Australia's National Local Government Newspaper Online

Tasmania leads the way in new State/Local partnership deal
Jim Bacon's new Labor Government is promising Tasmanian Councils a new deal. Through separate Partnership Agreements with each of the State's 29 Councils, the two spheres will work together 'in Tasmania's economic recovery'.

Editorial
Describing it as 'tax reform Black Friday for Councils and their communities across Australia', President of the Australian Local Government Association, Councillor John Campbell, believes all Local Government's concerns about being locked out of the recent Premiers' Conference have been realised.

President's comment
Each edition we feature the views of a State Local Government Association President. The following is from Councillor John Jago, President Victorian Local Governance Association.

Community partnership to clear graffiti
Maroondah City Council recently received a VicSafe Community Safety and Crime Prevention Award for the successful implementation of its Graffiti Strategy Pilot Program. Council has reduced the incidence of graffiti by 80 percent.

Lagoon rescue to green a district
A project to rehabilitate a local lagoon at Sorell in southern Tasmania will ultimately transform the region through effluent reuse as irrigation.

Councils aim to turn the tide on climate change
Halting rising seas and the erratic weather extremes predicted to accompany global warming lie behind the worldwide linking of Local Government into the Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) program.

Investors respond to Council encouragement
Programs to offset trends to unemployment, by encouraging business investment, are paying off for Victoria's Hume City Council. Located on the northern outskirts of Melbourne, Hume recorded the second highest level of commercial and industrial development outside the CBD for the year 1997/98.

Feedback appreciated
Management and staff at Local Government FOCUS would like to thank readers who took the time to complete our 1998 Survey. Once again we received a range of responses from elected members and officers, across all States and Territories and from metropolitan and rural Councils.

CCT the other side of the ledger
In the October '98 edition of Local Government FOCUS a report from the 'CT 1998 Competing Solutions' Conference gave the reader the impression that compulsory competitive tendering had been an unqualified success, producing unprecedented efficiencies and improvements to Council services. Closer scrutiny of the CCT juggernaut in Victoria, however, allows plenty of room for another general conclusion.

Tender provides Council Information Centre
Victoria's Frankston City Council has a new Council Information Centre, courtesy of an innovative approach to competitive tendering. As part of its tender for the provision of parking services in the City, Wilson Services offered to open a Frankston City Council Information Centre in the Central Activities District.

CivicView for the new millennium
The City of Caloundra, one of Australia's fastest growing centres, after an exhaustive evaluation of available Local Government software packages, has chosen the CivicView product from Insight Informatics.

Students review Council work practices
This year, Pittwater Council in NSW had assistance from an unusual consulting source. Under an initiative developed by the Quality Council of Australia, known as the E-Scheme, a group of students from Pittwater High School reviewed an aspect of Council operations.

Tip 'op shop' a money spinner
Where better to locate a second hand shop than at Council's tip. Every day people with unwanted goods, useable or not, take them to tips adding to the volume of landfill. To break this cycle, at Kiama's Minnamurra Waste Disposal Centre all goods which may be of use to someone else are retrieved, recorded on a computer data base and then resold.

Message from the Minister
Welcome to this special issue of National Perspective. I am delighted to present to you the winners of The National Awards for Innovation in Local Government for 1998.

About the Awards
The National Awards for Innovation in Local Government (NAILG) are a Commonwealth Government program established to foster and acknowledge continuous improvement and innovation in the local government sector. The Awards offer the opportunity to raise awareness and disseminate information about alternative and 'smarter' ways of delivering outcomes and services to the community.

1998 Winners and Entrants
For a full list of 1998 winners and entrants visit the NOLG website at www.nolg.gov.au