 Linking rural and remote areas to the information revolution *
Telstra Country WideTM is using satellite technology to bring the information rich world of the Internet to Australia’s vast rural and remote areas. Using Telstra BigPond broadband satellite, Internet users in these areas can now access the Internet at speeds equivalent to metropolitan Australia – and for the price of a local call. It’s easy, quick and affordable.
Discovering Melville
The City of Melville in Perth launched its new municipal museum, the Melville Discovery Centre in June this year as part of the centenary of the City of Melville. Located in the recently renovated Civic Centre, this innovative museum offers an exciting interactive environment for the public to engage with the City’s unique history.
Achieving Best Value *
How can Councils increase their performance in the most cost effective way? AXS-One offers some solutions.
Custodian of the world’s most liveable city
CityWide Service Solutions Pty Ltd (CityWide) is proud to announce its success in winning what is undoubtedly one of the most significant contracts in Victoria, the delivery of Civil Infrastructure Services for the City of Melbourne. Since its establishment in 1995, CityWide has become one of Victoria’s most innovative and diverse infrastructure, engineering and environmental management and maintenance companies.
Second Annual Report Award for Wollongong
Wollongong City Council continues to lead the way in Local Government annual reporting, taking out a second successive Gold Award at the 51st ARA Annual Report Awards in Melbourne. Wollongong was the only local Council among 17 organisations which met the demanding ARA criteria for the Gold Award.
The ultimate Green Power guide *
This month all Councils have the opportunity of discovering how your colleagues at Moreland City Council and Moree Shire Council have leveraged the deregulation of the electricity market to save both money and the environment. The Local Government Green Power Purchasing Guide is on offer free of charge from the National Green Power Program to assist Councils in understanding contestability and the opportunities it presents in purchasing clean, green renewable energy.
Demystifying carbon sinks
A new booklet for Local Government about growing trees to reduce greenhouse gases, and a set of field procedures for carbon accounting is now available.The booklet is one of two publications designed to help those involved in growing or investing in trees as carbon sinks.
Casey Aquatic & Recreation Centre
A new era in partnerships
As Victoria’s fastest growing municipality, the City of Casey is proving that forming strategic alliances and carving successful partnerships with all stakeholders is the best way to deliver community facilities at the best price, in the quickest time and to the highest quality.
Strengthening developer relations
The City of Salisbury has sought innovative ways to strengthen relationships with developers and to ensure best practice in development assessment procedures.Council’s Development Services Team adopted a stronger customer service focus and explored how the sharing of ideas between Council and stakeholders would result in better understanding of the development process ‘on both sides of the fence’.
New era in asset management
A joint project between the City of Booroondara and Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs will contribute to advanced management of infrastructure assets, including buildings, parks, machinery, roads and drains.
National Innovation Award for Whittlesea technology project
For the second year in a row, the City of Whittlesea has won the information technology category of the National Awards for Innovation in Local Government with a project that saves tens of thousands of dollars a year. The award winning video property inspection system, uses a camera fitted to a street sweeper truck, to replace visits and inspections by the City’s valuers.
Electromagnetic fields
Councils manage buildings where people and equipment are potentially exposed to electromagnetic fields, known as EMFs. Sources of EMFs include substations, switchboards, and mains cables.
Conquest Solutions deliver universal asset management for Local Government *
In an increasing litigious society, managing the many risks to which Councils are exposed is becoming an ever demanding task. The provision of community infrastructure is one of the main functions of Local Government, yet if this infrastructure is not properly maintained, Authorities are exposed to significant public liability.Conquest Solutions has developed Conquest II to assist Councils to manage the risks associated with managing infrastructure assets.
Stormwater study assists pollution prevention
An intensive research program undertaken by Blacktown City Council at the Westfield Shopping Complex in Mount Druit, has revealed that polluted stormwater is entering the local waterways, and possibly impeding the health of the ecosystem.Water quality and sediment quality monitoring have exposed the prevalence of oils, greases and petrol from unserviced cars, as well as zinc, copper and lead from car tyre wear.
Graduates tour Brighton treatment plant
In September, 20 members of Environment Australia’s Canberra based Graduate Program toured the Brighton wastewater treatment plant and local farms, to view the Council’s innovative effluent re-use for irrigation scheme. They were in Tasmania as part of the statewide tour
of environmental projects involving Environment Australia and the Federal Department of Environment and Heritage.
Certificate in Corporate Investigations *
The Certificate in Corporate Investigations, conducted by the University of Western Sydney, is specifically designed for people who, as part of their employment, undertake workplace inquiries or investigations. In particular the course is suitable for people who may become involved in disciplinary inquiries, fraud investigations and compliance.
Deakin University – the right course for your career *
With the rapidly changing global environment and ever increasing pressure to rationalise the activities of government, there has never been a better time to consider postgraduate study in public policy. Deakin University’s Public Policy and Governance program has been specifically designed for those involved in policy making and analysis in the public sector, in policy research, consultancy and advocacy, as well as in the community or third sector.
Taking the angst out of development
applications
In 1997, in response to its extraordinary growth, Liverpool City Council developed what is known as an Independent Hearing and Assessment Panel (IHAP), and is believed to be the first of its kind in NSW. IHAP comprises of four members, specialists in areas of law, urban planning and design, the environment and a community representative. It delivers independent and specialist recommendations to Council on Development Application’s (DA), that are significant and complex or meet with unresolved objections.
Joondalup enters the cyber age
In line with the City of Joondalup’s vision as the Online Learning City, Council has introduced
a new computer voting system for elected members.Believed to be the first of its kind for a Local Government in Australia, the system enables Councillors to use laptops to view meeting agendas and register votes.
Managing conflict *
Disaffected residents abusing Council staff on the phone, community meetings deteriorating into polemical contests, officers arguing over policy or staffing issues, tensions between elected officials and executive staff … These are just some of the ways in which conflict may impinge on the daily life of Local Government.
Councils benefit from ‘Best Practice’ documentation in the face of loss of immunity under non-feasance
AUS-SPEC, a joint venture between the Institute of Public Works Engineering, Australia and Sinclair Knight Merz Pty Ltd has developed a new maintenance model to assist Councils address the implications of the High Court ruling which effectively abolished non-feasance immunity. Road Authorities including Councils, now owe a duty of care to users of roads and footpaths. The Authority “is obliged to take reasonable steps” to inspect the condition of its assets and know about “latent dangers which might reasonably be suspected to exist”.
Rapid Response to Hazards with MBT’s EMACO® SET-45 *
With recent changes to non-feasance rules governing Council liability in relation to injuries and incidents in public places, there is more pressure than ever on Local Governments throughout Australia to eliminate potential hazards from their infrastructure.This is particularly true along footpaths and walkways, where subsidence or other physical damage can develop into trip hazards and slip hazards resulting in injury, and potentially costly litigation.
Innovative bin lid design wins award
Sydney’s Canterbury City Council won the Norman Lee Memorial Award for Community Partnerships at the recent Southern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils annual awards presentation, for its design of their innovative bin lids.The design is a series of raised symbols and tactile messages on the lids. They identify garbage, recycling and greenwaste bins. This enables the visually impaired to recognise and identify the bins, without solely relying on the colour coded systems used by a vast majority of other Councils.
Winning with waste to resource *
Best practice waste treatment
After two years of successful operation of its co-composting plant in Port Stephens NSW, EWT Bedminster has signed contracts for even larger plants in Perth with Southern Metropolitan Regional Council and Far North Queensland with Cairns City Council, Douglas and Mareeba Shires.
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