja Scott known as Missi J performed two originals Just Friends and Live in MyFatesHeart.Babies, a group of young singers comprised of John Samuelu-Kirby, Timote Liu, Jaylan Tia and Liliana Ah Kee, performed a cover and their original song Missing You. Traditional Irish musician Caitlín Ní Mhealóid wowed patrons with her vocal skills, while J.RVU know as Jesse Aviu performed original Guiding Light and his rendition of Crazy by Gnarls Barkley. Giorgia De Paoli and Alex Pi etroboni took to the stage with original Follow Me and cover of Joel Corry x MNEK’s Head & Heart.Kayne Lyndon from Corowa performed two originals, The Spark and AlWeC. Michael Dilorenzo closed the competition with his beautiful rendition of Perfect by Ed Sheeran in English and Italian, as well as his original song Alone.Allcontestants received a ticket to A Day in the Orchard (ADITO) festival at Piccolo Fam ily Farm, and Best Original Song was won by J.RVU who received a recording session at The CAD Factory, including a mixed and mas tered finished song valued at $800. The ADITO Award was won by Fates Babies winning a paid performance opportunity of $500 for the opening set of A Day in the Orchard festival on Sunday 9 October. And Giorgia and Alex took home the Judges’ Choice Award, sponsored by Western Riverina Arts, taking out a Sound workshop valued at $390 with Hilary Geddes and Niki Johnson, as part of the Speaking Place by “GrassrootsADITO.is becoming a highlight of the local music scene and is cementing itself as a local institution for musical creativity and op portunity,” said Mr Ceccato. Next year’s Grass Roots event will again include a song writing workshop to encour age original music, the open mic competition as well as more performance opportunities for youngGriffithartists.Regional Theatre manager, Marg Andreazza said the performers all did such a great“We’rejob. pleased to put on events like Grass Roots and to be able to facilitate not only just a space, but also opportunities for emerging artists in our community. We’re looking forward to having more local performances at the The atre,” she said.
· The First Nations Space puts a focus on First Nations’ languages and culture and stories from City of Logan’s Elders.
“Blacktown: Day + Night will celebrate the multicultural City we know and love with a pro gram of unique events in some our favourite places and spaces around the CBD,” Mayor Bleasdale said. “This will include a night-time program of music, food and entertainment in Warrick Lane, a threeday micro-festival at The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre and month-long events with writers and their stories. “Direct from Vivid 2022, we will bring the artwork and light installations from artists and students of three local high schools home to Blacktown City with The Gallery by Solid Ground.“Join us in the in the Warrick Lane Precinct for four special night-time events featuring food, music, entertainment, including a South Asian Mela, Polynesian Nights, South Ameri can Carnival and African Beats. “Flushcombe Road and tracks through the city will come alive with The Gallery by Solid Ground, when more than 90 artworks from lo cal school students and artists are projected onto footpaths. “Home West will be a three-day celebra tion of local artists and creatives with perfor mances, films and interactive activities at The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre. Everyone is welcome and we encourage you to bring your families and your dancing shoes. “Blacktown City Libraries will host Writers in the West over four Saturdays in August, which will showcase the rich diversity of sto ries and artists we have in Western Sydney. Council’s popular Storytime program will also feature local writers, illustrators and cre atives.”
· Factory Stories was created by City of Lo gan artist Dr Nicola Hooper to provide an interpretative timeline of the Kingston But ter Factory’s history.
A new festival has been launched.
FOCUS ON CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Talent unearthed
Emerging artists from across the region took to the stage at the Griffith Regional Theatre recently for the fourth Grass Roots Under 30s Open Mic Competition.
arriveseventNew
The heart of Blacktown is alive with entertainment, art and culture this August for the first-ever Blacktown: Day + Night. Throughout the month, Blacktown City Coun cil, with the support of the NSW Government, is bringing a program of music, food, live en tertainment, art and culture to the Blacktown CBD.Blacktown: Day + Night will feature daytime and evening events and activities, encouraging residents to reconnect with the city centre, lo cal businesses and each other. Blacktown City Mayor Tony Bleasdale OAM said the month-long activation would incorpo rate cultural events to reflect the wonderfully diverse communities of Blacktown City.
· Snapshot: Captures the street styles of City of Logan residents through the eyes of lo cal photographers mentored by Louis Lim.
The Butterbox Theatre and Living Museum of Logan were unveiled by Logan City Council and the Queensland Government as the fi nal attractions of the Kingston Butter Factory Cultural Precinct (KBF). The latest additions to the $22.5 mil lion redevelopment of the site were opened by City of Logan Mayor Darren Power and Queensland Attorney-General and Member for Waterford, Shannon Fentiman. Cr Power said the two new spaces would join the already opened outdoor entertain ment venue and greenspace, heritage centre, cafe and plaza to form the vibrant arts and cultural hub known as KBF.
“This has been a memorable moment for all the students who participated. They were so excited to make their mark on our local landscape!”“Council has been working actively to restore waterways and bushland areas to improve the health and wellbeing of our community and environment. We are proud these efforts complement the plantings made today,” said Cr O’Callaghan.
Hundreds of tiny, flightless grasshoppers will be released into Melbourne’s Royal Park as part of a pilot project addressing the biodiversity emergency.
Pet bagwastechange
Latrobe City Mayor Cr Kellie O’Callaghan and students celebrated National Tree Day.
The Matchstick Grasshopper.
With over five million pet dogs in Australia and 1.5 tonnes of dog waste over its lifetime, where do all these dog waste bags go? Truthfully, many dog owners are still using con ventional plastic dog bags and disposing of it in the rubbish bin, ending up in landfill. From there, it often takes hundreds of years for plas tic bags to fully break down. Australia’s leading manufacturer and ecoconscious warriors, Biogone, have created the world’s first landfill-biodegradable dog waste bags that are considered to break down 90 per cent faster than the conventional plas tic Biogone’sbag. lower cost landfill-biodegradable dog poop bags have been designed to fully biodegrade in only a few years, and home compostable dog poop bags within a few of months in landfill, compared to regular pet waste bags that can take up to hundreds of years to fully decompose. Biogone dog waste bags are also made from recycled plastic. To help meet your sustainable goals, Bio gone have both landfill-biodegradable and home compostable council parks and gardens dog waste bags available, along with mount able dog bag dispensers. Equally important for environmental con siderations, landfill-biodegradable bags do not have a limited shelf life, and they do not frag ment into microplastics over time. Biogone also have landfill biodegradable and home compostable bin liners available for your operations and offices. To learn more about Biogone sustainable plastic products visit www.biogone.com.au
According to Lord Mayor Sally Capp, re searchers have collected more than 3000 Matchstick Grasshoppers from across Victo ria, which will be reintroduced to suitable new habitats in Melbourne, including Royal Park in Parkville, Burnley and the Bayside area.
