FNQROC September 2012 Update

Presentation: Minister for Local Government David Crisafulli

• The Local Government Bill will go to the next sitting of Parliament on 12 September and it is hoped it will be put through in November. There will be two months for the committee and Councils to make comment. Some of the changes include:

Further clarification of roles and responsibilities of CEO's and Councils. Mr Crisafulli is supportive of the Mayor having the ability to direct second level staff, but this does not include broad ranging directions such as cutting a tree.
The CEO is the employer of staff, senior contract staff. The Minister now wants a panel of three - CEO, Mayor and relevant Chair of committee or Deputy Chair. However, Mayor and Chair/Deputy Chair can delegate their role to the CEO.
The new Act will not stipulate what needs to be in a community plan.
Reinstatement of joint Local Government arrangements.
Removal of prescriptions around making Local Laws – Councils will propose and consult with State agencies, will not require a Minister sign off. The Minister will use the community as the barometer – ie. complaints. Community engagement will not be mandatory for temporary Local Laws.
A keenness to repel section 32 (not able to put names up as people register) - supported by what occurred in Atherton.

(Note: John O'Halloran of the Department of Local Government is currently assisting us by preparing a summary of all the changes).

• Other comments made by the Minister:

Looking for pared-back annual reports – does not want to see big glossy reports.
Looking for reduced regulations within Councils.
Councils need to be innovative with how they raise revenue.
USL and Native Title - he understands this is a constraint to opening opportunities. Department of Local Government will be the department to crack through these issues.

• Focus for 2013:

Begin process of looking at how Councils depreciate assets – he believes it has gone from one extreme to the other. He is not talking about bell curve versus straight line. Focus will be on how Councils fund their assets. He will be looking at examples such as long-term funding of infrastructure. The examples given were where Councils received $60 million from the Federal Government, $20 million from the State Government and Councils contribute $20 million but Councils need to fund the ongoing maintenance. Another example is from Indigenous Councils where the State Government has built new key infrastructure, ie. sewerage, and then walked away and left Councils to fund the maintenance and renewal of an asset they could have developed cheaper with lower maintenance costs.
He will also focus on Indigenous Councils. He expects a significant amount of kick back from some Councils. What he sees is some Councils not putting in the effort (ie. collection of rents etc) and being rewarded with funding to take them through while those Councils which are doing the right thing are effectively being penalised – he wants to change this.

Presentation: Lailani Burra (Informed Directions ID)

• Gave an overview and justification that Queensland not only needs to be preparing and servicing the Baby Boomers but also the 25 to 35 age group and 0 to 4 age group as these are peaking in numbers similar to the number of Baby Boomers. Obviously, this will change the lower in area you look, ie. individual Council areas will not reflect this same message but we need to be aware of it.

Presentation: Stitching Together the Social Fabric – Social Infrastructure and the Role of Local Government – Lesleigh Mayes – McCullough Robertson

• Community Housing – Council Role? Facilitator, Landowner, Community Service Provider, Community Infrastructure and/or a Participatory Role?

Charitable structures are a better delivery model
Appropriate vehicles to partner with Councils
Not subject to the same legal constraints as Councils
Council participates but does not directly/indirectly control
Board role (appointment to the Board and/or member role)
Charitable structures/organisations are focussed on the issue (sharing the care/burden)
Not For Profit (NFP) organisations have access to funding which Councils do not
Practical real examples:
- Gladstone
- Surat Basin (affordable and social housing – housing trust, Council may own the land and the house is provided by other)
- Grantham (Council is landowner, affordable housing provider is a NFP and the person would lease the house and over time buy it)
- Ingham
- Townsville (Brothers Act of Random Kindness is the NFP and is focussed on Indigenous people)

• Community Health

Hospital and Health Board Act 2011 and regulation:
Creation of 'services' – geographical region based on clusters of Local Government areas (see regulations). Council has a role in engaging with these services and Boards buy assisting with the development of the protocol, joint implementation of the protocol and could have a role on the statutory body or as advisors.

Presentation: The Myth of Work-Life Balance – Helen Macdonald, The Optimism Zone

• Optimism + Opportunity = Outcomes Optimise Opportunities! The leadership mindset.

• Are you an optimist? Do you:

use a wide angle lens?
seek opportunities?
choose a sphere?
look for the sun?
do stuff?
show gratitude?
are universal connectors?
learn from every experience?

Presentation: Mastering Media Management - Richard O'Leary - Sunshine Coast Regional Council

• Can't wait for journalists to react - need to keep them informed.

• Need to have a plan and stick to it.

• Case study - Sunshine Coast Budget:

Sought a story from each committee.
Met with every single senior reporter (print, radio, tv etc) and explained the budget and the why's so all senior reporters had the facts to give a balanced report.
Ran ads on television over a week explaining the budget. They now do monthly ads, cost effective compared to newspaper and allows you to inform the public without going through the filter of a journalist. Updates include big ticket items.

• All stories need to relate to your key message (one key message for all). What is our key message - how has this assisted Councils to save money/resources?

• Needs to be more than newspaper - an ad in the paper does not work anymore - may help to push a reporter to look further, keep a Councillor happy etc but there are cheaper ways to do it. Need to look at radio, TV, blogs, enewsletters, LinkedIn etc.

• Need to be aware that social media is the way to go, need to learn to tap into it.

Presentation: Clean Energy Future Council Update: Waste Management - QTC

• In summary, there are still a lot of unanswered questions, however the presentation includes some formulas for Councils to use to ascertain if they are going to be more than 10,000 tonnes. A very interesting presentation for those involved in waste management.

• Includes management strategies for carbon emissions from landfills – many of which are occurring within this region.