A controversial CBD bike lane rollout on hold in Melbourne.
Also today: a new CEO appointed at Wodonga Council; the state opposition leader receives mixed reviews after a whistle stop tour around Victoria; two councils at loggerheads over a proposed boundary change in Queensland; and Perth City Council under fire for a decision on a homeless drop in centre; and 2.5 more years of administration ahead for a NSW council.
The Local Government News Roundup is brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association, your national broadcaster for all things local government.
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Issue 129, LG News Roundup, 5th June 2022
A controversial CBD bike lane rollout on hold in Melbourne.
That story heads the Roundup for the 5th June 2022.
Welcome to the Local Government News Roundup. I’m Chris Eddy.
Also today: a new CEO appointed at Wodonga Council; the state opposition leader receives mixed reviews after a whistle stop tour around Victoria; two councils at loggerheads over a proposed boundary change in Queensland; and Perth City Council under fire for a decision on a homeless drop in centre; and 2.5 more years of administration ahead for a NSW council.
The Local Government News Roundup is brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association, your national broadcaster for all things local government.
The City of Melbourne has paused the rollout of its CBD bike lane program ahead of consideration of next steps by a committee on Tuesday.
Multiple media outlets are reporting on the criticism by business groups and residents about the bike paths that they say are hampering the CBD’s economic recovery and discouraging people from coming into the city.
Cycling groups however are not happy that the work has stopped, and is likely to remain on hold until more consultation and research is conducted.
A survey conducted last month found that 57 percent of respondents said the bike lanes make driving in the city harder; while 55 percent supported protected bike lanes.
(Herald Sun, 4/6/22)
Meanwhile, The Age reports that work is set to begin on a scaled back Greenline linear park in Melbourne. The project is modelled on the popular High Line in New York City. It has attracted $20M in Federal Government funding, and the City of Melbourne has committed $40M towards the project in next year’s budget.
Wodonga City Council has looked across the border for its new CEO, with news this week of the appointment of Matt Hyde to the role.
Matt has been CEO at Snowy Valleys Council, based at Tumut in NSW, and is a 25 year veteran of local government in that state and Queensland.
He will take up the role on 11th July. Debra Mudra will continue as Acting CEO until that time.
The Albury Border Mail has reported that Mr Hyde will commute to the job from Tumut during the week for the time being due to family commitments.
He has also welcomed the appointment of a monitor at Wodonga, telling the paper it was a good sign and that councillors had welcomed the monitor’s advice.
Wodonga Council appoints new CEO
Darebin City Council has scheduled a special meeting for next Wednesday 8th June to consider a confidential report about the appointment of an interim chief executive officer.
Rachel Ollivier, the council’s general manager of city sustainability and strategy is currently serving as Acting CEO, after the recent departure of Sue Wilkinson who starts at Yarra as CEO next month.
Victorian opposition leader Matthew Guy has been on a whistlestop tour of 40 electorates in 40 days, to mixed reviews.
The Mayor of Moyne Shire in the state’s southwest has written to Mr Guy expressing disappointment and frustration that he did not stop and meet with the council despite driving through the municipality on the way from Warrnambool to Portland.
Local papers, including the Moyne Gazette, have reported that Mr Guy made a pre-election commitment in Warrnambool of $20M for works at the local surf club and breakwater, and discussed local health service challenges in Portland.
(Moyne Gazette, 4-6-22)
Meanwhile, while in Gippsland, Mr Guy made an election promise of a $600M new or upgraded West Gippsland Hospital, with construction to commence in the first term of a Coalition government.
A site in Drouin East has been acquired but requires state government funding to progress. Baw Baw Shire Mayor Michael Leane said the council welcomed the promise, and that it would continue to advocate to secure similar pledges from other parties as the election approaches.
A load of construction and demolition waste containing asbestos found at Wollert has triggered a joint investigation by the City of Whittlesea and EPA Victoria.
The load was found by City of Whittlesea officers, who were patrolling known litter spots, and called in the EPA to investigate and prosecute the pollution offences.
EPA Northern Metro Regional Manager Jeremy Settle says illegally dumped waste from building, renovation or demolition projects is a regular problem. City of Whittlesea CEO Craig Lloyd said illegal dumping costs the community hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, and that offenders will be held accountable for their actions.