FOCUS ON PARKS AND GARDENS
National Tree Day is Australia’s largest com munity tree planting and nature care event. The day is a call to action for all Australians to get their hands dirty and give back to theirEachcommunity.year,around 300,000 people volun teer their time to engage in environmental activities that educate Australians about the world around them. On Schools Tree Day, more than 3000 students participate nationwide in environ mental activities ranging from planting bush tucker gardens, building habitat for native wildlife, nature play and more. Bunnings Morwell supported the event by donating 130 pairs of gardening gloves for students and helpers and assisted dur ing the Melbourneplantings.Stars general manager Blair Crouch welcomed the opportunity to work with Latrobe City Council and the local community to help raise awareness of our ongoing environmental challenges. “After launching Team Green yesterday, led by our ambassador, Stars and Australian player Adam Zampa, it’s wonderful to get out into the community to begin our work. “Team Green is a really important initia tive for us, with the goal being to promote the importance of environmental sustain ability, become a more environmentally con scious club, and actively reduce our impact on the “Schoolsplanet.Tree Day is an important date on our calendar of events and we hope that through cricket and the Melbourne Stars, we can help educate the next generation about the importance of sustainability and theLatrobeenvironment.”CityMayor, Cr Kellie O’Callaghan joined in the planting and inspected work carried out earlier in the day by Narracan Primary School students. “Council has been extremely pleased to host members of the Melbourne Stars to join in Schools Tree Day with our local students. This has been an excellent opportunity for Team Green to engage with our young peo ple while demonstrating the importance of supporting our environment.
The City of Melbourne partnered with the Uni versity of Melbourne to restore the local popu lation of Matchstick Grasshoppers – a declin ing native Australian species that is currently locally extinct in the municipality.
The population will be monitored and as sessed over the coming months, with grass hopper numbers hoped to jump into the thou sands by 2023. The experimental translocation is council’s first-ever attempt at reintroducing a locally ex tinct species, and an important milestone in its Nature in the City Strategy, which aims to support a diverse and resilient natural environ ment.Insects like grasshoppers play an important role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem and are an abundant food source for larger animals such as praying mantis, lizards and birds. The tiny, wingless critters thrive in habitats of everlasting daisies, native grasses and am ple sunlight, and in environments that are free from weeds and predators. The Matchstick Grasshopper’s population has dwindled in recent years due to a scarcity of suitable environments and an inability to re locate from one habitat to the next. The project brings together researchers, scientists, community groups and land manag ers to support biodiversity. It provides an opportunity to foster local food webs, and has ecological benefits, as well as education and community participation op portunities such as site management and spe ciesThemonitoring.collaborative approach facilitates lon ger-term testing and adaptive management through experimental plots designed as pub lic amenity with aesthetics and park function in mind.Thegrasshoppers are being released into habitat sites created through community plant ingThedays.Matchstick Grasshopper Renaturing project is led by The University of Melbourne and supported by the City of Melbourne.
“Protecting and enhancing locally endan gered creatures in our ecosystem could not be more important, so we’re proud to be working with the University of Melbourne to reintroduce Matchstick Grasshoppers to our wonderful city,” Lord Mayor Capp said. “We’re calling on Melburnians to look out for these tiny creepy crawlies and become a citi zen scientist, to help us gather information to protect and restore their population. “Insects are the unsung heroes of our eco system, playing a vital role in sustaining hu manity by pollinating plants, turning over soil and providing food for creatures higher up the food chain,” environment portfolio lead Coun cillor Rohan Leppert said. “It’s fantastic to be welcoming the humble Matchstick Grasshopper back into our environ ment. We hope to see them flourish, and even tually, restore more species of invertebrates across our city parks, gardens and backyards.”
Picture: Luis Mata
Members of the Melbourne Stars WBBL cricket team joined Narracan Primary School and Albert Street Primary School students for the 2022 Schools Tree Day in the Moe Botanic Gardens recently.
16 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS August 2022 LGFOCUS.COM.AU with our Landfill-biodegradable & home compostable dog poop waste bags! MEET Help streetsparkscouncilkeepandclean For more information or to access this exclusive offer go to biogonedogbags.com.au or call John O’Connor (03) 9676 9518. @biogoneaustralia @biogoneplastics @biogone-plastics CONTACT US FOR A: FREE SAMPLE PACK Containing: 1x roll of home compostable bags (400) 1x roll of landfill-biodegradable bags (500) & BE PLASTIC SMART 12542174-CG15-22 Numbers set to jump
Green thumbs unite
Jemena’s Western Sydney Green Hydrogen Hub started producing renewable gas in November 2021.
When Australians think about renewable energy, solar panels, wind turbines and renewable electricity probably spring to mind.
and forenergysustainablesystemthefuture Find
Construction on the Malabar Biomethane project started in July, marked by (L-R) Jemena General Manager, Renewable Gas Peter Harcus, NSW Minister for Lands and Water The Hon Kevin Anderson, ARENA Chief Financial Officer Ian Kay, Sydney Water General Manager, Asset Lifecycle, Paul Plowman.
