Regional Projects - July 2014
By: Regional Projects Officer, Daniela Gambotto...
Regional Events
As I mentioned in my report last month, the Regional Events Group is keen to offer assistance to organisers in the design and planning of an event. The benefit of this is twofold: the organiser gets insider knowledge and guidance from an experienced group of local professionals; and, Councils have the opportunity to further leverage the return on investment for sponsorship of these events.
Last month we were invited by Cairns Regional Council to meet with a group which has never run an event in FNQ. As I reported, this proved to be a successful approach and we provided relevant input to help shape this event. This month we met with another organiser who has successfully run an event in this region in the past. They were seeking some further guidance on how to improve their event. With a group of Council representatives and TTNQ in attendance, we were able to provide some great suggestions which would not only enhance the appeal of this event to broader sections of the community, but also allowed us to influence aspects which would provide greater return to the FNQ region. This included influencing the route design to ensure benefits are spread across the region and in particular to smaller communities that are often overlooked.
With 12 months lead in time, we will continue to liaise with the organiser to ensure the event is pulled off smoothly and successfully. We encourage other event organisers to get in touch with us if they are seeking guidance and support. Not only might it assist with securing financial assistance in the future but it also provides an opportunity for organisers to understand what other in-kind support Councils can offer, which they otherwise might not be aware of. We strongly suggest at least 12-18 months lead in time to ensure maximum benefit can be gained for all parties.
Street Lighting and Sustainability
Attentive media spotters would have seen street lighting on the front page of the Cairns Post this month. The exact issue which was raised in last month's newsletter – the reinstatement of the 10% Alternative Control Service Charge from 1 July – was the topic of discussion in this article. Even though there was no mention of FNQROC, we would like to think it's our persistence in keeping this issue alive that helped attract media attention to it?
Meanwhile, in reality, little has happened on this front and by the time you are reading this newsletter, the ACS 10% pass through will be back in train and we still have no Service Level Agreement (SLA) in place with Ergon Energy. Thus Councils will once again be paying for maintenance of their street lighting asset with absolutely no reporting or service delivery obligations in place. I am continuing to pursue key staff in Ergon Energy to ensure an SLA is drafted and agreed to as soon as possible (with little effect to date!) We are aware some of the regions mayors and CEOs were approached by Ergon Energy staff in recent weeks to discuss the upcoming restructure of the organisation. As far as we know, the SLA was not raised at any of these meetings.
The announcement earlier this month to sell off parts of Ergon Energy should make for interesting times ahead in the world of street lighting. Stay tuned...