Australia's National Local Government Newspaper Online

Cooperation and learning rather than competition
Launched in April, the Local Government Community Services Association of Australia's Good Practice and Benchmarking manual is timely given concerns raised at the recent Premiers Conference about the excesses of National Competition Policy. Titled 'Working Together to Develop Our Communities', the manual is the result of a project initiated in 1998 by LGCSAA.

Strategic approach brings a trail of tourists
A partnership between Huon Valley and Kingborough Councils, the Tasmanian State Government and tourist bodies has resulted in a marked increase in tourism in the Huon Valley region. At the heart of the long term strategic plan to improve the area's economic viability is the Huon Trail.

Editorial
As the wrangling and the deals go on in Canberra, Local Government concern continues about the impact on Councils and communities of both a GST and changed funding arrangements between the Federal and State Governments. On the second of these vital issues the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) achieved a major victory, with the Senate recently passing a resolution rejecting the proposal to transfer responsibility for the payment of Local Government Financial Assistance Grants from the Commonwealth Government to the States and Northern Territory.

President's comment
Each edition we feature the views of a Local Government Association President. The following is from Councillor Bill Bott, President New South Wales Shires Association.

Guide to planning new communities
A study tour by Town Planner David Turnbull from Victoria's City of Whittlesea has resulted in the publication of a book titled 'International Planning Theory vs Practice'.

International Engineering Congress
Now is the time to register your interest in attending the International Congress on Local Government Engineering and Public Works, incorporating the 10th National Local Government Engineering Conference. It will be staged at the Sydney Convention Centre from 22-26 August.

CCT and HACC services
A report has been released analysing the impact of Compulsory Competitive Tendering on users of aged and disability services provided by Victorian Councils. The two year study was carried out by Victoria's RMIT University School of Management.

KPIs for Tas Councils
Tasmanian Councils will soon have in place a system of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Funding of $150,000 has been obtained through the Commonwealth Government's Local Government Development Program to carry out the project.

Ethics in LG
Believing Local Government to be vulnerable to corruption charges has prompted Penrith City Council to form an Internal Governance Unit. The Unit, headed by Council's General Manager, has responsibility for ensuring high ethical standards are at the core of all Council policy and processes.

New package helps Councils with GST complexities*
Gadens Lawyers and Gadens Accounting have drawn upon their resources to form a team of GST specialists. They recently launched a new national package designed to assist Councils to cope with the new tax.

Evaluation system working well in Councils*
After deciding on a new strategic direction for information technology, Shellharbour City Council issued an IT tender in January. When it became apparent that deadlines were tight, Shellharbour's Director of Community and Corporate Services, Peter O'Rourke, engaged Lange Consulting to assist the tender management team.

Keeping track of your assets*
Accurate tracking of assets can be a difficult, time consuming task especially if Councils are not using an automatic data collection system. Bar Code Data Systems Pty Ltd (BCDS) is a specialist company and has developed a program especially designed for the purpose.

Straightforward information on Internet payments from BEP
Local Government bodies will soon be able to more readily and securely set up Internet facilities for collecting payments from their clients through the Business Entry Point (BEP) initiative. Offering clients the ability to make payments via the Internet is the logical extension for Councils which are looking to upgrade their customer service and streamline operations by improving their range of online transactions.

Message from the Minister
Welcome to another issue of National Perspective. The past few months have been a very busy period for the National Office of Local Government as several new initiatives gather momentum.

Changes to Financial Assistance Grant payments
Under the Commonwealth government's tax reform policies, responsibility for distributing financial assistance grants to local government will shift from the Commonwealth to the States and Territories. This change will take effect from July 2000.

Working with local government to reach small business
Launched in July 1998, Business Entry Point (BEP), www.business.gov.au, provides business with an easy, quick and efficient way to interact with government. Managed by the Office of Small Business, the BEP is a whole of government initiative that will streamline the provision of government services to small businesses, across Federal, State and Territory and local governments.

Local Government Development Program receives further $2.5 million
Council ratepayers and customers will benefit from more than $2.5 million in additional Federal funding for councils in 17 regions across Australia. The funding has been allocated under the Local Government Development Fund (LGDP). LGDP assists the improvement of council service delivery to ratepayers, enhances equitable services to all Australians, and facilitates improved social and economic development in rural and regional areas.

National program of local government workshops
Communities in rural and regional Australia are facing a period of great uncertainty and change. There are many issues&emdash;social, economic and environmental&emdash;that need to be addressed and acted on to ensure that communities are economically and socially sustainable over the longer term. The diversity of needs and perspectives in communities provides a challenge to local government to identify practical ways in which they can assist their communities to grow and adapt&emdash;to better manage complexity and change.