Australia’s future energy system Renewable gas is still in its early days. However, conservative projections show a future energy system which continues to use Australia’s ex tensive existing gas infrastructure to transport renewable gases, complementing renewable electricity, is likely to provide increased energy security, and be more cost effective than full electrification of Australia’s energy system. For more information, visit gorenewablegas. com.au
Renewable gas a reality
However, considerable work is underway to develop an Australian renewable gas industry, providing more options for households and businesses to reduce their carbon footprint. Energy infrastructure company, Jemena, which owns and operates New South Wales’ gas distribution network, is focusing on a re newable gas future with projects including its Western Sydney Green Hydrogen Hub, and Malabar Biomethane project, both co-funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. Green hydrogen is generated using renew able electricity to split water (H2O) into hydro gen (H2) and oxygen (O), through a process called electrolysis. Jemena’s Renewable Gas General Manager Peter Harcus says the West ern Sydney Green Hydrogen Hub is already injecting the renewable gas into the NSW gas network.“Over 23,000 of our residential customers, 100 commercial customers, and seven indus trial customers are already using a mix of natu ral gas and green hydrogen,” Peter says. Hydrogen offers huge potential, for trans port, industry, and residential use, both here and as an export. Considerable work is under way to develop and invest in the technology and infrastructure, as part of Australia’s efforts to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Biomethane – creating energy from waste Carbon-neutral biomethane is generated from sources like wastewater, agricultural waste, household green waste and landfills. “Biomethane can be used in exactly the same way - and in the same cooktops and hot water systems - as natural gas today,” Peter says.“It’s already successfully used in gas net works in Europe and the United States, as part of their efforts to decarbonise. “As a first Australian step, we’re partnering with Sydney Water to generate biomethane at the Malabar Wastewater Treatment Plant, to generate enough renewable gas for 6,300 homes by the end of this year. “We’ve also identified enough potential sources of biomethane, from landfills, agri cultural waste and wastewater, that if utilised, could meet the gas demands of all 1.5 million NSW residential customers. “We know councils are great champions of developing local circular economies, so we’re planning to engage with councils and green waste, wastewater and landfill operators to dis cuss unlocking these potential local renewable energy resources.”
Supporting
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Investing in renewable gas now will provide a reliable renewable energy solution that offers more choice for homes, businesses, industry and transport into the future. Renewable gas, including green hydrogen and biomethane, is an additional energy source already being used successfully overseas that can help Australia to meet emissions targets quickly and efficiently, as well as boosting regional jobs and circular economy opportunities. a secure, stable out more about renewable gas projects and opportunities in NSW: gorenewablegas.com.au
FOCUS ON ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
The traineeship initiative coincided with the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety that identified workforce capacity as a major problem and barrier to people accessing Community Care services.
The simple solution? BINS4Blokes – incon tinence product disposal bins in male public toilet facilities. The City of Melbourne will be the first Australian capital city to trial incon tinence product disposal bins in male and all-gendered toilets in six council facilities, including libraries and recreation centres. Councillor Jamal Hakim said the trial would showcase a practical solution and fa cilitate much-needed conversations. “With the proper facilities to dispose products, we hope those living with incon tinence can continue getting out and about, and doing what they love when they’re here in the City of Melbourne,” he said. How to get involved: · Find out if there are incontinence bins in your local council’s toilets and, if not, where you think they would be best placed.
Bins for the blokes
Greater Dandenong City Council partnered with Chisholm Institute to offer staff a Certifi cate III Individual Support traineeship. Successful graduates recently celebrated the completion of their training with Greater Dandenong Mayor, Cr Jim Memeti. Graduates provide physical, social and emotional support to elderly residents who need council’s Community Care services. Feedback from clients was extremely posi tive, with trainees displaying a positive attitude, initiative, creativity, empathy and understanding.
18 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS August 2022 LGFOCUS.COM.AU 12557750-JW29-22
· Contact your local bin contractor to see if they provide bins for incontinence product disposal.
By Paul Uno In my previous role as a structural engineer with the Cement and Concrete Association in the 1990s, up to my present role as Director of Engineering Training Institute Australia (ETIA), I have seen these changes first hand. Prior to the introduction of Waffle Pods in the 1990s, the most common form of concrete slab and beam construction in the residential area was the ‘stiffened raft’ slab system. It was comprised of a 100mm thick rein forced slab poured integrally with a series of reinforced internal and external beams of width 300 mm and variable depth. The depth of the member was primarily a function of the site soil classification ie S, M, H, E (eg S = slightly reactive). This system was revised in 2011 to expand the H classification into H1 and H2 (which related to the amount of vertical movement the soil would experi ence over the life of the structure due to the reactivity of the soil, primarily clays). A new system of concrete slab called the Waffle Raft (or Pod) was developed in South Australia and eventually worked its way into the eastern states. The reason for its fairly rapid adoption by builders was the reduction in con crete required for its construction compared to stiffenedInternalraft.beams were reduced from 300 mm to 110mm and the overlying slab thickness was reduced from 100mm to 85mm. Another advantage of this system is there was no need to excavate soil for burying the beams; in other words, the whole system sat on the ground rather than in the ground. Unfortunately, the marketplace is always looking for opportunities to make further re ductions and the writer of this article noted re cently a design where the edge beams of the waffle raft system had been reduced to 270mm and the internal beams reduced to 100mm (an overall reduction in concrete by about 10 per cent). The waffle pod system has little to no reserve in its design so any anomalies on site could be the deciding factor as to whether the slabs crack to the extent that the system is no longer “fit for purpose”. One of the biggest litigation scenarios relat ing to the waffle raft system and soil testing oc curred in Melbourne around 2014. Thousands of homes were built in the west ern suburbs of Melbourne (primarily the Coun cil Shires of Hume, Melton and Wyndham) but unfortunately many developers did not carry out the necessary soil testing to determine what soil type was encountered on site. Thousands of homes suffered distress to some degree and a number of class actions wereSitefiled.classifications have also changed dur ing the last 10 years whereby it is now not only necessary to examine the type of soil one encounters but also make an assessment of the impact of other criteria, eg, trees on site; amount of cut and fill; location of water table; presence of any mining activity, etc. If then soil testing uncovers a clay type that would normally result in an M class soil clas sification, the presence of trees close to the site, could result in the site classification being reclassified as a H site (or even E site). Once E sites are encountered then AS2780.2011 gives little to no guidance on the design of the concrete slab and beam sys tem. That is why at ETIA we conduct a two-day course on Residential Slabs and Footings based on Engineering Principles. The next course will be conducted on 30-31 August 2022. For fur ther information, visit etia.net.au/events/courselist or contact Joanne on 0413 998 031. The changing face of residential slabs and footings design and construction systems.