City of Whittlesea and EPA investigate asbestos dumping | Environment Protection Authority Victoria
In today’s Victorian briefs:
The first repair cafe in Horsham Rural City Council is up and running, thanks to a council grant to purchase essential tools. Its establishment was delayed by the pandemic, but locals are now being encouraged to have items repaired and reused rather than sending them to landfill.
The repair cafe is located at the Horsham Senior Citizens Hall, is being run by Horsham Urban Landcare with the assistance of skilled community volunteers.
Horsham Repair Cafe opening soon
The MAV has held its first in person board meeting of the year, with a special guest in attendance. The Minister for Planning and Housing, Richard Wynne, met with board members on Friday morning to discuss issues of common interest.
The meeting coincided with the MAV’s Rural and Regional Planning Conference, held in Torquay and online over two days last week.
And Ararat Rural City Council will press on with a recreation reserve upgrade project despite it costing over $1.6M more than its estimated budget.
According to a report in the Ararat Advertiser, CEO Dr Tim Harrison has put the cost overruns down to a ‘very volatile economy’ post COVID-19.
The council will advocate for additional state government assistance in bridging the funding gap. The state has already contributed $2.55M, and $400K has come from the federal government.
(Ararat Advertiser, 3-6-22)
Still to come – two councils at loggerheads over a proposed boundary change in Queensland; 2.5 more years of administration ahead for a NSW council; compulsory voting confirmed for Tasmanian council elections; and Perth City Council under fire for a decision on a homeless drop in centre.
You’re listening to the Local Government News Roundup for 5th June 2022, brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association.
Now for some stories making news around Australia in local government this week:
In Queensland, the two councils of Rockhampton and Livingstone have launched campaigns pressing their cases for and against a boundary change that could see the northern suburbs of Glendale, Glenlee and Rockyview become part of Rockhampton.
The Livingstone mayor Andy Ireland and councillors launched a “Leave Lingstone Alone” campaign on the steps of the Rockhampton City Hall last week, arguing that a boundary change would be unfair to its residents and have far reaching financial impacts on the shire.
CQ Today reports that Rockhampton Regional Council is spending around $100,000 on a campaign to convince residents to vote for the boundary change, while Livingstone Shire has just $10,000 to spend.
Rockhampton’s Mayor Tony Williams has highlighted an independent report refuting Livingstone Shire claims about the financial impact of a boundary change. The report finds that Livingstone Shire would remain financially sustainable if the transfer of the suburbs goes ahead.
An elector survey will be held this year, using a referendum format and a Yes and No response option. The survey will be one of the inputs into the consideration of the boundary change being conducted by the Queensland Electoral Commission.
The NSW Local Government Minister has announced a timetable for the return to elected representatives at Central Coast Council, which is currently under administration.
Wendy Tuckerman has confirmed that the next elections for Central Coast will be part of statewide council elections in September 2024, and that the council will remain under administration until then.
The move is in line with some of the recommendations from a public inquiry into the council, although some other recommendations had been supported in-principle only and would require legislative change.
Certainty for Central Coast Council poll – Office of Local Government NSW
Compulsory voting has now been confirmed for Tasmanian local government elections in September and October this year.
Local Government Minister Nic Street announced that the amendment bill passed the state’s Legislative Council on Thursday morning.
He said compulsory voting would lift community perception of local government and its importance by bringing elections into line with state and federal elections.
Voting now compulsory for local council elections
A decision by Perth City Council to refuse an application for the relocation of a CBD homeless drop-in centre has drawn the ire of the state’s minister for local government, homelessness and housing John Carey.
The council has rejected a proposal to move the centre 200 metres around the corner, with Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas quoted by the ABC as saying the council had concerns about carrying a disproportionate burden of homeless services in the CBD.
The Minister, John Carey says the decision is deeply saddening and may shut down one of only two critical drop in centres in the city.
He has refuted some of the arguments and statistics that the council has relied on in making its decision, and says homelessness is a shared responsibility; and that the City of Perth has a moral responsibility to provide leadership and resolve the issue.
More than a dozen motions calling for action on housing affordability will be debated at the national general assembly of local government in Canberra later this month.
The Australian Local Government Association says four Victorian and three New South Wales councils have now formally declared a housing crisis in their municipalities, with Mildura Rural City Council the latest.
