Australia's National Local Government Newspaper Online

Local Government super funds to assist regional NSW
Having taken back responsibility for Local Government superannuation three years ago, Councillor Woods said that this scheme was recently recognised by Mercers as the best performing in Australia. The Super Scheme has recently established a $130 million Regional Development Trust. Working closely with Deutsche Asset Management, this Trust will provide capital for appropriate projects that will stimulate growth and jobs in outer metropolitan areas and throughout regional New South Wales.

New look Focus for 2001
In October, Local Government Focus, commenced its 17th year of publication. January 2001 will also mark Focus' 5th birthday as a national newspaper. Going from strength to strength, this December edition will be the last produced using the separate Green and Gold mastheads. Commencing next year, a new look, larger edition, with a combined Green and Gold masthead, will see the same edition being distributed to all Councils throughout Australia. We have also totally overhauled our web site to match the new look Focus.

Editorial
After regaining control of superannuation on behalf of NSW Councils just three years ago, the Local Government Superannuation Scheme is not only a recognised leader in terms of returns on investment but is also a great example of putting triple bottom line principles into practice.

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

Designing for safer communities
When we think of crime prevention, we generally think of mechanical security devices, such as alarms and locks, or organised security, such as police and guards. However, there is another form of crime prevention which is referred to as Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED).

Green light for Kogarah facelift

Lismore's 'first in Australia' organic reprocessing
Former NSW Premier, Neville Wran, recently launched Lismore's 'first in Australia' organic reprocessing facility. A massive worm farm will convert the organic material collected from Lismore residents into worm castings and liquid for resale.

Road package a good start but long term commitment essential - ALGA
Councils across the nation welcome the Federal Government announcement of $1.6 billion for road funding, Australian Local Government Association President, Councillor John Ross, said. The package has developed from a strong case put by the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) to the Commonwealth Government.

Community consultation - beyond the rhetoric
How many times have you found yourself half way through a community consultation program on a delicate issue and wished you could start again. Unfortunately the process had been hijacked by a minority pressure group, which had capitalised on your lack of planning, making a conclusive outcome unlikely.

Manningham tops in customers service
Manningham Council's ongoing commitment to excellence in customer service has been further recognised at the Australian Customer Service Awards, by winning the National Award in the Category of Medium Business.

Five green ticks for Marion
The City of Marion has recognised the need to identify and manage the environmental aspects of its own activities by committing to the establishment of an Environmental Management System (or EMS).

Online Service Delivery
Anyone following the American election will by now be sure that if it hasn't proved anything else, it's proved that every vote does count. For those people who are apathetic about contributing their voice to decision making because they think it 'won't make a difference', the election has given us food for thought about the role that the Internet could play in democracy.

Managing development disputes made easy
major Interactive Conference on managing development and environmental disputes will be held at the Wentworth Hotel, Sydney on 2-3 April 2001.

Colac Otway leads the way with satellite technology for land management
Colac Otway Shire has taken the initiative to install the latest Global Positioning System (GPS) Base Station in a growing network being established across Victoria. A new Global Positioning System (GPS) Base Station, launched in November, provides Colac and surrounds with access to high accuracy differential GPS correction data.

Managing Internet productivity
Local Councils, Government Departments and businesses alike, are recognising the ever increasing benefits of providing Internet access to employees. But Internet access can result in countless non productive hours when employees stray. SuperScout provides the most advanced filtering technology available to eliminate Internet abuse.

Tas Central Portal - cooperation pays off
Three Tasmanian Councils have joined forces with local businesses and community groups to create the Tasmania Central Portal.

Transforming from 'roads, rates and rubbish' - Wollongong City Council selects mySAP.com Local Government Solution
Australia's eighth largest city, Wollongong, boasts some of Australia's most picturesque coastline and bushlands. It's also a city whose Council is positioning itself to be one of the country's leading adopters of technology in Local Government. This is strongly evidenced by its decision to deploy mySAP.com Local Government Solution - a solution that supports the full range of Local Government requirements, developed by SAP Australia and Deloitte Consulting.

Finance One interfacing a breeze for Rocky
Interfacing the leading financial management software, Finance One, with three other new business applications simultaneously was as smooth as a summer breeze for Rockhampton City Council. For this medium sized Council with 24,000 rateable properties, located halfway up Queensland's tropical coast, interfacing software applications was initially a 'scare issue' but one that, after considerable planning and review, was successfully resolved. Acting Director of Corporate Services, Thomas Upton, who had overall responsibility for the project, said initial concerns had been resolved with the assistance of staff from Finance One and the various business applications.

Using Council web sites for electronic service delivery
Australian Councils have been quick to recognise the Internet as an invaluable tool for transparency and community promotion. However, most Council web sites only have very limited Electronic Service Delivery (ESD) capacity. Burnie City Council in Tasmania has addressed this issue with Sydney based e-commerce company 'commerce@work', cooperatively developing a new innovative Local Government product called 'e-council'.

Managing change and uncertainty
Whether it is the impact of new technology, different management strategies, the introduction of new processes, voluntary structural reform, or new legislative requirements, we all have to manage ourselves and our staff through change and uncertainty.

Barcode scanner saves time and money
Recently Toowoomba City Council approached Gripon Australia to help automate its cash receipting. The task set was to receipt different types of notices, such as rates notices and dog registrations, without the need for the operator to manually key the data into the computer system.

Message from the Minister
I am delighted to feature in this issue of National Perspective, the winners and commendations from the 2000 National Awards for Innovation in Local Government. A record 386 entries were received this year and the calibre of projects reflected the tremendous work being done across Australia to improve service delivery to local communities.

National Winner Whittlesea City Council VIC - GPS and Mobile Computing in Fire Prevention
Fire has always been a major force in shaping the Australian continent and its management has been an essential skill long recognised by those who make Australia their home. By harnessing a variety of readily accessible computer capabilities, the City of Whittlesea has developed a system which quickly identifies the location of potential fire hazards, capturing the information and generating fire hazard notices so preventive steps can be speedily taken.

National Rural Winner Inverell Shire Council NSW - Partial Enclosure and Heating of Inverell and District Memorial Olympic Pool
Inverell Shire Council, with the nearest heated pool 130 km away, looked long and hard at the problem and decided to try something not done before. It split its 50m pool in half. It could heat a smaller volume of water while still using the existing water treatment and circulation system.

National Awards for Innovation in Local Government 2000 Winners

Forum delivering already
The Northern Australia Forum was held in Katherine, Northern Territory from 17-20 October 2000. Over 200 people, including 100 delegates representing the ten regions across northern Australia (generally defined as the area north of the Tropic of Capricorn), spent three days determining the future direction of sustainable development in the North.

Forum expands northern exports
Three regions represented at the Northern Australia Forum will join with Federal, State and Territory Governments to improve and increase access to professional export and trade assistance services through the opening of TradeStart offices in Alice Springs, Carnarvon and the Kimberley.