· After installation, make sure men know that incontinence bins are available with BINS4Blokes posters and stickers.
Residential slabs and footings design and construction systems have gone through major upheavals over the past 40 years.
Not everyone can freely enjoy getting out and about. Many men avoid going to public places due to incontinence because it is difficult for them to dispose of their incontinence products in public.
The class of 2022.
With an ageing population, there is high demand for qualified community aged care workers across the industry.
Shire staff upskill
FOCUS ON PEOPLE AND EDUCATION Changes in the industry
· Record your toilet and incontinence bin lo cations on the National Public Toilet Map: toiletmap.gov.auGetyourlocalcouncil involved now and help give men the freedom to get out and about. Be part of the solution and put in a bin for the blokes. This is a great way to promote inclusion and equality in your community. For more information, visit BINS4Blokes.org.au
R U OK? is a harm prevention charity that aims to inspire and empower everyone to meaningfully connect with friends, family and colleagues who might be struggling with life. One of the most renowned theories relating to suicide prevention is by Dr Thomas Joiner. Joiner’s theory describes three forces at play in someone at risk of suicide, one of which is a decreased sense of belonging. It’s this lack of belonging and sense of connection that R U OK? are working to prevent. Ask R U OK? No qualifications needed be cause a conversation could change a life. For further information, visit ruok.org.au/ LGA
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You have what it takes Thursday 8 September is R U OK? Day – a National Day of Action and a reminder that every day is a day to check in with your friends, family and colleagues.
Start the conversation.
This year, R U OK? is championing the mes sage; ‘Ask R U OK? No qualifications needed’, to remind Australians they already have what it takes to support their family, friends and col leagues.‘AskR U OK? No qualifications needed’ comes in response to new research which found four in ten Australians feel asking some one ‘are you OK?’ is a conversation better had with an expert. It’s a message that is pertinent for local communities across Australia. “Everyone experiences life’s ups and downs and in recent times there has been a lot to cope with,” said R U OK? CEO, Katherine Newton. “Natural disasters, the pandemic, world con flicts and cost of living increases have added additional pressure and emotional strain for many, and that’s not confined to one day of the year.”Having always played an important role in promoting workplace and community wellbe ing, local governments have long been cham pions of the R U OK? message. R U OK? provides a range of free resources to help local government build a greater sense of connection across community and amongst council staff in the workplace. Resources in clude posters, conversation guides, videos and translations for linguistically diverse communi ties. Local governments are also encouraged to register their R U OK?Day events and activa tions with R U OK?. Positively, the sharing of the R U OK? mes sage is having an impact. The latest R U OK? research has found that when authentic, genu ine R U OK? conversations are happening, more than 80 per cent of people say they are making a positive difference. “We want to reassure Australians that you don’t need to be an expert to have an R U OK? conversation with someone in your world who might be struggling. Listening and giving someone your time might be just what they need to help them through a difficult period,” said Ms ConnectingNewton.the R U OK? message with local health networks and support services is also beneficial. “The work of health professionals is vital, and their value cannot be underestimated, however by having regular, meaningful conver sations, we can help the people we care about feel supported before they are in crisis and, if that conversation does get too big for us, we can guide them to seek professional help.”
City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Van Styn said Railway Street had been trans formed into a more welcoming place for all road users thanks to a funding contri bution from the State Government. “The transformation of Railway Street into shared space for riders, walkers and drivers featuring new red asphalt, traffic calming devices and a 30km/h speed limit is a fantastic outcome for our com munity,” he “Railwaysaid.Street’s generous street width has been divided into three lanes, two for vehicles and one for designated on-street parking that’s bookended by street trees, making it a much more ap pealing place to go for a walk or ride a bike.“I’d like to thank the State Govern ment who provided $1.1 million in grant funding to design and build the SAS which has become an active transport route between areas where people live, the Chapman River Regional Park, Bluff Point and St Lawrence’s Primary Schools and the Bluff Point commercial centre.” The Railway Street SAS was identified as a key cycling facility in the Geraldton 2050 Cycling Strategy and has become a key component of the City’s cycling network.Thecompletion of the SAS proj ect means residents and visitors to the city can now walk or ride from the CBD north to Corallina Quays in Sunset Beach along a series of connected off-road shared paths.
Event embraced
First of a programkind
The popular free breakfast returned after a two-year break.
The strategic water supply will provide two x 26,000 litres of potentially life-saving water for firefighting, with two water tanks recently in stalled at the cross-section of Callaghans Lane and Tooheys Close in Gordon. North Gordon is identified as high risk in the Victorian Fire Risk Register, and previous re sponse times for firefighting were slowed due to no reticulated water in the area. “The benefit of the static water supply in Callaghans Lane is highlighted by a recent shed fire in the area prior to the installation of the tanks when it took tankers more than 30 minutes to travel to the then-nearest known water to fill up and return,” Ballan Group of Fire Brigades Group Officer, Shane Cramer said.Emergency vehicle access to the Werribee Gorge, Falcons Lookout and surrounding ar eas will be greatly improved with a new Fire Access Track constructed in Ingliston. Falcons Track, previously an unofficial ac cess track that in sections required a 4WD due to its rough terrain, has now been trans formed into a properly designated Fire Access Track for all aspects of firefighting, rescue and other“Communitiesemergencies.in Gordon and Ingliston will now be better protected ahead of next fire sea son,” said Moorabool Mayor, Cr Tom Sullivan. “The Municipal Emergency Management Planning Committee were instrumental in se curing this funding and will continue to work on improving and upgrading fire safety in Moorabool,” added Cr Sullivan. Moorabool Shire Council secured $9260 for Gordon’s strategic water supply through a grant application to the Victorian Government’s FARSS, with council contributing the remaining $4800 to the total $14,430 project. The new $15,535 Fire Access Track saw a contribution of $13,593 from State Govern ment and $1,942 from council.
