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Australia's National Local Government Newspaper Online | |
| Editions > 2004 > January | Thursday November 20, 2008 - Melbourne Time: 04:56:41 |
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Business Clean Up Day – Tuesday 2 March 2004 In December 2003, the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Abuja, Nigeria endorsed giving constitutional and legal recognition to Local Government. This was a key proposal put to CHOGM by the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF). CLFG, with 200 members in over 40 Commonwealth countries, had formal delegation status at the Abuja CHOGM.
Victorian Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and the Aged, Gavin Jennings MP, recently opened the first gathering place for Indigenous people in the western region of Melbourne. Chair of the Western Indigenous Gathering Place Committee, Colleen Marion, said the new gathering place, located at Maribyrnong Library, presents a breakthrough for the welfare, access to services and connectedness of Indigenous people in the western region.
Discover new solutions for smart communities at the fourth Annual National Technology Innovation Conference, to be hosted by the City of Whittlesea at the Plenty Ranges Arts and Convention Centre on Friday 13 February 2004. Imagine the possibilities for communities where information, technology and planning converge. This is not futuristic – it exists now. Governments, businesses and citizens are rethinking their cities and responding to new community and urban challenges.
Inspiring speakers, informative case studies and valuable networking opportunities are all on the agenda for LGPro’s 2004 Annual Conference to be held from 18–20 February. With the theme ‘Striking the Balance’, the conference is expected to attract more than 400 Local Government professionals to Melbourne Park Function Centre.
The Good Oil by Rod Brown*
Tricia Caswell, Executive Director of Global Sustainability at Melbourne’s RMIT University, says Local Governments can play a key role in creating a sustainable future. She said Councils must find creative solutions to environmental, social and cultural, economic and governance challenges – known as the quadruple bottom line, or 4BL.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has launched a demographic profiling tool for the comparison of cities, towns, suburbs and neighbourhoods. The Socio Economic Indexes for Areas 2001 (SEIFA) uses social and economic variables from the 2001 Census, such as income, education and employment, to give different parts of Australia an index value.
The UK Experience by Malcolm Morley*
The University of Canberra’s Centre for Developing Cities has moved to strengthen its leadership in Urban Management education, training and research. Launching a more flexible Masters program the director of the Centre for Developing Cities, Professor Brian Roberts, said, “We have thoroughly reviewed Local Government needs for skills and expertise in governance, finance, strategy and development.” ICLEI would like to thank our members, participants and partners for their continued support over 2003, which has enabled us to achieve key advances in all three campaigns. These achievements are testament to ICLEI’s capacity building approach that marshals Local Government’s efforts to build local sustainable action. We look forward to continued commitment from our partners in 2004.
Launceston City Council has teamed up with public and private sector groups to create a new tourist attraction in Tasmania. Council’s Riveredge project won the Tourism Development category of the 2003 National Awards for Local Government.
Logic Australia Pty Ltd commenced its manufacturing business some three years ago with the objective of providing ‘safety surface solutions’ for a broad range of customers. Using a combination of recycled and natural rubber materials, the business initially manufactured for the equine and industrial markets, focusing on the OH&S issues of anti slip and anti fatigue.
South Australia’s Renmark Paringa Council is saving water and money by reusing 650,000 litres of effluent each day for the irrigation of parks and ovals. Previously, Council purchased water from the Renmark Irrigation Trust for three cents per kilolitre. The water was drawn from the Murray River.
The City of Canning in Perth has joined forces with the remote Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku, near Kalgoorlie, to encourage self government by indigenous communities. Ngaanyatjarraku Shire covers 160,000 square kilometres in the central desert region of Western Australia. It has a population of just 1,500 people.
The Town of Northam in Western Australia has won the 2003 National Award for Innovation – for a Council with a ratepayer base of less than 15,000 – with its Mitchell on Avon project. The Award was presented in Canberra late last year by the Minister for Local Government, Senator Ian Campbell.
A mini CD of the City of Playford’s key strategies for the future received global exposure at the 2003 Nations in Bloom Awards. The disc was so popular at the awards that Council ran out and is currently doing a reprint. Playford is located 30 kilometres north of Adelaide. It covers 346 square kilometres and is home to 70,000 residents. It won the Planning for the Future category of the awards, which are endorsed by the United Nations and recognise world’s best practice in managing the environment, economic viability, future planning, community and heritage.
Nillumbik Shire Council’s Ageing in Your Home project won the Planning for an Ageing Community category at the 2003 National Awards for Local Government. It also received a commendation in the Planning for Health and Wellbeing category of the 2003 Victorian Planning Awards. |
| FOCUS PROMOTION - Hornsby Shire Council |
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It works. And it’s free. In these cash strapped times, what could be better news for Local Government? Hornsby Shire Council’s central library will soon be running an air conditioning system powered by waste heat. This energy innovation has been developed with the CSIRO and the Australian Greenhouse Office, and it will save Hornsby Council thousands of dollarsevery year. It will also contribute to important greenhouse gas reductions.
Welcome to this special feature on Hornsby Shire. I hope this will give you a glimpse of the wonderful people and places that make up the Bushland Shire. Like every Local Government body working in the interests the communities they serve, Hornsby Shire Council can point to many important achievements and innovations. This feature is a chance to share what we’ve learned in the interests of building a better, brighter and more sustainable future for us all. Hornsby Council has completed another busy and challenging year with a flood of accolades for outstanding Local Government initiatives. From swim safety and water saving programs to animal management and environmental initiatives, Council received more than 12 prestigious local and national awards in 2003.