The assembly, commencing in two weeks, will include a panel session on housing, population and workplace skills.
The Prime Minister, Federal Local Government Minister and the Opposition Leader have all been invited to speak during the three day program.
In today’s National Briefs:
Queensland’s Cook Shire has appointed Brian Joiner as its new Chief Executive, with current CEO Linda Cardew set to retire soon.
Mr Joiner is currently CEO at the Shire of Menzies in Western Australia, and will relocate to Cooktown to take up the new role in August.
Meanwhile, the Shire of Menzies has called a special meeting of council for this coming Wednesday to adopt a job description for the CEO position and appoint an independent member for its CEO selection panel.
MEDIA RELEASE | COOK SHIRE ANNOUNCES INCOMING CEO
https://www.menzies.wa.gov.au/publicnotices/special-council-meeting-08-june-2022/31
Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council’s new CEO, Rebecca Ryan, has acknowledged that substantial growth in new housing development in the council area over recent years, combined with the challenges of retaining and attracting assessment staff, were contributing to community angst in delays processing Development Applications (DAs).
Ms Ryan, who commenced in the role less than a month ago, has recognised the community’s frustration while announcing a raft of measures to address short and long-term issues and reduce delays from unprecedented demand.
Council focuses on clearing Development Application backlog – Queanbeyan-Palerang
And the community of Coolamon in NSW is reflecting on the life of former mayor Robert ‘Bomber’ Menzies, who has passed away at the age of 80.
Coolamon Mayor David McCann told the Daily Advertiser in Wagga Wagga that Mr Menzies’ passing was a great loss to the community.
Mr Menzies was first elected in 1995, and served as mayor from 1999 until his retirement in 2012.
Vale Robert ‘Bomber’ Menzies.
As annual pet registration reminders go out in Launceston, the council has crunched the numbers to come up with a list of most popular dog names for this year.
Leading the list for male dogs are the names Charlie, Max and Buddy; while female dogs are most likely to be called Bella, Molly, Ruby or Milly.
Some of the more imaginative names have also been highlighted, such as Dave Growl and Chew Barkar. Special mentions also to Parasniffaloticous, and Captain Daisy Bodger Chilcott. You can find a full list via the link in the show notes.
Top dog names revealed as registration reminders go out – City of Launcesto
International Spotlight:
In New Zealand, troubles at Christchurch City Council have been laid bare in a report this week by the website, newsroom.co.nz.
The council is reported to be experiencing a high level of staff turnover, low satisfaction from staff and ratepayers. There are currently 116 full time equivalent vacancies out of a total workforce of 2,500, and the council’s approval has dropped to 42 percent.
A fire-damaged wastewater treatment plant, and a $150M cost blowout for a planned new stadium are adding to the troubles.
CEO Dawn Bazendale, who took up the role in 2019, is being criticised for the current state of the organisation, but she remains unapologetic about having made difficult decisions to ‘right-size’ the council and undertake a cost-cutting transformation project.
Inside A Council’s Spiral Of Unpopularity | Newsroom
In Ontario, Canada, the city of Hamilton has launched a data dashboard consolidating information about the state of homelessness and access to affordable housing in the city.
Cities-today.com reports that the dashboard creates a more detailed picture that can be used to inform efforts to meet housing needs and reduce homelessness.
As at March this year, there were almost 6,000 people actively experiencing homelessness in Hamilton.
City dashboard combines homelessness and housing affordability data
A 210 kilometre ring of floodgates, levees and other protections around the city of New Orleans has been completed, some 17 years after the city was flooded by Hurricane Katrina.
The massive civil works project is the largest in the history of the Army Corps of Engineers, and is the result of nearly two decades of collaboration between local, state and federal authorities.
Congress provided $14.5B USD for the project, which will cost around $33M USD annually to maintain and operate.
The system has been completed just in time for what is predicted to be a busy hurricane season ahead.
17 years post-Katrina, New Orleans-area protections complete | AP News
That’s the latest from the Roundup, thanks to the Victorian Local Governance Association, your national broadcaster for all things local government. Subscribe to VLGA Connect on YouTube and podcast for regular sessions with local government identities and decision makers.
I’ll be back with more news from around the world of local government on Wednesday. Until then, thanks for listening and bye for now.