20 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS August 2022 LGFOCUS.COM.AU
Better protected ahead of next fire season
Moorabool Shire Council has successfully secured funding on behalf of Ballan Fire Brigade and Gordon Fire Brigade via the Victorian Government’s Fire Access Road Subsidy Scheme (FARSS) for a new Fire Access Track in Ingliston and a Static Water Supply in Gordon.
Two water tanks were recently installed at the cross-section of Callaghans Lane and Tooheys Close in Gordon.
The transformation of Railway Street in Bluff Point into a Safe Active Street (SAS) is the first of its kind in regional WA.
RURAL AND REGIONAL
It’s common knowledge the week, which runs from August 1 to August 7, is designed to showcase the wide variety of work councils do and the ways they support their local commu nities.This year Gunnedah embraced the event whole-heartedly with Civic bringing live chil dren’s theatre, The Owls Apprentice, on the Tuesday and events following throughout the week.The community was invited to meet with councillors and staff representatives as they served up a free breakfast in the Smithurst Theatre courtyard while the Gunnedah Shire Library hosted plenty of activities across the week, including Brain Training, Book Buddies, Knit & Natter, Colour and Chatter and Book Ends Literacy Assist. On Sunday, The Civic Theatre screened a $10 movie - Pil’s Adventure – an animation about a vagabond girl who disguises herself as a princess to save the rightful heir who is under an evil Mayorcurse.Councillor Jamie Chaffey said it was great news that Local Government Week events could go ahead after a hiatus due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Local Government Week is a big deal in Gunnedah Shire, with the council celebrating with a series of events at local facilities.
“I am proud of the critical work that our council staff does in Gunnedah and our great villages,” Cr Chaffey said. “I would like to thank our staff who work tire lessly to support these places, this work has al lowed our community to continue to grow and flourish.“Council is certainly not just about roads, rates and rubbish; we have a number of sig nificant capital works projects in the pipeline including the $14 million Saleyards Precinct Upgrade, the $8 million Water Treatment Plant and the $12 million Koala Sanctuary. “The 2022-23 financial year sees the con tinuation of the substantial and accelerated delivery of capital works totalling $13.8 million, ($47.2 million for 2021-22). The capital expen diture over the next 10 years, by comparison, is estimated at $100 million for the entire 10-year period.“Our community can also look forward to even bigger and better events in the next year with increased funding for NightQuip, Harvest Festival, Weeks of Speed Street parade, Christ mas celebrations and more. Council have been involved in running events such as these to in crease community connection and in turn allow our economy to benefit. “I would like to thank again the staff under the direction of the general manager for the great work that they have achieved in the past year; your resilience has been incredible fac ing not only COVID restrictions but also record floods.”
The popular annual publication is avail able free of charge to Albany residents and includes key dates, waste collection informa tion and important public information from the City of Albany. Images must be taken within the City of Albany local government area, feature birdlife and be submitted by an Albany resident.
The council has purchased its first electric vehicle for its fleet, marking the beginning of its electric vehicle transition.
The 2023 Albany Birdlife Community Cal endar aims to capture the natural beauty of our birdlife and display it for community for 12 months of the year.”
Aged 85, Shepparton’s Roy Parrott has been a school crossing supervisor for more than 10 years. Roy, who is encouraging others to get involved, admits age is no barrier for the role, saying he enjoys the interaction with local children and their parents. “I love everything about the job. I love the kids and meeting the mums and dads. It’s real ly heart-warming to do a job like this,” he said. “Age is no limit to becoming a school cross ing supervisor. I’m 85 and I’m still going.” Greater Shepparton City Council is currently looking for casual school crossing supervisors to join the Providingteam.flexible hours, rewarding work and an opportunity to get out across the region and give back, council is looking for people with an interest in the community to fill the positions. School crossing supervisors are respon sible for ensuring children have walking points at school crossing sites - across Shepparton, Mooroopna, Tatura and small towns - when they arrive and leave school grounds in both the morning and afternoon. Director communi ty, Louise Mitchell said council was looking for people to provide backfill to the existing school crossing supervisor positions. “School crossing supervisors are positioned at multiple locations across the region and are there to assist children and parents to cross the road during busy pick up and drop off times,” she“Currentlysaid. we have school crossing supervi sors who have been in the job for 10 and 20 years and love everything about it.” St Mel’s Primary School crossing supervisor Wendee Long said seeing the enjoyment and happiness on the children’s faces each day was what made the job so worthwhile. “It gives you something to get up for in the morning, you look forward to it and it’s the sat isfaction and happiness from the children when they say thank you and have a nice day that makes it so great,” she said. Roy Parrott.
· Council’s biggest operational source of greenhouse emissions is the Castle maine Landfill. The process of cap ping and rehabilitating the landfill has begun, and gas flaring infrastructure will be installed in the future which will greatly reduce landfill emissions.
net-zeroTarget Harnessing wind to power council buildings and upgrading street lighting to LEDs are two goals Mount Alexander Shire Council is delivering on, as part of its plan to achieve zeronet emissions by 2025.
· Street lighting along the shire’s major roads was also upgraded earlier this year, improving energy efficiency and safety. This was funded by the Fed eral Government’s Local Roads and Community Infrastructure grants, and followed on from upgrades to lighting along our residential streets undertak en in 2015.
· In January 2022, council joined the Victorian Energy Collaboration (VECO). This means council operations are now almost completely powered by 100 per cent renewable electricity, sourced from two wind farms in regional Victo ria.
LGFOCUS.COM.AU August 2022 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS 21
Calendar goes to the birds
RURAL AND REGIONAL
Entertaining crier a town hero
Casino’s much-loved ‘Town Crier’, Brenda Armfield, has been recognised for her support of Richmond Valley Shire events and tourism by being named a Local Tourism Hero.
The City of Albany is seeking Albany photographers who are keen to submit photographs of local bird life to feature in the 2023 Community Calendar.
