FNQROC October 2012 Update

By: Darlene Irvine, FNQROC Executive Officer...

"Learn to ride a bicycle...you will not regret it if you live" - Mark Twain

By the time you are reading this I am hopefully back safe and sound after riding a bike from Cairns to Cooktown over the Queen's Birthday weekend.    I am pictured left with Tablelands Regional Council CEO Ian Church at the finish line in Cooktown.  Together we rode in a Cairns Regional Council team pack.  That's a great example of regional resource sharing for you!  Firstly, thank you very much to all those who have sponsored any of the riders, all funds are going to a very worthy cause being the FNQ Hospital Foundation.  Many of you will be aware that I have been riding for a couple of years now but I generally ride solo and have learnt to hate the Captain Cook Highway riding North to South against the head wind.  In training for this event, I have been riding in a pack, each of us sharing the lead.  When out front it is hard going, but when it is your turn behind the leaders, the ride is much easier, faster and less taxing on the body.  This got me thinking about work and the benefits of Councils and staff working collaboratively - when we all work together, the journey is a lot easier with each of us sharing the load.  Trying to work on your own is a harder, takes  longer and before you know it, the pack has overtaken you with a smile and a wave!

September again has been a busy month for all with the proposed amendments to the Local Government Act, the Sustainable Planning Act and the proposed removal of the State Planning Regulation Provisions which sit behind the FNQ2031.  This is occurring quite rapidly and Council staff are having to make the appropriate changes to processes and procedures to meet these changes when they are finalised (many being in November).

As well as the comments from the Coordinators, from my end, October will also be a big month.  We will see our first:

• FNQROC Board meeting in Yarrabah on Monday 8 October 2012
• Regional Local Government Economic Development Technical Committee meeting on Friday 12 October 2012, under the deliverables for Advance Cairns
• Taskforce meeting for the Regional Masterplan for mountain biking on Thursday 4 October (I have never seen so many organisations in such alignment of direction before...it is very exciting) 

As part of our funding agreement with the Roads Alliance I will present our Regional Procurement Project to the Regional Road Group Technical Committee Assembly and Regional Road Group Assembly.  Regional Procurement Coordinator Steven Cosatto and I have entitled it “Regional Procurement, a Really Good Idea But…” and it will be about the pitfalls we faced and mitigation actions we put in place.

LGAQ will also hold its Annual Conference and several motions will affect member Councils.  There are many motions before the conference, but of note are:

1. Our own motion related to NDRRA
2. Hann Highway as a State priority
3. Gilbert River Irrigation as a State priority, and
4. Removal of biosecurity precept payment.

And finally, I would like to say a sad farewell and thank you to Lauren Stiles who was assisting us in the planning realm on a casual basis.  Cairns Regional Council has picked up a great asset in her.  Good luck Lauren! 

(Editor's note: all this talk of crazy bike riding expeditions led me to an online cycling joke site.  I cannot resist sharing this parting joke...Why can't a bicycle stand up on it's own?  Because it's too-tyred.  Boom boom!)