It says something about Australia’s sense of fun that many of our most recognised fictional characters come from the pages of children’s books and comic strips – Snuggle Pot and Cuddle Pie, the Magic Pudding and of course Ginger Meggs.
Paying rates online is easier for the people of Hornsby Shire, using BPAY and BPAY View. Online payments are becoming increasingly common, but what makes BPAY and BPAY View different is that residents can pay directly from their online banking site. Hornsby Shire’s new long day care centre at Somerville Park, Eastwood, brings a range of early childhood and family services under the one roof. The $1.8 million multi purpose facility on Blaxland Road, Eastwood is a one stop child care resource for local families with children aged 0–5 years. Accommodating 40 children aged six weeks to five years, the long day care centre includes a toy library, café, meeting room, and take home meals. It’s game on for Hornsby Shire’s newest sporting facility with the ‘Brickpit’ Indoor Sports Stadium at Thornleigh completed late last year. A flood of bookings has seen action on the courts every day since it opened its doors in October 2003, with the new $4 million complex fast becoming the premier sporting venue in the region.
Working with local communities, businesses and other levels of government, Hornsby Shire is making a real difference in the spirit of thinking globally and acting locally for a sustainable future. Land for Wildlife is an innovative scheme that’s a great case in point. This unique joint education program helps rural landowners create and enhance habitat for wildlife on their property, and Hornsby Council was the first Local Government area in New South Wales to enter into a partnership with the National Parks and Wildlife Service as part of the scheme.
Hornsby Shire Council manages scores of beautiful parks and playgrounds, often in partnership with community support groups. These landscaped areas wonderfully complement the wild environments of the Shire’s bushland reserves, which include Ku-ring-gai Chase and Marramarra National Parks, and Berowra Valley Regional Park (managed jointly by the Hornsby Shire Council and the National Parks and Wildlife Service). |
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© Eryl Morgan Publications Pty Ltd - Last update: Thursday January 13, 2005
Another site by Newline Development Pty Ltd. |
Cost shifting and development controls the big issues for 2004
President of the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA), Councillor Mike Montgomery, believes that cost shifting, urban and regional growth, and the threat of development assessment powers being removed from Councils are the big challenges facing Local Government in 2004. Councillor Montgomery said the fight against cost shifting would continue, with Local Government Minister, Senator Ian Campbell, due to respond to the Rates and Taxes: A Fair Share for Responsible Local Government report in May.
A recently established sister city relationship between Albury and Nanping, China is showing promise of significant benefits to both cities. Albury City Mayor, Councillor Patricia Gould, and Nanping Mayor, Councillor Madam Hua Chen, formally signed the relationship at an official ceremony in Nanping in September 2003.
‘Picture This’, a graffiti solutions project funded by Department of Families and Queensland’s Hervey Bay City Council, was completed recently. Council’s Youth Development Officer, Sue Lawler, said positive comments are being received from all sectors of the community about the installation of graffiti panels at Melory Place shopping centre in the heart of popular Hervey Bay.
A new approach to regional planning is helping Local Governments and communities identify and achieve shared visions for a sustainable future.
Speaking at the 2003 National General Assembly of Local Government, former Deputy Prime Minister, Tim Fischer, said that three factors influence whether local communities prosper or perish. After 30 years as a parliamentarian, Tim Fischer has just released a book called Outback Heroes. In it he identifies leadership, unity and lateral thinking as the most important ingredients for building successful communities.
One of the toughest challenges for a large urban Council on a capital city boundary is to forge an identity separate from its more recognisable neighbour. For many years Logan City Council in Queensland has worked hard to differentiate itself from not only Brisbane City on its northern boundary, but also Gold Coast City to the south.
A state of the art town hall which squeezed home ahead of the Australian property boom greeted residents of Taroom Shire – population 2,733 – at the end of their centenary year. The $2.5 million new building, fronting National Highway 39 in the central Queensland highlands, marked the 100 year change over in 1903 from Taroom Divisional Board to the Shire Council.
The Farm Gate Trail developed as part of the Hawkesbury Harvest Program is a tourism initiative that aims to bring visitors into the rural areas of the northern Sydney Basin, while maintaining the region’s rural nature and heritage. Supporting this community based project, Hornsby Shire Council has contributed $20,000 to expand the Farm Gate Trail into Hornsby Shire.
Hornsby Shire – The Bushland Shire – is also the Cyberspace Shire, as revealed in census figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. According to the last census, about 51 per cent of people in the Shire used the Internet, much higher than the national average of 36 per cent. The use of a home computer was also above the national rate – 56 per cent in the Shire compared to the Australian average of 48.6 per cent.
As well as being great places to relax and spend time with family and friends, parks provide a focus for Council and community events. Two recent innovations have been Happy Dog Day, to be run for the third time in 2004, and the Hornsby Shire Garden Expo to be held this year for only the second time.
A decade ago, Hornsby town centre was in decline, now it’s home to more then 2,500 new jobs created by the innovative integration of commercial and community space. Many shopping centres turn their backs on the community. Shiny on the inside, on the outside they can be just carparks and concrete. But Hornsby Shire Council worked with the private sector and the community to create a shopping precinct that opens its arms to community space.
Managing waterways is more than just about setting and enforcing regulations. It’s about empowering those who use our rivers and estuaries to do the right thing. Swimmers, anglers, oyster farmers and Hornsby Shire’s river settlements are already benefiting from a service enabling boats to pump out their sewage where it can be treated on land.