In August 2020, council adopted the Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality 20202025, which outlines priority actions for council to reduce greenhouse gas emis sions in its operations across vehicle fleet, buildings, street lighting, procure ment and waste management. “Reducing council’s operational emis sions was a key commitment of our Cli mate Emergency Declaration back in 2019,” Mount Alexander Shire Mayor Bill Maltby“Oursaid.community made it clear that cli mate action is vital to them, and we are actively“Council’sresponding.”Roadmap to Carbon Neu trality 2020-2025 is really just one part of the picture, and speaks to how council will reduce our operational emissions. “We also want to continue to support our community to reduce emissions, and work together to adapt to the climate impacts we already know will come our way.“This is why council will be develop ing a Climate Change Strategy over the coming months, along with a new Waste Strategy.”“Wewill be looking to our community for input on both of these documents, so I encourage residents to keep an eye on our online engagement platform Shape Mount Alexander for details on how to get involved,” said Mayor Maltby. Significant achievements from the Road map to Carbon Neutrality 2020-2025 in clude:
Each year the Community Calendar presents a unique theme to reflect a new topic, project, or highlight of Albany. For 2023, the Com munity Calendar will feature Albany Birdlife, aiming to celebrate both the beautiful winged fauna and the talent of local photographers – both professional and amateur – in Albany. More than 200 species of birds call Albany home, providing local shutterbugs with am ple opportunity to display their skills. Community relations manager Louise Pa terson said there is a strong cohort of birdlife enthusiasts in Albany who display a lot of this enthusiasm through their lens. “It is exciting to be a birdlife admirer in Albany as our city boasts some of the most stunning, rare and unique feathered friends,” Ms Paterson “Photographysaid.is a wonderful and diverse art form that attracts participants from school age right up to our senior community mem bers.“
Age is no barrier
The announcement was made at last week’s North Coast Tourism Symposium and Awards Gala Dinner in Grafton. Brenda is a well-known identity in the Ca sino area. She is a life member of both the Casino Beef Week Festival and Casino Show Society, and volunteers at COW FM commu nity radio station with her great shows where anything goes, including the popular ‘down memory lane’ segment. She also freely gives her time to the Casino Historical Society, the Casino Orchid Society, and she is a member of Casino Men’s Shed and the Casino View Club, as well as raising money for charities. Brenda has spent the past 35 years using her balloon-bedecked lime green Moke and personality to promote the town’s activities. A performer and entertainer who was sing ing, dancing and performing comedy at the age of four, and who cut her teeth in vaudeville shows, Brenda became involved in promoting the Casino Beef Week Festival after attending a committee meeting in the 1980s. Her promo tions schedule has grown to include all local events.She is an absolute treasure to her family, husband Warren, and her many friends. Every one loves and cherishes her and were proud to nominate her as the Local Tourism Hero. This year’s Tourism Symposium theme was Evolution for Success, featuring renowned fu turist Steve Sammartino as opening keynote speaker, as well as Stewart Moore, CEO of Earthcheck, and Dr Catriona Wallace, leading artificial intelligence and digital transformation expert.Clarence Valley Council partnered with Destination North Coast to co-host the annual event.Grafton’s iconic Saraton Theatre was the venue for the Symposium on Thursday 28 July, followed that evening by the Awards Gala Din ner at The Barn in the Grafton Showgrounds. Hear ye, hear ye - Brenda is a local hero.
· Council has also purchased its first electric vehicle for its fleet, marking the beginning of its electric vehicle transi tion.
Ready for action.
As part of the program, the shire partnered with the Carnarvon Men’s Group to organise a fun day trip to New Beach with 13 school boys from the Carnarvon Community College to engage in hands-on activities, learn new skills, and inspire connection to Country. The therapeutic outdoor engagement pro gram was also delivered with support from the Roebourne Men’s Group, Ngala, Gas coyne Outreach Service (Geraldton Regional Aboriginal Medical Service), Real Futures and a Theparent.excursion was a great opportunity to strengthen youth cultural identity and for stu dents to participate in outdoor recreation ac tivities. The young men picked up a few nifty techniques, including netting for mullets, light ing a bushfire, and setting up a fishing rig. The kids also enjoyed cooking a delicious lunch with a sausage sizzle and roasting spuds over coals. The program facilitators had a chance to connect with the kids as role models to share their life lessons and experi ences.
22 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS August 2022 LGFOCUS.COM.AU
A new television campaign was recently re leased demonstrating the dangers of driving around garbage trucks and runners, with coun cil urging motorists to slow down and take care.Waste operations manager, Mr John Roser said near misses with the garbage trucks and runners were causing concern, particularly in the laneways such as Banna Lane. “There have been several incidences where drivers have not given way to the garbage trucks or slowed down when the runners are picking up and emptying the bins from the CBD,” said Mr Roser. “This puts the truck operator, the runner and drivers at risk of serious injury so we are asking drivers to slow down, take care and give way to operators.”Whileitcan be frustrating to get stuck be hind a garbage truck, it is important to drive with caution to prevent accidents. “Garbage trucks do have to stop start fre quently so I urge you to keep your distance, drive slowly and cautiously, keep a look out for our runners, and only overtake when it is safe to do so,” said Mr Roser. “Our operators do their best to minimise disruptions but there will be times when traffic will be “Weimpeded.wantto make sure everyone remains safe and gets home at the end of the day – tak ing an extra couple of minutes to ensure you are being careful around our trucks will go a long way to ensuring yours – and our operators – safety,” he added. Griffith Mayor, Councillor Doug Curran said road safety was everyone’s concern and we all had a responsibility to ensure the safety of our selves and those around us. “I understand we are all really busy and of ten in a hurry in the mornings but it is vital to slow down and take some extra time to make sure that you aren’t putting yourself or anyone else in danger,” said Councillor Curran. “That extra minute or two could potentially save a life.”
Youth excursion to New Beach to participate in a range of activities on Country.
Plants growing tall
A new television campaign was recently released demonstrating the dangers of driving around garbage trucks and runners, with council urging motorists to slow down and take care.
Griffith launches road safety campaign
“By strengthening ties to culture, fami lies and Elders, our youth can develop resil ience and stay on track with their education and their life. I’d like to thank everyone who contributed to the program to foster the next generation and help them thrive and suc ceed,” he added.
RURAL AND REGIONAL Let’s roll It’s time to get rolling… there is a record to break! The 2022 Mobility Scooter/Wheelchair Convoy will be held in Hervey Bay on Saturday 3 September. The convoy will travel down the shared cycle/walk path along the Espla nade to the All Abilities Playground and then turn back to Scarness Park for a celebration.FraserCoast Mayor George Seymour said the biggest challenge of the day would be adhering to the strict regula tions set out by Guinness World Records. “Participants broke the Australian Record last year for the longest mobility scooter/mobility vehicle convoy with 172 mobility aids,” he said. “The current world record is held by a Canadian city with 159 scooters. “We are confident we will have the number of scooters required for the re cord, however there are a host of extra rules and requirements to gain the official worldFrasertitle.”Coast Regional Council seniors liaison officer Julie de Waard said the aim of the day was to promote the safe use of mobility scooters and wheelchairs. “These vehicles are very important; they enhance people’s independence and mobility,” she said. The convoy also promotes awareness of scooters and wheelchairs using foot paths across the region. “While the convoy has a serious mes sage, it is also a bright and happy event with participants encouraged to deco rate their vehicles,” Ms de Waard said. “There are prizes for the best deco rated vehicle; best decorated person and best decorated hat.” At Scarness Park, there will be free entertainment and food after the convoy.
Shire president Eddie Smith said the initia tive gave young men significant opportunities to interact with mentors and learn through ac tive outdoor involvement and storytelling. “The focus of the program is to encourage responsibility, improve self-esteem, respect and connection to Country,” said Cr Smith. “The outdoors can also improve youth wellbeing and encourage youth to redirect risk-taking behaviour into healthy activities.”
Empowering young people
A newly-launched Youth Incentive Program by the Shire of Carnarvon aims to empower and mobilise young men to enhance youth development, promote school engagement, and improve social outcomes.
Griffith City Council is embarking on a road safety campaign, aimed at urging road users to take care when driving around garbage trucks, particularly in the CBD.
Up to 18,000 plants will be made available from the Fraser Coast Regional Council each year for use in non-council revegetation programs. “Under the Greening the Fraser Coast Strat egy, council is committed to planting 100,000 trees by 2030,” Deputy Mayor Paul Truscott said.“To boost plantings, we will donate seed lings propagated by staff and volunteers at council’s Community Nursey for use in reveg etation works, some of which may be on pri vate“Increasingproperty. the amount of native plant cov er across the Fraser Coast will have several benefits including increasing habitat and food sources for native animals, lowering green house gas emissions and enhancing stormwa ter management and water quality. “The policy sets up guidelines for accessing plants, with council activities taking priority, fol lowed by donating plants. “To improve results and expand the size of plantings, we will be able invite groups or land owners in areas where council is undertaking works such as tree planting or bush restoration and regeneration, to join in. “This will encourage and co-ordinate land owners in a specific area and maximise the chances of donated plants surviving and thriv ing.”The new policy adds heat island mitigation as an eligible project. Recent satellite-based heat mapping of the Fraser Coast has been used to develop a tar geted planting scheme to mitigate heat islands, many of which are on private land, especially in urban“Reducingenvironments.heatislands benefits the whole of the Fraser Coast,” Cr Truscott said. Recipients of donated plants will be pro vided with copies of the Fraser Coast Greening Guide, and advice on choosing suitable plants. The policy provides that up to 18,000 plants will be donated each year, with specific num bers per applicant be set within the guidelines.
Fraser Coast Regional Council will step up moves to involve community groups in tree planting programs to green the Fraser Coast. Preparing for planting. Seedling preparation.
Captain Cook Memorial and Lighthouse struc ture originally built in 1971.” City of Gold Coast Councillor Gail O’Neill said Point Danger was one of the region’s most iconic headlands and it was wonderful to see the shared vision from both sides of the border coming together to preserve this important site. “It’s not only a site of historic significance but one of great relevance to our local community today and a must-see location for those visiting the area,” Cr O’Neill said. “The new facilities include fully accessible public amenities and a cafe with the best view on the Gold Coast and will give the area the prominence it deserves.”
The upgrade will rejuvenate the area and pro vide much-needed public toilets with safe and wheelchair-friendly access around the building and up to the viewing podium. A new cafe will also be built, with tabled seating both inside and outside on the public viewing lower deck. Fingal Head Indigenous artist Christine Slabb has been given a blank canvas to provide Indig enous storyboards for the cafe gallery and in terpretive artwork in the surrounding landscape.
City of Newcastle has announced the program for its New Annual 2022, which will kick off with the opening of Van Gogh Alive on 22 September followed by an im mersive festival of dance, music, theatre, visual arts and Indigenous workshops, with installations in the city’s cultural pre cinct until 2 October. As a major installation, Van Gogh Alive will extend beyond the New Annual festi val, running to 23 October 2022. Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said this year’s New Annual program was eclectic and ambitious, and would be a drawcard to the city. “We are thrilled to once again deliver this amazing arts and cultural event in September, which will allow locals and visitors to discover a new side of Newcas tle as they witness the spirit and energy of our city and its creative community during the festival,” Cr Nelmes said. The New Annual 2022 program fea tures local and nationally renowned art ists delivering a mix of free, ticketed and family-friendly events. The breadth of the program is high lighted by its 14 headline acts including ‘COLOSSUS’, a contemporary dance performance created by internationally re nowned Australian choreographer Steph anie Lake, ‘This Land’, a musical show case of award-winning and acclaimed First Nations performers, and ‘Radial’, a fusion of film-making and improvised community performance presented by Hunter Central Coast Development Cor poration.Cityof Newcastle recently announced the New Annual festival is bringing the im mersive, multisensory experience of Van Gogh Alive to Newcastle’s premier ma jor events space, Foreshore Park. It will be presented in association with Andrew Kay Management in a specially designed 2300-square-metre gallery known as The Grand Pavilion and run from the start of New Annual to 23 October. Other areas of the city will also be transformed with installations as part of New Annual such as a purpose-built stage in Civic Park and the architectural ly-designed ’Pavilion of Sand’ in Wheeler Place.CrNelmes said City of Newcastle was proud of the success of the inaugural festival in February 2021 and the second event would be a major drawcard for the city.“The inaugural New Annual held in ear ly 2021, was embraced by the Newcastle community. Our flagship cultural event provided an important economic boost across the arts, hospitality, and tourism sectors, while also celebrating and show casing our creative city,” Cr Nelmes said.
The Captain Cook Memorial and Lighthouse structure was originally built in 1971, with an extension to house Marine Rescue NSW built in 1990. This facility currently has numerous structural defects and concrete cancer, with the cost to maintain it as fit for occupation no longer sustainable.
The story of the volunteer Marine Rescue service will also be told, along with some nar rative around European settlement of the area.
Launceston Mayor Albert van Zetten said the Dignity Vending Machine offered those in need a free, convenient and discrete way to obtain period packs.
“With rising cost of living prices and many members of our community being challenged by housing instability or homelessness, ini tiatives like this are a small way to ease the burden of people doing it tough,“ Mayor van Zetten“Wesaid.thought carefully about a suitable loca tion for the machine, and we are very grateful the Launceston Library has agreed to host it because of its central location and the fact it draws in the region of 1000 to 1200 visitors each day. “I want to make special mention of Cr An drea Dawkins, and I thank her for pursuing this project and advocating for its importance.”
Cr Dawkins said ‘period poverty’ — the lack of access to sanitary products — was a grow ing challenge, particularly among people from low socio-economic backgrounds and people experiencing homelessness. “I hope having this machine in Launceston’s CBD will help break down the shame and stig ma that can be associated with menstruation,” Ms Dawkins said. “Those attending this facility can safely and privately access period products that can make a lifechanging difference. “This may only be a small project, but initia tives like this can improve the lives of women, girls and those who menstruate, who may be experiencing homelessness, fleeing domestic violence, or simply doing it tough. “I’m pleased we’re able to launch this initia tive during Homelessness Week.”
With an exciting new program and the blockbuster Van Gogh Alive exhibition at Foreshore Park, City of Newcastle’s flagship arts festival will return in September with a vibrant showcase of art, culture and creativity. City of Newcastle has announced the program for its New Annual 2022.
Sharing the dignity
The City of Launceston has invested $10,000 for the installation of a new Dignity Vending Machine in the CBD as part of a partnership with charity Share the Dignity and the Launceston Library. The new machine has been installed following advocacy from City of Launceston Councillor Andrea Dawkins. The Launceston Library will host the vend ing machine, located in the building’s ground floor accessible public toilet. The machine dispenses free #PinkBox Pe riod Packs to those in need, with each box containing six tampons and two sanitary pads.
LGFOCUS.COM.AU August 2022 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS 23 METRO AND SUBURBAN
Share the Dignity founder and manag ing director Rochelle Courtenay said the ma chines were designed to help people to ac cess free period products, without the anxiety and shame that many feel when having to ask someone else for help. “I was shocked to discover that people were using rolled up toilet paper and hand towels to manage their periods,” she said. “We could not believe that people were hav ing to choose between feeding their family or buying period products.” As a response, Share the Dignity leapt into action and created the Dignity Vending Ma chine.The machines dispense free Period Packs at the push of a button and are programmed with a delivery delay of 10 minutes to ensure no Period Packs are wasted. Since the first Dignity Vending Machine was installed in 2016, a further 280 machines have been installed across Australia, with the latest installed at the Launceston Library this week.
Work is set to begin on the upgrade of Captain Cook Memorial and Lighthouse on the NSWQueensland border, which will include the demolition and rebuild of the Marine Rescue NSW facility at Point Danger. The $5.5 million project will go ahead following the announcement of $2,023,449 in additional funding from the NSW Government’s Cross Bor der Commissioner’s Infrastructure Fund. This adds to funding already committed to the project by the NSW Government’s Restart NSW Regional Growth – Environment and Tour ism Fund ($798,000*), the NSW Office of Envi ronment and Heritage ($50,000) as well as joint funding from the City of Gold Coast ($1.7 mil lion) and Tweed Shire Council ($902,000). Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW said the COVID Recovery Round of the Cross-Border Commissioner’s Infrastructure Fund was an important recognition of the oncein-a-century challenges faced by border com munities over the past few years. “I know cross-border communities like the Tweed made many additional sacrifices over the past two years and experienced a devastating reduction in spending in their local businesses when travel restrictions were put in place and borders were closed,” Mr Toole said. “This is why the NSW Government is com mitted to working with local cross-border com munities to boost their economic prosperity now and into the Followingfuture.”arigorous tender process, con struction company Lloyd Group has been ap pointed to undertake the upgrade. Work is ex pected to be completed by mid-2023.
Facelift for border lighthouse
Launceston Library manager Garry ConroyCooper said the facility was proud to host the new vending machine “The Launceston Library is a community hub and a safe place where everyone is wel come,” Mr Conroy-Cooper said. “We’re really pleased to be able to offer this additional service on top of the diverse range of client experiences we already deliver at the Launceston Library. “We hope it is something that benefits those in need, and serves as a reminder to people that libraries are about so much more than books — they’re about congregating, learning, socialising, supporting and engaging in your community.”
buildexistingandcrossingwhothespectacularvisitorsDangersignaturerepairtheMayorofTweedShireChrisCherrywelcomedadditionalfunding,sayingitwasrequiredtothefailingstructureandprovideafittingbuildingforthepopularlookout.“StraddlingtheNSW-QLDborder,Pointisnotonlyamust-seedestinationfortotheTweedandGoldCoastswithitsviews,butacriticalviewpointforincrediblevolunteersatMarineRescueNSWmonitorandguidethesafetyofmarinerstheTweedRiverbar,”CrCherrysaid.“Itisimportantwepreservethisheritagesitemakeitmoreaccessibleforalltouse.Thebordermarkerswillremainandtherewillpreservetheaestheticsoftheoriginal
festivalFlagship
NSW Deputy Premier Paul Toole (front, 5th from left), Tweed MP Geoff Provest, Tweed Mayor Chris Cherry, City of Gold Coast Councillor Gail O’Neill, Marine Rescue NSW Deputy Commissioner Alex Barrell and NSW Cross Border Commissioner James McTavish joined volunteers from Marine Rescue NSW Point Danger unit to announce additional funding for the upgrade of Captain Cook Memorial and Lighthouse.
City of Launceston Councillor Andrea Dawkins, Share the Dignity volunteer Athlene Petterwood and Launceston Library manager Garry ConroyCooper.
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